Virgina, West Virgina, and Maryland

Come with us as we explore the capital, Baltimore, Harper’s Ferry and more!

STATE TRIP

3/14/20267 min read

The Washington, D.C. trip. A trip full of museums, fun, and good eats. We went on this trip in 2026 during Spring Break. Our trip was 5 nights and lasted from the Friday to Wednesday. We packed a lot in on this trip, from visiting the historic town of Harper’s Ferry to exploring the National Aquarium in Baltimore to visiting some of the national museums. Read all about our trip below.

West Virginia

We began our trip flying into Washington, D.C. and arriving there about 1pm. We arrived at Ronald Reagan Airport which is located in D.C. and then drove a little over an hour to Harper’s Ferry. For lunch we grabbed Sweetgreen and if you have never had it, I highly recommend it! We arrived in Harper's Ferry and checked into a cute, historic 2 bedroom VRBO which was about a 5 minute drive from the town itself. After we checked in, we went and explored the town and went to the famous Jefferson Rock. After, we had dinner at a place called The Rabbit Hole, which had these cool little igloos you could have dinner in! The next morning, we woke up early to go on a hike via the Maryland Heights Trail, which has a great overlook of the town and river, and I definitely recommend doing this. Then we had breakfast at a place called Battle Grounds Bakery and Coffee; it was really good. Then we left the town and headed towards Baltimore.

Maryland

After leaving West Virginia, we arrived in Baltimore at about 11 in the morning and dropped our bags off at the hotel before heading out into the city. In my mind, Baltimore was a city that was dangerous and you had to look over your shoulder every 5 seconds. It turns out Baltimore (at least the neighborhoods of Inner Harbor and Little Italy) was really nice. We stayed at a Hyatt Place in a neighborhood called Little Italy which was about a 15 walk to Inner Harbor which had a bunch of touristy things to do. We walked to the Harbor area and I got a Lobster Roll from Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls while the rest of my family ate Shake Shack (lame!). After lunch we went to the National Aquarium. The Aquarium was pretty cool and had a variety of different things to do. Just try and go on a day other than Saturday because it was packed when we were there! Basically, I would not go on Fridays or Saturdays if possible and if that’s not possible then go after 4pm (you only need about 3 hours to see the Aquarium). After the Aquarium, we rode these little dragon paddle boats that have a good view of the Aquarium. Then, we had ice cream at a place called Lucky’s Coffee, Ice Cream & Candy and it was pretty good with really good prices! We then walked back to the hotel and got ready to go to dinner. For dinner we had a place called Cafe Gia. It was a delicious authentic Italian restaurant. The mini cannolis there were also really good. We then went back to our hotel to get a good night’s rest before heading off to D.C in the morning.

Washington, d.c.

Yes, I know that this is the 50 states travel blog and that D.C. is not a state, but why would you not want to hear about this?! So consider it a bonus :) Anyway, we arrived at D.C. about 10am; we dropped off our bags at the hotel and then drove to the car rental location and turned in our car. We then walked 2 miles from the rental to the Museum of Science and Natural History. First, let me warn you before you come here that D.C is a A LOT of walking and I mean like 6 miles a day. Second - DO NOT come here when your kids are too young (unless they LOVE and I mean love museums and history). My brother (14) and I (16) are not the biggest fans of museums while my dad LITERALLY reads every single sign in there. But,we made it through this museum and then headed to the subway system before heading off to Virginia.

Virginia

For Virginia, we left DC on the metro and went to Alexandria, which is a quaint town on the harbor. We got there about 1pm and walked from the metro to a neighborhood called Old Town Alexandria which was about a 20-30 minute walk from the metro station. Along the way, we passed a variety of shops, restaurants, and cute little coffee shops. We also went to a place for lunch where the founding fathers ate, but this place was a tourist trap and I would suggest not going there. We then walked down to the harbor and explored around a little bit. We debated eating dinner because a bunch of places smelled really good, but we decided not to because a lot of them were really expensive. We walk our tired selves back to the metro to head back to D.C

Washington, d.c.

Back in D.C! We grabbed dinner at a place called Grazie Grazie on the Wharf, which of course we walked to from our hotel. The food was okay here, but it was mainly a rushed decision on dinner and we were just hungry and tired. On the bright side, we did have Ben and Jerry’s after and it was really expensive, but if someone from you and your family want the same flavor then you can just get it in a pint and then it’s a ton of ice cream for a good price. After ice cream we went to bed. (Side note: have you ever noticed that the word bed looks like a bed?!) Anyway, the next morning we headed to Georgetown for a college tour. I loved this college and the campus but you probably don’t care about that. Something you will care about is that there is a delicious breakfast spot there called Call Your Mother Deli (they have several locations throughout the D.C. area) and it was really, really good. Also, this was a really cool neighborhood to explore! They are also known for their cupcakes, but we did not get any, sadly. After, we had a place called Old Ebbit Grill for lunch and it was pretty good (just don’t get the chicken sandwich). At this point, it was pouring down rain and we got soaking wet, but eventually we made it to the Holocaust Museum. Sadly, when we got to the entrance the lady said it was closed because of a tornado warning! In Texas, nobody cares about this but here it shut down the whole city. We were also supposed to have a tour that night called Monuments by Moonlight but this was also canceled due to the weather. So, we went back to our hotel and napped for a little bit before having Unconventional Diner for dinner. The Blueberry Lemon Ricotta pancakes were scrumptious and I highly recommend them. Then we hit the hay. The next day it was freezing, like 30 degrees, and of course this was our walking around day. We mustered up the courage to walk outside and walked to the Holocaust Museum to try again. This museum was extremely somber but it was impactful and important to see. After, we walked over to the National Mall and went to see the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Reflecting Pool, the White House, and other things. It was freezing, but we made it through. We had Panera for lunch and then in the afternoon we had a private tour of the Capitol. My dad has a friend whose dad knew the Louisiana senator so that’s how we managed to get a private tour. I really enjoyed the tour, and it was the highlight of the trip for my dad. Next, we went and had dinner at Le Diplomat which was really good and I highly enjoyed it. For dessert we had Milk Bar, not too far from the restaurant and this is a must have. The next day we spent the majority of it at the Museum of the Bible (which we loved and learned a lot). You could literally spend the entire day here but we had a flight to catch at 4pm which brought us home and ended our trip.