the district and the coast.
For our fifth anniversary, we decided to take Tustin to the shore in Delaware (we are trying to hit all 50 states!) and to Washington DC. I had my doubts about both places but wanted to experience them on my own. We flew from Detroit to DC and then had about a 3 hour drive to Fenwick Island, Delaware.
The drive to Delaware (other than driving over the Chesapeake Bay!) felt very much like we were driving in the midwest. Though I will say, for April, everything was so green and already blooming, unlike the midwest. Once we got to Delaware, every few miles there would be a farmer’s market on the side of the road. We saw dozens of markets and ice cream stops along the way. We stopped at one and got warm donuts, homemade pretzels, and dog treats for Charlie!
I took over driving from Logan (it had been a long day!), and I remember thinking, how in the world is the beach going to be here. The drive was through small country towns that really did remind me of the midwest. All of a sudden, the beach appeared and we had made it! Fenwick Island is a small beach town in southern Delaware that is very close to Ocean City, Maryland. When arriving, you will see several large condos but those are all on the Maryland side. Fenwick is very quaint and quiet. We visited at the end of April so peak season had not yet started. Our hotel was right on the water which gave us direct access to the public beach!
It wasn’t quite beach weather yet but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the shore, we had the entire beach to ourselves. I had so much fun watching Tustin play in the water and in the sand, it really was a special moment to have such a large beach to ourselves (we are used to over crowded California beaches!). The Fenwick beach was huge, very wide sand area and the shoreline went on for miles. I can only imagine how popular the beach gets during the summer months.
The beach town felt a bit like a ghost town with all of the touristy attractions being shut down still (you don’t have to search far for a mini golf or go-kart place) but we really enjoyed the quiet of the town.
Our only full day in Fenwick wasn’t the best weather, I guess that’s what we get for going to the east coast in April! We decided to drive to Rehoboth Beach and shop at the outlets (no sales tax in DE!). Such a simple thing that we could have done back home turned into such a special time and good memories. We shopped the outlets in the pouring rain, took Tustin to make his first Build-A-Bear, and ended with lunch. Dogfish head brewery had a pub nearby so we stopped there only to find out that the main brewery was only 20 minutes away! Naturally, we headed for a tour!
The next morning was beautiful so we spent the morning at the beach before driving 3 hours back to the DC area.
WHERE WE STAYED:
We stayed at Fenwick Shores, a beautiful hotel right on the beach. The hotel seemed brand new and was very well done on the inside. We had a standard room but it came with a family room, and full kitchen. Traveling with a little one, I’ll take all the space I can get! I would absolutely stay here again, though I know the prices are very high in the summer. We got in just in time!
WHERE WE ATE:
On our way from DC to Fenwick, we stopped at The Jetty right on the Chesapeake Bay. This was a neat restaurant on the water that allowed for plenty of space for Tustin to run around. They had a dock with lots of ducks and even a sandbox for Tustin to play in. Logan claims the shrimp tacos here are the best he’s ever had! If driving over the Chesapeake, this would be a great stop.
Our first dinner was by far our best dinner all week! We ate at Matt’s Fish Camp right across the street from our hotel. For such a quiet town, the restaurant was popping, it definitely is the place to go! The restaurant had a beautiful New England feel with no shortage of fresh fish on the menu. I ordered the seafood spaghetti and I literally still think about it.
The next morning for breakfast we got acai bowls at High Tides coffeehouse. The coffeehouse has an acai bowl buffet and a large coffee menu. The shop is quite large with plenty of seating and a great atmosphere. This was a great find!
In Rehoboth, we got coffee at Rise Up Coffee Roasters. This was an awesome place that had a great ambiance.
For dinner, we ate at Fins Raw Bar, about ten minutes from our hotel. This was another great and quite crowded restaurant, right on the bay. The seafood pasta was fantastic here, as well!
BREWERIES:
Thompson Island Brewery was one of the more beautiful breweries we have ever been too. The aesthetics were stunning, white paneled shiplap with an open floor plan - very nice for a brewery! We enjoyed lunch at Thompson Island - they had fantastic rockefeller oysters.
The Dogfish Head pub in Rehoboth was a smaller tap room that had a nice patio (though it was raining when we were there). We stopped in for a beer and our waiter encouraged us to drive the 20 minutes to the main brewery site. I’m so glad that he encouraged us to go.
We drove to the main brewery and couldn’t believe how massive the production facility was. We were able to take Tustin with us on a free tour that included a free beer and a coupon for a free flight after the tour! I loved the mango tangerine wheat and have been looking for it in stores, ever since!
WASHINGTON DC
On our way from Fenwick to DC, we decided to take our time and explore the surrounding areas. We stopped in Annapolis, Maryland (home of Navy University). This was such a neat, old town. Many roads were still red, brick roads and nearly all of the homes were old brick. The streets were curvy along the harbor and very narrow. We really enjoyed the upbeat area.
We stopped at Forward Brewing for lunch, they had a large outdoor area for Tustin to run around!
After Annapolis, we drove about 50min to Alexandria, Virginia. Alexandria ended up being our favorite town! Alexandria is also an older town with brick streets and an uppity downtown area right along the river. Near the river, the main road is closed down so pedestrians can walk. There were street performers, live music, and a large park right on the water. We really enjoyed spending time in this area. The walk along the river is beautiful. We walked along modern condo, flowers, parks, and restaurants.
We stopped for an appetizer at Mias, we had fantastic bruschetta. We did make dinner reservations ahead of time, and I’m so glad we did as this was a very busy area. We dined at Virtue Feed and Grain and absolutely loved it. The food was phenomenal and the restaurant was absolutely stunning. If you are in the area, this is an absolute must. We still talk about the restaurant to this day!
Since we had an earlier dinner, we headed back to the city to check into our hotel right downtown Washington DC. We stayed at the St. Gregory Hotel, an older hotel that had been redone to be very modern on the inside. Our hotel was a 20-minute walk from the White House and from there, we only had to walk about 15-minutes to get to the National Mall.
We walked past the White House and took a couple of pictures but there really isn’t too much to see here and the area was very crowded with tourists. By time we got to the National Mall, the sun was starting to set. It was neat seeing the National Mall lit up at night time. Seeing the monuments in person felt very surreal, though I will say, I was very discouraged at how crowded the monuments were. There were dozens of school groups and it seemed as if each monument was being climbed on by a different group of kids - this felt very disrespectful. Our walk back to the hotel was quite lengthy and we walked past many homeless camps.
The next morning, we had reservations at the National Children’s Museum. We woke up to pouring rain and had about a 15 minute walk to the train station. We raced through the rain, doing our best to keep Tustin dry. The train system is very cheap in DC and gets you quite everywhere you need to go. Logan did a great job at navigating all the train stops.
The National Children’s Museum was $15 per person, and was worth every penny. Tustin had so much fun! The museum was clean, creative, and friendly to all ages. We spent about three hours at the museum. For me, this was the highlight of DC. I would absolutely recommend it for anyone with little kids.
After the museum, it was still raining so we had a late breakfast across the street at Proper 21. From there, the rain thankfully had stopped, we walked to the Museum of Natural History. This is part of the Smithsonian family of museums so it was free of charge. We appreciated not having to pay tickets but oh my goodness was the museum crowded. We were not super happy with the take on evolution the museum had and Tustin was getting quite cranky so we did not stay too long at the museum. Though we didn’t agree with everything, it was neat to see the museum and how beautiful the building was. By now, the rain had started again and we had about a ten minute walk/run to the nearest train station.
After Tustin’s nap, we took the train to Arlington Cemetery. I was honestly pretty against visiting here as I was worried Tustin may yell or scream while there and disrespect those grieving. Logan encouraged us to still go and I’m glad he did. I did not realize the cemetery would be as built up as it was, there was a museum, gift shop, and even security we had to go through just to enter. If visiting, keep in mind the cemetery does have hours of operation - I never would have guessed this. We walked to the Tomb of Unknown Soldier (Tustin did great). It was really special to be able to see this in person. Watching the soldier walk back and forth in front of the tomb was incredible to see and really made me feel like a proud American.
We took the train back towards our hotel and stopped for dinner at the City Tap - we had great food here!
The next morning we woke up and had breakfast across the street from our hotel at Call Your Mother Bagels - a Jewish bagel shop. We noticed a cute coffee house across the street and couldn’t help but stop by. Tatte Bakery had incredible coffee and the baked goods looked so good, we were bummed our bellies were full from the bagels. If in the area, I would highly recommend stopping at Tatte.
Next, we drove about 15 minutes to the Smithsonian Zoo. The zoo is free but does require reservations and a paid ($30) parking pass to be reserved ahead of time. We got to the zoo right when it opened and we were the third car there (granted, it was a Monday). The zoo was huge and extremely well taken care of. We saw animals that our zoo back home doesn’t have such as elephants, pandas, and dolphins. All three of us had a great time and were so worn out from walking by time we left. Our highlights from DC were definitely the children’s museum and the zoo.
Before heading to the airport, we had lunch once more in Alexandria at Landini Brothers (awesome lunch special). Downtown Alexandria is only about a 10 minutes drive to the airport.
All in all, Washington DC was neat to see in person but it’s not a place I am excited to go back to. The city had any ethnicity of food you would want and had what appeared to be some really nice restaurants and night life. I’ve learned that city life with a baby isn’t the easiest. I was discouraged by the trash, homelessness, and poverty in our nation’s capital. At least until Tustin is older, I’m going to stick to more outdoorsy vacations, though I’m grateful to have experienced DC (let’s face it, I think I’ll always stick to the outdoors :) )
Best time to visit: year round