Call us crazy, but we headed out to WDC for the July 4th week. Tons of people? Yes. Longer lines? Yep. Higher prices? Yepper. But hey, it is the counties B-day, in the capitol! Just a little warning on this post…we ate terrible with one exception. I am sure that there are truly wonderful places to eat in the district…we just didn’t land at any of them. Let us know where the good places are!
July 4th
If you are brave enough to visit the District on the 4th you are in for a treat. There is a free concert on the cap. steps. Headliners are usually pretty good. The grand finale included the Overture of 1812 with real, live Howitzers. The fireworks are also really impressive with the background of all the monuments. But you must get there early. Really early to get a spot on the grass. Security can be pretty tight so be prepared for lines and all that goes with that.
What to see in DC-Our top 10
1. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
2. Mt. Vernon
3. Capital Tour
4. Supreme Court Tour
5. Air and Space Smithsonian
7. Monuments at night (start at WWII at dusk and walk towards Lincoln)
8. Natural History Smithsonian
9. National Archives
10. White House Tour
The Food in DC
Mings
The one food highlight for the trip! Mike lived in China for a time, and really digs the traditional Chinese fare. He found it at Mings. Located in WDC’s Chinatown. The outside doesn’t look like very much. Expect the standard list of Americanized Hino food. But if you dig a little deeper down the menu, and chat up the waitstaff, you can get to the good stuff. Fresh panfish was the highlight. Steamed dumplings were also delish. Prices are pretty reasonable for the District.
Harar Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant
Some people are meant to love Ethiopian food….and some are not. We are in the latter camp. Ok…this is probably a really good African restaurant. We are just not that into it.
Ocean City, MD
Ok, so a great way to break up the week and beat the July head is to head out to the beach mid week. Especially if your are bring the littles. There are a lot of options to chose from. We chose the OC. Our decision was highly influenced by the close proximity to the district and the high rankings of the Hilton property there.
Adolfo’s Italian
We so wanted this to be a great place. We did our Urbanspoon search and the reviews looked pretty positive. Menu showed well. You could tell that this a really a close knit family restaurant. Wine list has some depth. Everything pointed toward a really good din. Enter the food. Mike ordered the Seafood linguine. What came out was noodles soaked in lemon juice. Luci’s tasted like straight grease. Even the bread left something to be desired, simple Wonder white bread. Service took an hour to deliver this substandard fare. We chuckled when our bill added up to $80. For once Luci and Mike agree on something. We really hope that we caught them on a bad night.
We are Mike and Luci.