I recently took the opportunity to visit Washington DC & the surrounding areas as part of a work trip. We travelled from Manchester Airport direct to Washington Dulles International Airport with United Airlines, having flown with them a couple of years ago when they were Continental I was looking forward to see how they had progressed. The aircraft was modern and each seat had its own entertainment on demand with the latest films and music to enjoy throughout the flight, we upgraded our seats to the economy plus seats and these were definitely worth the extra $89!!
Upon arrival we were transferred to our hotel for the next 3 nights by shuttle bus – unfortunately we hit ‘holiday traffic’ as we had arrived over the Colombus day holiday. The 45 minute journey took us nearly 3 hours, but we had a nice air conditioned minibus so it wasn’t as bad as it sounds! We were staying at the Loews Annapolis which is in the state of Maryland. It is home to the US Naval Academy and a lovely harbour of which the annual boat show was being held. The Loews is the only 4* hotel in Annapolis and had recently undergone a refurbishment on the lobby and restaurant – ‘West’. The hotel had lots of function space and we saw a couple of wedding receptions being held there over our 3 night stay. The bedrooms at the hotel were large and the beds were the most comfortable thing that I had slept on for a while!
The first evening we ventured into Annapolis to see what the nightlife had to offer and it didn’t disappoint. There were lots of bars offering different varieties of music, from live bands to DJ’s. We sat outside enjoying the mild autumn weather sipping on cocktails – it was bliss! Our first day consisted of visiting the US Naval Base and then walking around the town on a site seeing tour. It was amazing to see the Naval Base and to see all of the history and effort that goes into running a school of this size. The dormitories alone were bigger than some schools here in the UK! The grounds were lovely and the facilities on offer to the men & women who attend the school are second to none – 2 Olympic sized swimming pools, onsite restaurants, cinema and they don’t even have to do their own laundry! However, they then took us into one of the dorms and shown us how the students are expected to keep their sleeping quarters and not a speck of dust could be seen. I was thinking of signing my husband up there and then!
We then went on a walking tour of Annapolis to see the historic sights such as the Maryland State House which is the oldest state capitol in continuous legislative use and the Charles Carroll House who was the only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. If travelling to Annapolis I would definitely recommend doing one of these tours and using the free services of visitannapolis.org 
The next day we went to Washington DC for the day. As there was no traffic it took us 45 minutes so not long at all. We visited the Crime Museum first of all, which was very interesting and I learnt lots about crime in the US. It would be fantastic for children as there were questions and little clues to the answers all over the museum and a trail to follow. There are games to play as a team as well so would be good for anyone to visit. We then moved on to the old Post Office where there was a clock tower that we climbed, well used the lift to get to the top! The views are spectacular from here, I got some fantastic pictures of the Washington Memorial and the Capitol Building. We then went on what I thought was the highlight of the trip – a bike tour around the sights on DC. This was arguably the best way to see everything up close and without hitting any city traffic. We got to see all of the memorials in our own time and some of them are huge! The Lincoln Memorial has 58 steps to get to the top! The war memorials were quite emotional and we saw groups of people searching for names of family members who had unfortunately died while serving their country.
In the evening we went to Georgetown for dinner. This area has lots of designer shops and lots of restaurants and bars, we didn’t get to explore these further, much to my disappointment, as we had to get back to Annapolis to pack ready for our flight home the next day.On our last day we travelled to an adventure park – ‘Terrapin Adventures’. We got to take part in some group team building activities and some zip lining, this would be fantastic for a small or large group or families to enjoy young or old! The instructors are all friendly and will help you out if you need it. You can rest assured while dangling however many feet in the air that you are well taken care of!
Finally, we got to enjoy some shopping! We visited the Leesburg Corner Outlet Mall where my credit card definitely got some beating! The amount of shops there would satisfy any shopaholic from designer brands to normal high street stuff and also major department stores. I saved at least 75% off the UK price and managed to pick up some Christmas presents for friends and family. The only problem I had was trying to fit my new purchases into my suitcase for the way home! I would love to visit Washington DC & Annapolis again – it is perfect for families with older children, couples or even groups of friends as there is something to suit everyone. Whether as a city break or as part of a longer USA multi centre holiday you have to go. I learnt so much about US history and also to always do my Christmas shopping there as I saved a fortune!!
