Monday, March 28, 2011

spring break: mini-trip to washington, dc

We know that a lot of you have kiddos on spring break or are planning trips for the Easter and Passover holidays. Therefore, we've engaged some of our favorite city experts with pint sizers for the insider scoop on what to do with kids when you're hitting up their city - - and their all 'day trip-able' locations!

Today's guest blogger? Jamie Ratner from
Certifikid. The DC-area native is sharing some of her favorite kid spots. Thanks, Jamie, for sharing! Look for more spring break mini-break ideas this week and next!


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I have lived my entire life in the DC area, but having kids in this city has truly given me a new appreciation for how amazing it is to grow up in DC. Many of its advantages include both FREE admission and CONVENIENCE in getting to these places of interest. We try to attend new museums on the weekends while keeping up to date on new exhibits and shows coming to town. No matter what is new in town, we still enjoy our favorite GO to DC spots!

The first is a no-brainer – the National Zoo! How amazing is it to be able to drive a couple miles, park (get there early and you can get a spot on the street for free), and walk through a zoo with all the incredible animals for FREE? We try to time it with the elephants’ bath when we go…my son’s favorite sight to watch is the elephant falling over! Feel free to pick up snacks throughout the park or bring your own.

The second is Cabin John Park which is located right off the Beltway in Potomac, Maryland. I always say this is second best to actually taking the kids to Disney World in Orlando! The park is very shady, so it is perfect for sunny days. There is equipment for all aged children. The best part of the park is the train. It costs only $2 to ride the train per person, but it is the greatest thrill the world to the kids. It makes our summer weekends so much fun! We even had my son’s 1st birthday there!!

Of all the museums in the DC area, the first one that I will recommend is the Air & Space Muesum which is just SO awesome to a child AND his parents! It has big planes the kids can touch and climb aboard well as flight simulator rides (not cheap) that even my 1 year old enjoyed! The other museum we tend to frequent is the National Building Museum mainly because of the big play area that is free with equipment similar to that of a local Gymboree play place.

I am sure as my kids get older, I will explore and learn so much more about the exciting places to visit in DC. We also look forward to frequenting kid-friendly restaurants and other new attractions (as our best option now with two toddlers is “take-out”!) It is so much fun to experience the city through new eyes.


Jamie Ratner is the CEO of Certifikid.com. Bethesda based Certifikid -the first and leading daily deal website geared to families in the Greater Washington-Baltimore region - is on a roll by going "local," entrenching itself in the community, and offering first family friendly rate merchant and customer service.

1 comments:

Bryon said...

This is very good advice for my family because we have a one year old and will be considering if we should take her on our vacation this year. She won’t remember the trip and her grandparents (both sets) will love having the time with her. We miss her though and want to know how realistic it will be to enjoy ourselves bringing her along in a 3 day car trip each way. My other two kids are always happy to travel in the car because they have extended time to watch TV they normally don’t get. This year though I don’t know how excited they will be considering we are restricting their TV viewing to only what I recorded on the DVR about D.C. My DISH Network employee Slingbox sends the TV through the internet, and Discovery, Discovery Kids and the History Channel give us more ability to educate our kids in a way they enjoy.