Washington D.C. was our next stop and it was another scorcher of a day, I can’t even begin to tell you how humid it was! Before we started exploring, we checked in to our hotel, The Carlyle in Dupont Circle, and it was beautiful. The room was huge and offered a large bathroom, small kitchenette area and dining table. I even liked the lobby and it’s vintage furniture and old fashioned telephone – it added a little unique character. I would definitely recommend this hotel if you are thinking of visiting D.C.. It was actually awarded the “Certificate of Excellence, 2016” by TripAdvisor and it was easy to see why. They offer a complimentary wine hour every evening which seemed to be popular, If you are travelling with your pet, then you are more than welcome, and they have a selection of bikes that guests can use to explore the city. The hotel is also home to The Riggsby, which offers upscale American cuisine with distinctly European influences. I wish I’d been able to explore the area more that surrounds the hotel as some of the streets looked absolutely beautiful – tree lined and quaint. I suppose I can put that on my list for next time.

We set out and boarded one of the Big Bus tours through the city, but we didn’t stay onboard for long. It was so hot, it felt better (at first) to walk between points of interest. We made our way to the Lincoln Monument, the National World War II Memorial, Washington Monument and then finally we arrived at the White House. It had been a day of overwhelming sights and by the time we got to the end of the White House lawn I was exhausted and starting to feel a little unwell because of the humidity. We took some pictures, then walked a little further into the city before ordering a Lyft and making our way back to the hotel, where we could freshen up and simply relax. For dinner, we ordered Italian food from a local restaurant and it was delicious, just what we needed after a long day of driving and then exploring.

The following morning, we made a stop at Arlington Cemetery. We got there first thing and it was already upwards of 26 degrees Celsius, so needless to say we didn’t stay there for too long. Arlington Cemetery is huge and you need at least 3 or 4 hours to really cover ground there. I hadn’t quite realised how big it was. We walked through the main gates and around to the resting site of the Kennedy family, where the eternal flame burns, before walking across to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and seeing the changing of the guard. It’s a very impressive site and I would have liked longer there to read and learn more about the cemetery, but it was just too hot. I did buy a book from the gift shop on the way out, so at least I can do my homework.

We dragged ourselves back to the Mustang, cranked up the air conditioning and hit the road again, this time we were spending the evening in Baltimore.

We had a suite each at the Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor hotel and they were both absolutely incredible. In fact, I was impressed with the hotel before we even made it through the lobby door. The valet was friendly and was happy to have a chat while I waited for TravelShopGirl to park the car. The reception staff were also polite and very helpful, we spent quite a while having a general chit chat with the girl that checked us in, she was so funny. Each room was huge and offered a large bedroom, lounge area and 2 bathrooms! Oh, and I can’t forget that each also had 2 access doors! I was also impressed with the views from my living area and bedroom, it was nice to open the curtains the following morning and greet the day with sunshine in the sky and a smile on my face.

We got ourselves acquainted with our rooms and then set off on the short walk across the street for food and drinks at the Inner Harbor.

There are several bar and restaurant options there, but we had pre-arranged a visit to Bubba Gump and I was so excited! I think we ordered just about everything on the menu, we were both hungry and thirsty, and ready for some down time before the evening baseball game. Our waitress at Bubba Gump was called Helen and she was awesome! She really made our visit there enjoyable and she clearly loved her job – thank you, Helen! The food was great, I ordered the shrimp cocktail to start (and some seafood hush pups) and then followed it with Shrimper’s Heaven. I was so full by the end of it, I could hardly breathe! Of course, we both had room for a cocktail each, too. When I return to Baltimore in the future, I will most definitely be going back to Bubba Gump. The food was great, the service was excellent and the atmosphere was fun – I really did enjoy it.

That evening brought me my first ever baseball game – we went to watch the Baltimore Orioles play the Colorado Rockies at Camden Yards. The atmosphere pre-game was electric and we stopped at Pickles Bar and had a few drinks before heading across the street and into the stadium. WOW! That’s all I can say! It was such a beautiful ballpark, it really was, and everyone was excited for the game ahead. We had a walk around – paying a visit to the fan station so I could get a certificate to mark my first ever baseball game – and then we took our seats.

The Orioles lost that night, but I can tell you that I am now a baseball fan. I enjoyed every minute of that game – even the slower parts of it! It’s pretty easy to follow, we had great seats, there’s no aggressive team rivalry spoiling it, and when the batter hits that ball everyone comes alive. Here’s hoping I get to attend many more baseball games in the future.

I didn’t want the day to end, it had been so much fun, but we were both tired and we needed a good night of rest before we set off for Philadelphia, as there was a ghost investigation to be had there!