RbyRachaelRae Style Blog: February 2019

Washington DC in 3 Days!

Happy Black History Month everyone!

Other then April (My Birthday month), February is also one of my favorite months! First...it's Black History Month..(duh) and of course Valentine's Day, but also because it is a Winter month and it actually gets cold in Florida!

This year with being in Grad school (ugh), I am loving short three day weekend getaways! And I love planning trips! I was looking through flights and saw that Frontier Airlines had flights to DC for $100 r/t. So my husband and I booked them fast! ** Just some tips about flying Frontier if you have not already. It is a no frills budget airline similar to Spirit. So if you want to pack a carry on or check in a bag you will have to pay extra**

My husband and I are chill travelers so we just get a duffle bag and roll up our clothes! I also am a frequent traveler and use a travel credit card and I racked up enough points to stay at a beautiful hotel, The Hampton Inn Washington DC NoMa, which was very close in proximity to everything that DC has a to offer! Let's start our trip!

Hampton Inn Washington DC NoMa

Day 1: We flew in to Dulles International Airport (IAD), which is actually in Virginia, but the DC area is known as the DMV (DC, Maryland, and Virginia) due to their closed proximity to each other. For transportation, we took LYFT for the whole trip. Just some tips if you've ever used ride sharing, as a first time user you can use promo codes and get a discount. Here is my code to LYFT (RACHAEL77819) to get $20 off your first ride! And UBER to get $5 off your first ride! And ALWAYS make sure the license plate matches and that you get into your right UBER/LYFT!

When we arrived, it was close to evening. Our hotel was close to Union station which is a train station and also a mall and eatery. Our hotel had a free shuttle, so we took it to Union station did some shopping and The Capital was in walking distance so we walked over to the capital and did some sightseeing and took some pictures. We worked up a hunger (They don't feed you on Frontier lol) so I Yelped a Burger place called The Capital Burger, which served up some really great burgers and I would definitely recommend. I love traveling in comfort and style, and have really started to love athleisure wear. Got this super comfortable Green Adidas Hoodie and Leggings Set from Amazon to keep me warm.

Day 2: It was my husband's 1st time in DC so I wanted to show him all the Monuments and museums. I used Groupon ( DC Trails ) and got a Hop On/Hop Off tour on a Double Decker Bus. The tour takes you all around DC and you can hop on and hop off as he pleased. Our 1st stop was The National Portrait Gallery which I have been dying to go to, to see the portrait of President Barack Obama and 1st lady Michelle Obama. The best thing about DC is that all the museums are free so we just walked in and got to see the beautiful portraits. Yess! Definitely need to see their portraits and the many other portraits in the museum.

We hopped back on the bus and we took it to the National Mall where most of the monuments are. We first say the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the Washington monument, the Reflecting Pool, and the Lincoln Memorial. These are the quintessential monuments that I would recommend see.

For some Black History, visit Ben's Chili Bowl on U street, which is a black historical restaurant. It was built in 1958 by Mrs. Virginia. The restaurant has seen it all! We saw her on a TV show and wanted to say hello and she was so sweet and happy to take pic with us. Also President Barack Obama came here right before his inauguration in 2008 at ate there. They have a chair there with his picture behind it and I had to sit in the chair! We also loved the Barack & Michelle mural on side of the building. Now you guys know I love a good mural!

Found this other beautiful rainbow LOVE
mural in Blagden Alley along with many more.

We ended the day with dinner at Georgia Brown's, a soul-food restaurant that I never leave DC without going to! I stayed uber warm the whole day this cozy Chunky Red Sweater, Faux Fur Hat, and thigh high boots from Rue 21. I finished off my look with Gold Mirrored Sunglasses , a black Michael Kors Crossbody, and my favorite High-Waisted Jeans! Click the links to shop my look in my Amazon Store + More looks!

Day 3: Now the main reason I wanted to visit Washington DC was because I have tried two times before to go to the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), but never got to go. It is a free museum to visit however you need tickets 3 months in advance or a lottery system that opens 6:30 am in the morning and on Sunday, we got some!

I would HIGHLY suggest that Everyone visit this museum! And spend 2 days there! We initially thought 4 to 5 hours would be enough to see the whole museum but we were so wrong. The museum starts from when the colonizers came to Africa, stole Africans to enslave them, and then brought them over to the Americas, The Caribbean, and basically all over. I guarantee you will learn things you never knew about African American history and culture. The museum spans 7 floors I believe all the way to the present.

My husband and I will definitely be back again because it was so enriching to learn about our history and culture and where we came from and where we are going. Some other DC eats I recommend is Busboys and Poets which we didn't get to visit this time but I've been before and I definitely recommend!

Thank you for reading! I love learning about other places to visit, eat, etc! If you have any other suggestions comment and let me know! I'll put them on my bucket list...MUAH!