Two weeks ago, on an incredibly beautiful Wednesday afternoon, the girls' school released early, so I decided we needed to visit Dumbarton Oaks (just outside Georgetown). The girls were not thrilled about my plan, rather, they wanted to Wii and ride bikes. I probably would have given in, but throughout the winter Dumbarton Oaks is FREE, whereas after March 15 it costs $8 for adults and $5 for children (aged 2-12) to tour the gardens. So my cheapness prevailed and I insisted we needed to go before the fees kicked in - luckily the girls LOVED it (I can never predict how well "forced" adventures will go over).
As soon as we arrived, P yelled, "mom, you made this sound like some boring old garden, you didn't tell me there was a CASTLE." The kids' enchantment continued as we explored the grounds - F spent the whole walk asking how much it would cost to live there, whereas P and her friend L, just pretended they did live there (I think the abundance of imagination might be the biggest distinction between kindergarteners and 1st graders). The kids all ran and ran, trying to read the map, yet anxious to see the newest spot of interest.
Now that spring has arrived, the gardens are no longer free, but they should be BEAUTIFUL right now, especially with the cherry trees in bloom. The estate also contains a museum of Pre-Columbian art, which we did not have a chance to visit. Metered street parking is located outside the entrance (we did not have a problem finding a spot). The gardens are only open in the afternoon from 2-6 pm (excluding Mondays and holidays). Click here for more information.
Andy Cao's Cloud Terrace art installation covered one of the patios with a net full of fake diamonds, which looked wonderful as the afternoon light bounced everywhere.
Beautiful! I wish I had places like that around here. We have botanical gardens, which are nice and all, but nothing like that. Glad your kids enjoyed the "forced" adventure. :)
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