Places to Go - Acting like Tourists on the Double Decker Bus Tour (Washington D.C.)

A few years ago, as a final hurrah to summer vacation, a friend and I took our kids on a hop on/hop off double decker bus tour (you can read about it here). As parking in DC is such a total pain, we had an amazing day seeing the monuments and touring the city. I promised the kids we'd go again sometime, but well, way leads onto way and we never seemed to make it work.

Luckily, this year temps cooled to the mid-80s during the first week (actually it turned out to be only the first day) of summer vacation. So we decided to try it again. Last tour we bought the 24 hour tickets, which made the day seem a little over-full, so this time we spread it across two days with the 48 hour ticket. Also, in the last few years the tour company stepped up its game, as the bus price now includes complimentary tickets to Madame Tussauds and the Crime and Punishment Museum. Tickets for the 48 hour tour cost $59 for and adult and $29 for a child (children under 5 ride free). Click here for more info.

On the upside, this trip the kids LOVED the museums, but the top of the bus proved rather hot and crowded. Plus some buses took FOREVER to come (and when the did arrive, space was limited to standing room only, which is tricky when you're traveling with 2 adults and 7 children). Then they moved a bus stop without notifying the riders (not cool, so not cool). By the end of the 48 hours, we were all pretty sick of buses. Okay, VERY sick of buses. Though still, on a not-too-hot windy day, this really is a beautiful way to see the city.



The kids all had a blast at Madame Tussuauds (tickets are somewhat ridiculously pricey, so if you go try to find a deal).



Since we were in the neighborhood, we stopped in at the Smithsonian American Art museum.



We lunched under a tree by the Lincoln Memorial.



Since T has proclaimed the Crime and Punishment museum his favorite place EVER, I probably should give it a good review. But truthfully I found the whole place rather gory and depressing. And it just seems inherently wrong to collect memorabilia of serial killers, thus giving horrible people superstar status. Oh well, on the upside, admission includes a driving game and a shooting game, which made the kids super happy (esp. since the lack of crowds meant that our kids could play over and over). Further, the interactive CSI crime scene investigation exhibit was quite a hit. Click here for more info.