Washington DC - A Trip Report - Mickey and the Cherry Blossoms About This Page:

[crystalloubear]

Who - Crystal (32), Nana (54), Tony (4 1/2), Jeanette (1)
When - April 13-15
Where - Washington DC

We left home in PA at 10 AM and drove to Washington DC. It was not looking pretty - 10 minutes from home and already stuck in traffic. Luckily, it was only painting highway lines and we got under way. We didn't hit anything else in the way of bad traffic. Of course, we stopped a bunch of times. DS decided to pick his nose unitl it bled and we had to stop near Philly at a McDOnald's and get his nosebleed to stop. A Happy Meal made everything better for him. Get back on the road and drive another hour and stop for our lunch. We ate lunch the Iron Skillet truck stop on I-95. Gotta love truck stop food. Back on the road, all set to drive the rest of the way. 20 minutes later, Jeanette throws up on herself. NICE - stop and clean her up. Are we ever going to get there???
We finally get there with no other incidents. We even found the hotel without getting lost. We pulled up to the Mandarin Oriental Washington DC and the bellman took our bags, valet took the car, and we checked in. All I can say about this hotel is WOW!! Beautiful. It was only built a few years ago and is 2 blocks from the Smithsonian

overlooking the Tidal Basin. Our room was gorgeous. I don't think I have ever seen so much silk in one place. The bedspread, wallpaper, shades, decorations. The bathroom was gorgeous. All marble with a huge glass shower, an enormous tub, and a phone just in case you need to make a call. The room itself had 2 queen size beds, a sitting chair and ottoman, desk with 2 chairs, minibar, a clothes valet, and a TV system (flat screen with surrond sound speakers and a DVD player). I think it was probably the nicest hotel I have ever stayed at and that is saying alot!!
After getting situated, we decided to head out for dinner. We loaded the kids up in the stroller and took off. We stopped in the lobby and asked the concierge for a nice place nearby with the kids for dinner. SHe suggested the M&S Grill, called ahead for reservations for us, and gave us directions. Just a short walk she said. We walked 2 blocks to the Smithsonian,

across the National Mall,
another 5 blocks, turn left 1 block and there it was. Not short in my book, but it was worth it. The M&S Grill was an upscale place with a large menu and an even larger wine menu. I got a diet coke, Cheasapeak Crab Soup and Filet Mignon with asparagus, carrots and roasted potatoes. It was supper yummy!! They had a kids menu, but we were the only ones in there with kids. Tony and Jeanette are pretty good at restaurants so all went well. As long as they have food, they are happy!
After dinner, we realized we couldn't be but a block from where the 75 Years of MIckey exhibit was. Why wait - lets go see them now. For anyone that doesn't know about the display, there are 75 Mickey statues made from the same mold then decorated different by all kinds of celebrities, artists, and just some regular people. We had a lot of fun taking pictures and looking at all the Mickey's.


FrontEAR Tales by Fess Parker


Fruits of the Mouse by Andreas Deja


Music Royalty by Sir Elton John


Lobsta Mickey by Breanna Rowlette


Reflections on Mickey by Disneyland Resort Entertainment Dept.


Wild for Mikcey by Star Jones


Patchwork Pal by Thomas Knechtel


This one wasn't marked with a name


Flying Colors #3 by David Willardson


Wonderful World of Mickey by Kathryn E. Morgan

I'll post some more pictures of the Mickey's in another post.

We strolled back to the hotel just in time for to view the sun setting as we passed thru the National Mall and

looking at the Washington Monument. Breathtaking.
When, we got back to the hotel, Tony had to try out the large tub then we all crashed after a very, very long day.