Last time we came to Washington, we did a whirlwind tour of the free museums. This time, we decided to take a look at a paid museum, the Newseum. As its name suggests, the Newseum is a museum of news, primarily historical American news. We spent several hours in this expansive museum and it is definitely worth a look for tourists who have run out Smithsonians and memorials to visit.

After the Newseum, we walked to the National Art Gallery across the street and did a whirlwind tour in the 20 minutes until they closed. Afterward, we ate a great late lunch at the vegan Native Foods Cafe. (It’s really delicious and pleasantly casual.)

Now that all the museums were closed, we headed back to the Hilton to pick up our bags and we noticed a large police presence. We also noticed a lot of very well-dressed people while walking up the hill to the hotel. When we arrived at the hotel, we discovered that the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was taking place that evening in the hotel. (Maybe that’s why the Hilton was so cheap this weekend.) After navigating through crowds of journalists, celebrities, and security, we picked up our bags and headed to the Westin near Dulles Airport.

The Amtrak Capitol Limited takes about 17 hours to travel from Chicago to Washington. The train itself was a lot like the California Zephyr. The key difference was the scenery. Views of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains were replaced by the hills of Appalachia.

We arrived in Washington in the early afternoon and then navigated the Metro system to the Washington Hilton near Dupont Circle. Luckily for us, hotel rates were very cheap this weekend. We dropped off our bags and then took the Metro to Alexandria to meet our friend Ellen.

Alexandria seems like a pleasant suburb of Washington. Ellen, Valerie, and I took the free trolley to the waterfront and then walked down the main street in old town and then ate a nice dinner at the Majestic Cafe. Afterward, Valerie and I headed back to our hotel to prepare for another day in the nation’s capital.