2022 April 2 - April 7 Washington DC & Pennsylvania Itinerary
1. If your trip occurs in April, bring a few thicker jackets (with hoodie), and a raincoat.
2. DC metro transit
It is very convenient but plan in extra time for your schedule. For example, we have missed the bus, and we have taken the wrong bus or going towards wrong direction.
I bought the "Smart Trip" card online and it is shipped to my home prior to the trip. While in DC, I added the unlimited 7 days metro bus for $12. It covers all metro transit and circulator. It comes with its own app "SmarTrip" which can be used to monitor balance, add pass and add money.
"DC Metro" is a great app to check which buses to take.
Circulator is a good hop on/off option for National Mall area.
Georgetown has great food and shops. For Chinese food, I would skip Chinatown.
3. DC Attractions
There are so many things to see in DC and they are mostly free. However, if you are travelling with kids, I would mix match things that you want to see and those would be interesting for them. For example, adults may enjoy the National Archive and Library of Congress, but kids would like American History Museum and National Zoo.
Consider getting the Passport books where the kids can get lots of stamps.
4. PA
PA might be a two-day trip instead of one. Franklin Institute has many hands-on experiments. My kids loved it, unfortunately, we have to cut it short in order to be at the Independence Hall. Because we have to head back to DC, we didn't get to see Rocky or try the famous Philie Cheesesteak.