National Harbor Pirate Cruise

I am always looking for local activities to review on here. I like to try out fun things families can do when they cruise out of Baltimore or Norfolk! This weekend we took my nephew on a pirate cruise for his 4th birthday. We bought our tickets on living social but even the price on the Boomerang Tours website is a great value. The hour long tour met along the boat dock of the National Harbor. Our tour started at 1:30 so we stopped at the pizza shop and walked around a bit watching the ducks swimming in the Potomac River.

Once the Boomerang Pirate Ship approached, we were checked off the list and given doubloons as our entrance tickets. Once everyone was loaded the treasure hunt began! They introduced the crew, and went over pirate terms with the kids. The premise of the "treasure hunt" is that an ex crew member took the keys to the treasure chest and you must go after him to get them back!  The boat ride was nice and breezy on such a hot summer Sunday!

Included in the cost of the tour was pirate tattoos and face painting! Also available for purchase was a pirate bag for $10.00. This included a treasure map, pirate hat, eye patch, sword and a sticker along with the reusable drawstring bag. My nephew enjoyed being able to dress the part!! Before the kids could finish their tattoos, the evil scurvy dog pirate was spotted and all the kids hopped on the water cannons to try to sink his boat!!! The kids loved the excitement of the chase as the evil pirate drove his boat around ours. He left but returned and when he did we were able to get the keys to the treasure chest back. YAYYYY! With that, the treasure was shared among the kids.

On the way back to the dock, the kids enjoyed a dance party and the limbo which was a fun way to wrap up the cruise. The adults enjoyed the gorgeous views of DC and Arlington. Once back to the harbor, we stopped for ice cream and headed home. The afternoon was awesome and I highly recommend Boomerang Tours. We took a sunset cruise with Boomerang for my birthday in June but they also have bus tours to local wineries and other boat tours. Check out their site for all their options.

**NOTE** We drove into DC and parked in a parking garage across from the harbor for $12/ day. They have posted rates that differ but this is what we were charged both times we used them. There are plenty of garages and some street parking as well as the option to take the metro. Anyway you get there, you will be sure to have a great time.

National Cherry Blossom Festival: PHOTOS

Here are some more photos from our day in DC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Cherry Blossom Festival

Although I have lived in Northern Virginia my entire life, I had never been to the National Cherry Blossom Festival. There were 100 trees originally given to the United States by Japan. Now, each year between late March and mid April, the Tidal Basin is surrounded by pink and white petals.

I took a Wednesday off work and headed to our nations capital with my sister & Nana. We drove to our local Metro station which is the easiest way to get around DC. The stop you want to get off is the Smithsonian. Once you are at street level, head left past the Washington Monument. You will pass some restrooms on the right side a little before the "pencil". I would take a moment to stop here because the bathrooms are few and far between. You will then turn left just past the monument and see the Tidal Basin, the Jefferson Memorial and the gorgeous blossoms.

The Cherry Blossom Festival provides tons of events throughout the month, more so on the weekends when it is more popular. There was a nice stage with different entertainment when we were there, with a local high schools band and other local talents. We stopped and ate a packed lunch at the picnic tables in front of the stage. There were also food trucks and little shops if you wanted a souvenir. We headed down towards the Jefferson Memorial along the basin. Even for a week day the area was pretty popular so I am sure there are tons of people who visit over the weekends. If you don't like large crowds or want to really be able to walk around with out much distraction, you might consider going during the week. We made our way completely around the basin, stopping at both the FDR & MLK memorial areas. On this side of the Basin, there are a lot of benches for you to enjoy the gorgeous view!

DC is less than an hour from Baltimore, and just a few hours from many Mid Atlantic cruise ports. If you are cruising around this time next year, look into the Festival as a side trip! There is plenty of museums, memorials and monuments to keep you busy.