TL:DR
We began our grand adventure on Sunday and our first stop was two nights in Washington, DC. Was this stop out of the way? A bit. Did we have tickets to see P!nk in concert in DC? We sure did! I’ve been wanting to see P!nk in concert for years and AC surprised me with tickets last Christmas. That show was everything I hoped for and more! Details are coming, I promise, but first…
Where to (probably not) Stay
We arrived in DC on Sunday night and drove to our hotel on “Embassy Row.” We stayed at The Normandy Hotel which I can’t highly recommend. I scored a good price on Travelzoo–I love their weekly “Top 20 Travel Deals” email and that’s where I found the deal for The Normandy. All of my other Travelzoo deals have been pretty good, but this time we got what I paid for. The hotel wasn’t convenient to public transit, the room was humid, the mini fridge was loud, and the bathroom was cramped. But penny pinchers can’t be choosers; we appreciated the last real bed that we’ll have for a bit.
Parking for Oversized Vehicles
The biggest challenge of this stop was finding parking for our 8’2″ rig.
We found a spot on Embassy Row on Sunday night, but had to move it by 7am on Monday. Parking in DC is expensive. And most of the spaces are in garages with low clearance so aaaaaall of those options were out. We decided to park at Reagan National Airport for the day because:
- the economy lot is a surface lot so we didn’t need to worry about decapitating our rooftop luggage carrier and
- it was only $19 for the day
National African American History and Culture Museum
After parking, we headed the back to our hotel where I did a few hours of work. Then we took a long lunch break to visit the National African American History and Culture Museum. Like most museums, this one has way too much to see, read, and watch in 1.5 hours, but I enjoyed our quick pass-through. For anyone planning to visit, you should know two things:
- You have to reserve one timed-entry pass per visitor. These passes are FREE and they sell out quickly so plan ahead! I believe you can book your passes up to one month in advance.
- Inside the museum, the history part is downstairs while the culture part is upstairs. I recommend getting a grasp on the history before exploring the culture.
After our museum visit, we came back to the hotel for more work (me) and a nap (AC) before our big night.
P!nk in Concert!
When my workday ended, we headed out for a quick dinner and then made our way to Nationals Stadium for P!nk. We’d watched the weather all day because DC was part of a large area under tornado and flash flood watches. Sure enough, as soon as we exited the metro, it started raining…and didn’t stop for about an hour. But P!nk didn’t cancel (thankfully) so AC, me, and 45,000 fellow fans hung out on the overcrowded covered concourse until the rain stopped and the sun finally peeked out.
The legendary Pat Benatar opened the show with an abbreviated set around 8pm. At the end of her set, it started raining again. AC and I sought shelter in the concourse and, serendipitously, found a great little perch behind an accessible seating area. This spot had even better views than our seats so we ended up staying there the rest of the night.
P!nk took her time joining the party, but she was worth every minute of that wait! The “Summer Carnival” tour lived up to its name. P!nk stared with some of her older, high-energy pop hits like “Get this Party Started” and “Raise Your Glass.” Then she slowed things down with some power ballads and ended on a high note with my personal favorite “Never Gonna Not Dance Again.” (For anyone interested in seeing her full set list, check it out here.)
She mad us laugh, provided the perfect amount of commentary, and impressed us all with her signature acrobatics and great voice! To top it all off, the skies opened up AGAIN during her set and she kept right on going. The rain actually added a wonderfully dramatic backdrop to her performance.
Can we go back and do it again, please?!
The show ended around 11pm (which is pretty late for us!). We knew we wanted to hit the road around 7am the next day. Remember, the truck is at the airport. Rather than waking up super early to get to the airport by 7, we decided to go get the truck that night and drive it back to Embassy Row for easy access in the morning. All in all, I think our heads finally hit pillows around 12:30pm and that 6:45a alarm came really fast!
On the Road Again
On Tuesday, AC was a master driver for this longest leg of our roadtrip–a 10-hour trek from DC to Louisville, KY–while I worked from my backseat office.
So far, so good, friends!
Until next time,
Charli
Charli, your mom invited the Bailey girls to follow! I followed you literally to the Pink concert! I was fortunate to have tour tickets,, but seats weren’t under cover. I avoided the early part and skipped Benetars music. I enjoyed every moment of this concert and overwhelmed at her strength and voice when she is “flying”! I departed at the end of the song in the rain and missed the closing minutes. I wanted to avoid we crowds. You guys have quite the Rig! Glad you are constantly thinking of the height! Safe travels!!!