My First Time in Washington DC

Visiting the Oldest Fish Market in the United States

After a 3 hour drive from New Jersey, we arrived at Captain White’s Fish Market for some fresh seafood. This market has been in operation since 1805, this waterfront market predates even New York’s Fulton Fish Market, an ideal destination for seafood lovers. We were super hungry the whole morning after taking a straight shot from our accommodation to Washington DC. The market docks right on the water so the smell of the sea was quite inviting. The vendors were super nice and their stalls were stocked with a great variety of seafood. From king crab, snow crab, blue crab, to shrimp, salmon, and halibut, this fish market will satisfy your appetite.

We purchased 1 lb of shrimps, 1 lb of snow crabs, and fried oysters, freshly made to order. Between the four of us, it was quite a feast with a total cost of $70 for fresh seafood and the experience. Since we had a long drive back to NC, we weren’t able to purchase any to bring home, but we saw many people came and brought back bags of blue crabs at a time.

Visiting the Vietnam War Memorial

My footsteps were heavy as I walked along the long wall filled with names of those who lost their lives during the war. As a Vietnamese American, I was at awed of the memorial filled with those who lost their lives in my country. I took a moment to say a prayer and thanking them for fighting for our freedom.

Visiting the Washington Monument

I was at awe at how grand this monument was. Not a single cloud drifted by and blue sky was a great canvas for this colossal landmark. We stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and admired the monument from afar, sadly they were doing maintenance on the Lincoln Memorial Reflection Pool, so we weren’t able to see the reflection of the monument.

Visiting the Lincoln Memorial

WOW.

Plain WOW.

And that was my thoughts as I slowly came up the steps and entered the memorial. It was so grand and I felt overwhelmed by how dignified it was. I stood in front of the Emancipation Proclamation for a good 20 minutes, reflecting on every word that demanded the end of slavery. Abraham Lincoln was one of my favorite presidents and being able to visit his memorial and paying respect to him was an amazing experience. If you’ve never been to Washington DC, I highly recommend you to add this stop to your itinerary.