Get Your Bloom On

Thu, Mar 26, 2026

8:30 AM Depart Harrisburg

9:00 AM Depart Mechanicsburg

12:00 PM Arrive at Fashion Center at Pentagon City for lunch on your own.

1:00 PM Meet your local D.C. guide and depart on a Pink Stroll and photo opportunity among the Japanese Cherry Trees (blossoms pending nature’s timing and cannot be guaranteed) along the Tidal Basin. These trees are the 1912 gift to the city of Washington of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to enhance the growing friendship between the United States and Japan and celebrate the continued close relationship between our two peoples.

Stop at The Jefferson Memorial. The 19-foot statue of the third president stands beneath a rotunda inscribed with passages from the Declaration of Independence and Jefferson’s other famous writings. Looking from the memorial across the Tidal Basin provides an unforgettable view of the city.

Stop at The Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial. This memorial to FDR combines sculpture, water and natural landscape to forge a dramatic setting for recounting the events and terms of office of the nation’s 32nd President. The FDR is unique among the memorials of Washington, DC. Its shade trees, waterfalls, statuary and quiet alcoves create the feeling of a secluded garden rather than an imposing structure. The memorial is divided into four outdoor galleries, or rooms, one for each of FDR’s terms in office.  Water cascades and quiet pools are present throughout.

Stop at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial. The long-awaited memorial utilizes landscape elements to powerfully convey three fundamental and recurring themes of Dr. King's life: justice, democracy and hope. The memorial is a quiet and receptive space, yet at the same time, powerful and emotionally evocative, reflecting the spirit of the message Dr. King delivered and the role he played in society. The King Memorial is intended to be personally transformative for visitors, building a sense of commitment to the promise of positive change and active citizenship.

Stop at the White House for a photo opportunity!

Stop at The National World War I Memorial. The National World War I Memorial is a national memorial commemorating the service rendered by members of the United States Armed Forces in World War I. The 2015 National Defense Authorization Act authorized the World War I Centennial Commission to build the memorial in Pershing Park, located at 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. In January 2016, the design commission selected the submission "The Weight of Sacrifice", by a team consisting of Joseph Weishaar, Sabin Howard, Phoebe Lickwar, and GWWO Architects, as the winning design, which is expected to be completed by 2024. On April 16, 2021, the flag was raised at the memorial and President Biden spoke at a virtual ceremony opening it to the public. Sabin Howard is sculpting 38 figures for a bronze relief that is 10% larger than life-size in his studio in New Jersey. Each figure takes 600 hours of work, even with 3D-printed armatures. The design, “A Soldier's Journey”, shows the story of a soldier who leaves his family, sees combat and the loss of comrades, and returns to his family after receiving medical care.

Stop at The Vietnam Veterans Memorial. This privately funded memorial has drawn millions who have come to touch the over 50,000 names, make pencil rubbings and leave flowers, letters, flags, and personal mementos.

See the Women’s Vietnam Memorial. The Vietnam Women’s Memorial was established to honor the 265,000 military and civilian women who served around the world during the Vietnam War. It is the nation’s first, and still its only, memorial to military women on the National Mall.

Stop at The Lincoln Memorial. Overlooking the Reflecting Pool, this memorial was patterned on a classic Greek temple. Inside, inscriptions from his Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Address flank the 19-foot marble statue of our 16th President.

Stop at The Korean War Veterans Memorial. The triangular field contains nineteen ground troopers, clad in foul weather ponchos, fully equipped for battle. Representing those who supported the ground troops are hundreds of faces etched on a polished granite wall.

7:30 PM Enjoy dinner included at Il Porto

9:00 PM Depart for hotel

9:15 PM Check into the Springhill Suites Gaithersburg, MD

Fri, Mar 27, 2026

7:30 AM Enjoy included breakfast at hotel.

8:30 AM Depart for day of touring

9:30 AM Meet guide and begin city touring:

Stop at the Air Force Memorial. The redesigned Memorial is both BOLD and graceful and truly representational of the Air Force. Central to the design are three stainless steel spires which soar skyward. The highest of the spires will ascent 270' above the 3-acre elevated promontory site. Other key elements of the Memorial include a bronze Honor Guard, inscription walls, and an open glass Chamber of Contemplation, all landscaped to create a memorial park and parade ground overlooking the nation’s capital.

Stop at The National World War II Memorial. This memorial honors the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the U.S. during World War II, the more than 400,000 who died, and the millions who supported the war effort from home. Symbolic of the defining event of the 20th Century, the memorial is a monument to the spirit, sacrifice, and commitment of the American people to the common defense of the nation and to the broader causes of peace and freedom from tyranny throughout the world.

11:30 AM Arrive for boarding at Pier 4

12:00 PM Sail away on a Cherry Blossom Cruise down the Potomac River onboard the Odyssey Cruise Ship. Onboard, enjoy a welcome Signature Pink Drink, a narrative cruise of the sites along the river, dancing to the DJ, and a delicious meal!

2:00 PM Depart for continued tour:

Drive Embassy Row. After the Civil War, the powerful and socially elite built large mansions along Massachusetts Ave. After the Great Depression, many of the families who built these homes went broke. Today, the area is known as Embassy Row. Embassies, associations, foundations, and clubs have claimed and restored these lovely homes.

2:45 PM Visit the Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens for a self-guided tour. The mansion is the former home of cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and features one of the most comprehensive collections of eighteenth and nineteenth-century Russian Imperial art outside of Russia, as well as an extensive collection of eighteenth-century French decorative arts. Highlights include a diamond crown worn by Empress Alexandra at her marriage to Nicholas II; Beauvais tapestries designed by François Boucher; two Imperial Easter eggs by Carl Fabergé; La Nuit by William-Adolphe Bouguereau; and a collection of costumes and accessories worn by Mrs. Post or her family. The greenhouse and formal gardens are set among 25 acres of wooded hillsides located in the heart of Washington, D.C.

5:00 PM Depart for dinner

5:30 PM Enjoy an included dinner this evening at Tony & Joe’s Seafood Place at Washington Harbour, an upscale restaurant on the waterfront in Georgetown featuring floor-to-ceiling windows & outdoor seating providing scenic river views as patrons dine on the freshest of seafood.

7:30 PM Depart and continue with an Illuminated Monument Driving Tour. Washington’s grand buildings, memorials, and monuments sparkle and are impressive during the day; but in the evenings they are illuminated, soft, focusing the solid stones and bronzes; fountains and water features shimmer in reflection; shadows darken highlighting the floodlit detail. Impressive during the day - stunning at night!

Walk through the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Explore the Hall of Flags, see the larger-than-life bronze bust of Kennedy himself, see the incredible view of the city from the rooftop terrace, and experience the Art & Ideals: John F. Kennedy Exhibit! Two months after President Kennedy's assassination in November 1963, Congress designated the National Cultural Center as a "living memorial" to Kennedy and authorized $23 million to help build what was now known as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Drive by the Marine Corps Memorial (Iwo Jima Statue). One of the largest bronze statues ever cast depicts the American Flag being raised on Mount Suribachi during World War II and commemorates all Marines who have died in battle since 1775.

Drive by various memorials and monuments on the return to your hotel

8:45pm Return to hotel

Sat, Mar 28, 2026

7:00 AM Enjoy included breakfast at hotel prior to checking out

8:00 AM Depart

9:45 AM Visit The United States Capitol for a guided tour. The most recognized symbol of democratic government in the world, the U.S. Capitol has housed Congress since 1800 and is one of the most imposing public buildings in the world. The Capitol is where Congress meets to write the laws of our nation, and where presidents are inaugurated.  Its ceilings are decorated with historic images, and its halls are lined with statuary and paintings representing great events and people in the nation’s history. 

Visit the United States Library of Congress. Explore. Discover. Be Inspired! Established as an act of Congress is 1800, The Library of Congress is the largest national library in the world with more than 100 million items in three buildings. The original Library of Congress Building (now called the Thomas Jefferson Building) is perhaps Washington’s most richly ornamented building. The library has more than 650 miles of bookshelves, and more than 138 million objects in 470 different languages.

1:30 PM Visit your choice of the Smithsonian Institution’s Museums on the National Mall. Enjoy lunch on own while visiting museums today.

5:00 PM Depart for home - fast food/rest stop en route on your own for dinner.

B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner