Yeah.... too many bars and college kids taking summer courses....



Was just in DC for a long weekend in Nov - plan on spending 2-3 days just aorund the mall alone - as folks have mentioned, Smithsonian will chew up a lot of time.... be sure to visit the National Museum of American History - you'll like that.... as well, the WWII, Korean & Vietnam memorials on the mall will take some time...

People are mentioning the Baltimore Aquarium - there is a liitle known National Aquarium on the lower level of the Commerce Building on the mall in DC - http://www.nationalaquarium.com/ in case you don't make it to Baltimore.... as well the National Zoo http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ is fun....

If you're planning to visit the Capitol, get a reservation in advance! http://www.visitthecapitol.gov/

Best advice I can give you is to take a tour when you get there to get your bearings.... almost all the parking that was available at the monuments has since been cordoned off - it's a very difficult place to get around by car. Be sure to select a tour on which the guide STAYS with you at the stops - you'll be able to ask questions & learn alot more....

Another option you may have fun doing is to line up some rental bikes before you go.... easy, fun way to get around the mall/along the river on the bike paths...

Have fun.... once you realize how much you MISSED on your visit, you'll be planning to go back again soon.....

Edit - don't be afraid to take the metro around town - easy, cheap way to get around....

 

u can go to pay a visit to Obama and asking how he's planning to take us out to the hole

 

The wife and I decided that we'll be heading to DC in June. Does anyone have some recommendations on which hotel to stay at or which area? We would like something close to downtown or at least something close to the metro. We don't want to break the bank but don't want to stay in a bad area either. Thanks

 

Courtyard near metro and National's Stadium We stayed here last year and it was new and real nice place to stay. You are within easy walking distance of the Capital, mall, memorials, etc. Metro is a block south and the stadium is two block south west. We walked all over the place and were surprised at how pleasant it was with a COMPLETE lack of people asking for money. I wonder if that has changed? I did not drive once we arrived at the hotel until we left. We had beautiful weather and we walked everywhere.

Have fun...

 

Ive been 3 times to Washington DC and New York. Love it. Like they said the smithsonians are a multiple day tour and will take a long time to appreciate. Vietnam Wall, Iwo Jima Marine Memorial, monuments, ect are a must. I went on a Washington DC ghost tour one time. Really cool. They take you through some of the darker history of Washington. Definatly try and make it to Arlington National Cemetary. The changing of the guard and Kennedys grave are worth seeing. They have lots of tours.

 

Lots of great recommendations so far. Went about 10 years ago and one of the most interesting and powerful things we did was the Holocaust museum. Wow. It's not on the Mall, though.

The Natural History museum and Air & Space museum were awesome.

We also went to Ford's theater. It's a little out of the way and overall was not as good as I hoped it would be.

If you have a little time to drive out of town, you can check out the Civil War battlefield at Antietem, Maryland.

 

True dat.

 

I forgot about the Holocaust mueseum. I thought it was in New York, but defiantly go. I still have my little booklet somewhere from it. Fords Theater was a bit dissapointing. Its cool that they still do shows there.

 

I can't wait to go back to DC one day. I went when I was 12 and I remember tons of things from it. But now that I have a family and served in the military and in a war I guess it will have alot more meaning to me than it did then.

I will be able to take things not really for granted like I used to I guess, maybe spend a few more moments holding the things of our nations past a little closer to my heart.

Anyways thats just me, I guess my advice would be to take a few extra moments to capture the history behind what your going to be looking at.

 

Yeah, we paid to see a show, too. It was an Eleanor Roosevelt biography/liberal propaganda designed to indoctrinate school children. Pretty annoying. I would have preferred to see a play from Lincoln era.

 

I just called to request tickets to tour the white house and the representative said that he would put our request but not to hold our breath. He said they have not approved any tours this year. I asked him why and he said it been this way since the new administration came. If this holds to be true I call BS and want to know why I cannot take a tour!

Anyhow any recommendations on which area to stay at?

 

We stayed at the Rennaissance Mayflower, very close to the White House. Great location, but pricey for what you get.

As for tickets to the White House, you might try calling your Representative and Senators, and tell them of your plans. Maybe they can hook you up.

Times have changed since the days of Thomas Jefferson. Back then, apparently if you knocked on the door, Jefferson might answer and let you in.

 

The was our Representative for our state that told me the info that no one is being approved....at least not yet for our state. It's not a big deal since it's only around 5 rooms that can be toured anyway but I would like to see where some of my taxes go to.

 

A must would be a trip to Arlington National Cematary and see the changing of the Guard at the tomb of the unknown.

 

Worse thing to do is to go down there during bike week or w/e. We went down there and there were literally 5 million bikes everywhere. Great city but the traffic is horrible at times and can get a bit frustrating.

Check out the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Lincoln Memorial and some of the malls around DC. We stayed in Quantico, the military base and it wasn't to far and was a great place to stay.