A day trip from Washington DC?

[SleepyMom]

We are leaving for Washington DC in about 3 weeks (staying for 10 days), we have been there one other time in August 2000. During that trip we were able to do most of the things we wanted to in the DC area, but did not go anywhere extra.

MY DH will be working during the M-F days we are there, so DD and I will be sightseeing on our own then. We are staying over the weekend though so I thought maybe we could do something as a family then, but did not have a clue on where to start.

So, I am asking my DIS friends for some thoughts. What would be some good day-trip ideas from the Washington DC area?

 

[nordkin]

There are several options available to you. The Naval Academy in Annapolis, Luray Caverns, Baltimore Inner Harbor, Monticello in Charlottesville, Manassas Battlefield, St Michaels on the Maryland Eastern Shore, Saint Mary's City which is the first settlement in Maryland. I know there are many more, but I can't think of them right now. The hotels in the area do have information on all these and many more. I hope you enjoy yourself in our beutiful area of the country.

 

[PlutoPony]

Also Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, Harper's Ferry, Antietam, Philly (LONG day)...... Or just go to the beach for a day - Ocean City, Dewey, Lewes, Rehobath Beach. From Lewes you can take a ferry to Cape May for another LONG day trip. Lots and lots of options! If any of these peak your interest, let us know and we can give you more specific info

 

[Tigger&Belle]

How old is your DD and what types of things do you enjoy? Historic? Museums? Recreational?

 

[keishashadow]

Depending on how far you want to drive...

*possible to visit Ocean City, MD (bit of a drive)

*Paramount Kings Dominion near Ashland, VA (on our to-do-list)

*even Williamsburg/Bush Gardens would be within reach.

Enjoy.

 

[lsyorke]

Baltimore Inner Harbor.. great aquarium!!

 

[motherhen17404]

If you want to do just a beach day and don't want to drive to Ocean City, then try Sandy Point State Park. It is on the Western side of the bay bridge. My DS love going there when we lived in Annapolis.
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/southern/sandypoint.html

Or just go to Annapolis and take a stroll downtown.

Have fun whatever you do!

 

[SleepyMom]

Thanks everyone, these will give me an idea on where to start looking. Like I said, I didn't have a clue, but knew I could find help here.

DD is 12 and loves dolphins. We just got home from Texas and she loved going to the beach near Corpus Christi, she so wanted to see a dolphin in the wild. We also went to San Antonio and did Six Flags, Sea World and Schlitterbahn, so we may be "parked" out for the time being.

We loved our last visit to the DC area. I was so surprised at how much our girls loved it there (oldest DD won't be going this trip though), they really got into the Smithsonian's and loved Ford's Theatre. I imagine DD and I will be re-visiting those places during DH's work days this trip. We did the Capitol tour and White House last time as well, along with the Memorial's.

We probably won't be getting much info from our hotel though, because it is actually a private building for DH's work, not a regular hotel. Thanks again, I will start looking into these options right away...

Are there any more thoughts?

 

[Pixiedust34]

If you dd likes dolphins, you might want to consider The National Aquarium in Baltimore:

http://www.aqua.org/

It is in Inner Harbor, not far from the Maryland Science Center which is also a fun place to visit. There are plenty of restaurants in the immediate area.

 

[agnes!]

Contact your Senators & your Congressman - they might be able to arrange special tours of the Capitol. They used to be able to arrange for constituents to take White House tours, but I *think* that courtesy was discontinued after September 11th, due to security concerns...

Wades Point Inn near St. Michaels MD - haven't been there in a while, but it sure was nice.

Stay in a B&B near Charlottesville, go to Monticello, take some winery tours . Barboursville Winery is very nice, plus they have some on-site accomodations.

See some of the other "founding father"-type homes - Gunston Hall, Monticello, Ashlawn, Beverly Plantation...Virginia, after all, is known as the Mother of Presidents .

Harper's Ferry, WV is very picturesque - lots of antiquing, crafts, history, nice B&Bs.

If you REALLY wanted to splurge, eat and stay at The Inn at Little Washington (in Virginia).

Baltimore has the B&O Museum, Babe Ruth Museum, U of MD's Davidge Hall(oldest med school building in the US & has AMAZING acoustics), Inner Harbor (with the Aquarium), Fort McHenry(The battle for this fortis what caused the Star Spangled Banner to be written).

offbeat museums like the Spy Museum(not an official government museum, in downtown DC.

If you like theatre, there are some great summer theatres and theatre festivals, including the Barter Theatre in Virginia and Shepherdstown Theatre festival in Shepherdstown WV.

Richmond is only about 1 or 2 hours away. There's lots to do there.

hth,
agnes!

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

To the OP, you indicated you will be here three weeks from 6/09. This will actually have you in the city during the Smithsonian American Folklife Festival on the Mall (June 30-July 4 and July 7-11). Every year the Smithsonian focuses on something different about American and world culture and this year they are focusing on native basketry, Nuestra Musica (South American music), a profile of Alberta, Canada, and the music of New Orleans. The beauty of the festival is you can soak in all the music, dancing, food, artistry, etc., of multiple cultures, yet you never even have to leave the city! For more information you can visit http://www.folklife.si.edu/festival/2006/index.html

Oh, and the best thing of all is it's all free (except for purchases of food or crafts).

Besides this, one of my favorite day trips is a visit to Mount Vernon. It's close to the city and tours through the house are available. Also, there is a special celebration on the 4th of July. For more information on Mount Vernon you can visit http://www.mountvernon.org/

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

Forgot to mention, it you are a AAA member you can pick up their guidebooks for the area at your local office or order them online. These books give a lot of helpful information not only about hotels, but also restaurants and attractions. There is also a AAA office in DC only a block or two from the White House, I think on 15th Street.

 

[SleepyMom]

I am loving all these suggestions, thank you so much!

We do have AAA, I picked up one book already, but it didn't have a lot of info. I will check and see if they have anything else.

We did the Capitol and White House tours in 2000, we were able to get tickets with the help of our state Congressman and Senator's.

I know during the week that DD and I will go see the WW2 Memorial and the Native American Museum, those are both new since our last visit. I am also thinking of maybe taking her to the Holocaust Museum. She's only 12, but she has always been pretty mature for her age, plus they have been learning more about it at school this past year. When we were there in 2000 I took our oldest DD (15 at the time) and DH spent the day with younger DD, but I think she would appreciate it now.

Tink's Pixieduster - that is exactly when we will be there so we will make sure to check out the Festival you mentioned.

I am off to go check out the links, thank you so much!

 

[tmt martins]

Inner Harbor has many things to offer and even with heavy DC traffic you are looking at a direct shot of about an hour .

Segway training at MSC is a neet thing for her to do as well.DD12 loved it and can't wait until old enough to do the Epcot around the world.

I would even like to find 1 cheap for myself to ride around the neighborhood.

Both the Nationals and Orioles if they have games are a nice way to spend the day O's always have seat avail.Spend the day at the HArbor and walk over to the ball field.

National Zoo and the Md baltimore Zoo's are both very nice.

You have Six flags very close (waterpark included).

 

[PlutoPony]

Think your daughter will be OK with the Holocaust Museum at 12. You can take a bus from the Air and Space Museum out to the Udvar-Hazy portion of the Air and Space Museum out by Dulles. It has a space shuttle, a Concorde, and other interesting planes, so that's an option for you. Museum of the American Indian is very good - phenomenal arrowhead collection and wonderful beadwork. Next door, towards the Capitol, is the Botanical gardens in an old glass conservatory which is quite nice. You can get tickets to go up the Washington Monument in advance - check NOW for those if interested. Did you walk thru the FDR Memorial before?? If not, it's very good and on the Tidal Basin by Jefferson. You can always run up to the Zoo to see the pandas but that will be crowded for sure.
Several have mentioned Baltimore.... there's a lot to do there and one option is to take a MARC train there from Union Station during the week, saving a drive that can be a pain. In addition to the harborfront being neat, there's also a good Italian section and good galleries. They have have DUCK tours there which I hear are really fun!
HTH and have fun!

 

[PlutoPony]

Speaking of sporting stuff, there's also the Washington Mystics women's basketball team which plays during the summer.... they're at the Verizon Center (used to be called MCI Center). If your daughter has interest in basketball I'd HIGHLY recommend a game! The crowd is really into it (much more than the men's games) and the type game they play is very good for developing players to watch - good set plays, solid defense, and very little of the spectacular dunks that seem to dominate the current mens' game! Also if you have a soccer player, check out the schedule for DC United soccer home games. They have a good team this year and the atmosphere at games is fun - plus their ticket prices are quite reasonable.

 

[Snoozan]

Another fan here of Inner Harbour in Baltimore. Lots to do and lots of restaurants/shop right there. My sister and I were just discussing last night this is what we want to to(again)next year when the Red Sox play in Baltimore.

 

[tmt martins]

Another fan here of Inner Harbour in Baltimore. Lots to do and lots of restaurants/shop right there. My sister and I were just discussing last night this is what we want to to(again)next year when the Red Sox play in Baltimore.

I just went to 2 games in a row Toronto Blue Jays.I don't go mant times but DW got some free tickets that are real good seats so I went.

When the Sox's are in The Inner Harbor turns into SOX'S Nation .Yankee's as well but nothing like the SOX's.

We don't mind as long as you enjoy coming and spending all that money.We do have a wonderful ballpark.

OT Ravens are going all they way this year McNair threw out the first pitch the other night the place went crasy.