Anybody been to DC lately? Can you take backpacks into monuments, museums, etc?

[Barb D]

We're going to spend the day in DC tomorrow. DD6 wants to see the place where "the guy is sitting in the chair." (I'm taking that to mean the Lincoln Memorial.)

Will we have any problems taking backpacks (carrying lunch) into any of the memorials or museums?

I was stunned to find out I couldn't take my fanny pack, of all things, into a Ravens game. I sure don't need any surprises like that tomorrow.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

We were there this month.

The museums are mostly like Disney, your stuff is searched, but you can take it in. But I haven't been to EVERY museum in D.C., and never hauled lunch around with me.

You can walk up the stairs with your bag to the Lincoln Memorial (the guy in the chair ), if you want.

 

[PlutoPony]

You likely won't be able to take pocket knives into the museums. At one time fairly recently the White House spring garden tour didn't allow any food or drink in backpacks to go in (a real pain for parents with very young children). Don't know about the Capitol but think there are restrictions there. Other than that you should be OK....
Have fun - it's supposed to be a beautiful day and the cherry blossoms should be at peak!

 

[teacherforhi]

I was there this past September. We weren't allowed to take any bags into the White House at all, but no one questioned anything in our backpacks in any of the museums.

 

[Barb D]

Thanks, everyone! We're not planning to go into the White House, so we should be fine.

I'm not crazy about the idea of hauling lunch, either, but I don't want to have to find a place to eat, wait in line, and pay $$$$ if everyone is hungry. Plus, there will be 3 teens, so I figure THEY can do the heavy lifting! I'll spring for fast food on the way home.

Now to figure out which Metro station will have parking during cherry blossom time...

 

[Cindy B]

You can not have any food or drink in the Washington Monument either. They will search your bags, xray your bags and will watch over you until you finish what ever is half open in your bags.

When I was there last year, they didn't even let a woman with an open baby bottle in a diaper bag through. They made her take out the bottle and leave it with the guards and then go up.

I had a bottle of Snapple or something like that. THey wouldn't let me have it in our backpack. I had to throw it out and they had to watch me.

Because of that hassle, and the tininess of the entire monument, its off our list of things to do. We used to love it.

 

[Barb D]

It was a GORGEOUS day in DC ... perfect weather, and the cherry blossoms were beautiful.

The first-come-first-serve tickets for the Washington Monument were gone before we got there, so that wasn't an issue. I would have stayed outside with the bags of food if we'd been able to get tickets.

We did the Tourmobile around the monuments. The only problem was that traffic was so heavy that the Tourmobile was CRAWLING along for part of the time. But everybody was too exhausted by that point to get out and walk.

I'll post a pic later.

 

[PlutoPony]

The morning news was live from the Tidal Basin at 6 am this morning and it was amazing how many people were there at the time! So I can imagine how busy it was as the day went on... What museums did you end up going in??
Glad you had a good time!

 

[TDC Nala]

I live in DC. (No, I live in Virginia, I just work in DC). As of now you can still take them in most places, but you have to go through a metal detector and an x ray machine for the bags.

I tried to buy some tickets in Fords Theater awhile back, and they wouldn't let me in because I was carrying a briefcase. They would allow my purse, but not the briefcase, and there wasn't any place to leave it. Go figure.

On weekdays, most Metro stations around here fill up with parking before 10:00, and that's without cherry blossoms.