Calling on Washington DC experts:

[minniebeth]

We are in the final stages of planning our upcoming DC trip.
My son wants to go the the US Marine Corps Monument (the Iwo Jima), please!....how the heck to do you get there? We would drive to this...
I've googled it several times and can't find much information on it.
Can anyone help me and give any other information about it?

I would soo appreciate it!
Thank you!

 

[JohnsPrincess]

I can't tell you exactly how to get there, but if you're staying at a hotel, they should be able to. Also, there may be a metro station close by. If worse comes to worse, if you can find it's address, you can use Google Maps. There are also some great bus tours and I know some stop there. Good luck and have fun!

 

[minniebeth]

We were hoping to drive there on our way into DC. I thought I read that the metro stop is approx. 6 blocks to it, so we thought we'd drive on our way into the city since I can't imagine we'd spend a lot of time there. ?
Once we arrive at our hotel, the car gets parked in the garage and doensn't come out, DH's orders
We'd love for DS to see it but don't want to take a huge chunk out of our day to get there, see it and come back.

Too much to see!

Thanks JohnsPrincess, but I couldn't find an address!

 

[plutotek]

Well, it's located at/next to Arlington Cemetery, so if you use that as your destination, it might help w/the directions.

 

[lovegrumpy]

Well, it's located at/next to Arlington Cemetery, so if you use that as your destination, it might help w/the directions.

This would be your best bet.

 

[31Buzz]

If memory serves, it is very close to the Rosslyn Metro station. That would probably be the best way to get there

 

[Christine]

Since you have a car, you might want to check out the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico (about 35 miles south of DC). EXCELLENT museum.

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

Well, it's located at/next to Arlington Cemetery, so if you use that as your destination, it might help w/the directions.

The Iwo Jima memorial is in a different location than Arlington Cemetary..I wouldn't use that as your guide at all...
http://www.ehow.com/how_4424871_find-iwo-jima-memorial-arlington.html

 

[mtemm]

we went to the marine corps museum for the first time this past april. It is right near quantico, so driving is your best (only?) bet. parking and the museum are both free. and amazing! we went not expecting much and were blown away. dh and I both would like to go next time and leave the kids with my parents (they live not too far from there) so we can really spend some time there.

I highly recommend it!

eta, oops! I misread your original post and thought you were talking about the museum, not the monument. my original comments stand...if you have time, try to fit this museum into your plans. it is well worth it.

 

[minniebeth]

Thanks so much for the replies everyone, I really appreciate it!

The Iwo Jima memorial is in a different location than Arlington Cemetary..I wouldn't use that as your guide at all...
http://www.ehow.com/how_4424871_find-iwo-jima-memorial-arlington.html

Thank you so much! I printed this out, this is EXACTLY what I needed and couldn't find!

Since you have a car, you might want to check out the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico (about 35 miles south of DC). EXCELLENT museum.

Thank you so much for the suggestion! We used to live in Stafford, Quantico's neck of the woods. We've never been to the museum, but will put it on our list for sure, if not this trip, another time~

we went to the marine corps museum for the first time this past april. It is right near quantico, so driving is your best (only?) bet. parking and the museum are both free. and amazing! we went not expecting much and were blown away. dh and I both would like to go next time and leave the kids with my parents (they live not too far from there) so we can really spend some time there.

I highly recommend it!

eta, oops! I misread your original post and thought you were talking about the museum, not the monument. my original comments stand...if you have time, try to fit this museum into your plans. it is well worth it.

I'm glad you suggested this too and like I said above, it will be on our list to do sometime for sure! Can I ask you how long it took to go through?
Thanks!

 

[mtemm]

we spent about 2 hours there, but missed a lot of it because my twins (age 6) were itching to go to their cousins house and, while they liked a lot of it, really didn't want to take the same amount of time we did.

we went in april and were watching the pacific on hbo at the time so spent most of our time in that section and the bootcamp/training section.

it really was so much more than I expected it to be. definitely add it to your list of places to visit when you do get a chance!

eta, if your son is particularly interested in iwo jima, they have the actual flags at the museum in the WWII section.

 

[minniebeth]

Ok, I just looked at the website for the Marine Corps museum, and I really have to re-evaluate our itinerary. My DS would flip over this. But we'd be spending, like, all day here!
And to see real flags from Iwo Jima...he'd be all over it. (He's a WWII buff, just like we have to go see the Enola Gay!)

Thanks!

 

[mtemm]

yes, you could totally spend all day there. if you can rework your itinerary even for half a day, go for it, you could see all or most of it in that time. the way it is all set up is facinating. they really put a lot of thought into it. even the building design! it is shaped like the flag raising, so another bonus for your son if he is really into it.

the enola gay is at the air and space at dulles. what I would do is spend half the day at the marine corps museum (I'd start there, personally), then the other half at the air and space. my sister lives near the air and space at dulles so we have been many times.

 

[Christine]

My parents spent 3 1/2 hours at this museum and said it was very well done. I haven't heard a bad thing about it--mostly rave reviews.

If you originally lived in Stafford, you know that your challenge will be I95 North and South. It's DREADFUL in the summer.

The HOV lanes from DC heading south, now open at 10:00am for southbound traffic. This makes traveling to Quantico at that time your best bet. You could go there at 10:00 a.m. (arriving around 10:45) and stay until 2 PM or so and then cut over to the west (Dulles area) via 234 through Manassas to do Air and Space. That does sound like it makes for a long, possibly traffic-filled day though!

 

[minniebeth]

We plan on seeing the Air and Space museum in Chantilly on our arrival day on our way into the city. Now that I'm hoping we can fit in the Marine Corps museum, we will probably try to do that on the day that we leave since we are heading south on I95 anyway, so it works out perfectly.

Every time we go back, we can't believe how the traffic has gotten even worse, if that's possible! It makes me chuckle when they talk about the traffic delays here in Columbus.

 

[Christine]

We plan on seeing the Air and Space museum in Chantilly on our arrival day on our way into the city. Now that I'm hoping we can fit in the Marine Corps museum, we will probably try to do that on the day that we leave since we are heading south on I95 anyway, so it works out perfectly.

Every time we go back, we can't believe how the traffic has gotten even worse, if that's possible! It makes me chuckle when they talk about the traffic delays here in Columbus.

Yes, it gets worse every year it seems.