D.C. this summer

[monkeybug]

OK, I was worried. I called up there and spoke to someone at our congressman's office, and she is going to try to work us in since we will be there for 6 weeks and are flexible. I was just worried about giving that information out. It kind of made me nervous. I hope we hear something soon, but I bet we can't get in. I should have done this months ago.

My friend was just here at the beginning of May, and even though she only gave them a few months notice, she was able to get in to a tour. They had to join another tour group, which ended up being really big, but they still got to do the tour!

 

[goofy's friends]

I'm just getting back to this thread! Thanks for the great responses everyone!
***********-kids have seen the Air/space museum inSeattle, so I will put Natural History 1st on list and American History 2nd (if we have time)
Midge79--How do you arrange for the nighttime bus tour of the monuments?--sounds pretty!
MinnieBeth--did you walk at night to see all of the monuments or did you take the bus tour that Midge took? Lincoln is the one we can't wait to see!
tink's Pixieduster--thanks for the article!! Cool--I think we will do the one at Ford's theater that invistigates the assassination of Lincoln.
Golfgal--I think we decided to do the spy in the city tour at the Spy museum, but skip the museum. What was disappointing about the Amer. History Museum? Have you been since it's been refurbished? We have now added the Library of Congress on the must do list--Thanks, however, I don't see the Night at the Museum tour on their website....any ideas about that?
wdwmom2--The kids and I love that movie and would love to see this tour. We are stopping here on our way from Williamsburg to DC, thanks for the tip on getting there early!!
Monkeybug--will look into the Tourmobile. Is it like the Trolleys?
Mominwestlake--Cool idea on the Gargoyles! Would have never known to do this!! Am adding it to list Did you go up in monument at night or at a different time as your tour? I heard you need tix--when did you secure those?
Christine--I've heard it's beautiful. I look forward to seeing it!
Tink888-Is there anything to do at Cemetery besides the Tomb of the unknown soldier? Just trying to allot time.


I'm getting excited now, when I was just overwhelmed!

 

[goofy's friends]

Not sure why Quicksilvr got bleeped out, sorry!!!

 

[golfgal]

The spy in the City tour is not a good idea from what I have heard--you might want to reconsider that. It sounds like you walk around with a GPS and see stuff-but you pay for that. You can do that on your own

As far as the Am History Museum, there just really wasn't that much on display. We were just there last summer so yes, we actually postponed our trip because it was under refurbishment. When the Smithsonian had that tour about 15 years ago, they had more stuff on display in that tour then they have in the museum. It is still worth going but I was just expecting to see a lot more.

The monuments at night tour you can just get tickets online for or at any of the stands around the monuments. Online will be less expensive but you need to know what night you want to go for sure. We had this on our schedule and everyone decided not to do it and I am still disappointed that we did not go.

 

[alisonwonderland64]

My family's been going to DC fairly regularly since I was little and although I know you said you weren't going to go, I really enjoyed the Spy Museum and would recommend it. I haven't been there in a while, but I thought it had a lot of neat things that are especially cool for kids (I really enjoyed it when I was around 10-13).

My favorite museum there is definitely the American History museum though. The last time I was there was in January (after the refurbishment) and it's really nicely laid out. It's true there's not a TON of stuff there (you could probably get through it in about 2 hours I'd think, if that), but I really like it nonetheless. Plus they have Disney stuff there! Not a ton, but it was cool to see anyway.

This past trip that I took in January, I also went to the Newseum (a museum about journalism) for the first time and I thought it was really cool. I'm not sure how it'd be for kids since it wasn't open when I was younger (there's one part there based on 9/11 that I would not recommend for kids, but I think everything else is pretty good for families), but I found it really interesting and liked it a lot. They also have some more interactive things there (I know they have a thing where you can record your own videos reporting the news), which would probably be cool for families. I really like this museum and the Spy Museum because they really offer a different experience than what you find in most typical art/history/science museums.

As others have mentioned, Library of Congress is definitely something to see as well! I absolutely love that building (and the vast system of underground tunnels beneath it), it's a must-do whenever I'm in DC.

Also, apart from museums, I'm not sure if anyone's mentioned this yet but we love going to the Old Post Office pavilion. They have a nice little food court there that's nice to visit for lunch and then there's also an elevator that takes you up the tower there and gives you some really nice views of the city. It's a really nice little thing to do to take a break from all the museums/monuments. And if you need any restaurants to eat at, my family really likes the Old Ebbitt Grill restaurant, it has really great food. I'd recommend making reservations there in advance though if you decide to go.

Whew, sorry for writing so much but I hope some of it helped! I really love going to DC and have found a lot of great stuff there over the years . Have a great trip!

 

[monkeybug]

The spy in the City tour is not a good idea from what I have heard--you might want to reconsider that. It sounds like you walk around with a GPS and see stuff-but you pay for that. You can do that on your own

As far as the Am History Museum, there just really wasn't that much on display. We were just there last summer so yes, we actually postponed our trip because it was under refurbishment. When the Smithsonian had that tour about 15 years ago, they had more stuff on display in that tour then they have in the museum. It is still worth going but I was just expecting to see a lot more.

The monuments at night tour you can just get tickets online for or at any of the stands around the monuments. Online will be less expensive but you need to know what night you want to go for sure. We had this on our schedule and everyone decided not to do it and I am still disappointed that we did not go.

The spy in the City is a lot like the Kim Possible missions in Epcot (except you can't make things happen with the gps, you just get the next clue when you reach your destination). Yes you can walk around and see all the same stuff with out paying $14, but a lot of kids enjoy solving the clues to get the next step. In Epcot you could see all the same stuff with out the kim possible phone, but it was my kids favorite part of the park. It adds an element of fun to something that could be a bit boring for kids.
The people we know who have done it really enjoyed it! I guess it's not for everyone though!

 

[golfgal]

The spy in the City is a lot like the Kim Possible missions in Epcot (except you can't make things happen with the gps, you just get the next clue when you reach your destination). Yes you can walk around and see all the same stuff with out paying $14, but a lot of kids enjoy solving the clues to get the next step. In Epcot you could see all the same stuff with out the kim possible phone, but it was my kids favorite part of the park. It adds an element of fun to something that could be a bit boring for kids.
The people we know who have done it really enjoyed it! I guess it's not for everyone though!

When we were planning our trip last summer I asked about it and the general consensus was that it wasn't worth the money.

 

[monkeybug]

We love the American History Museum too! And I second the recommendation for Old Ebbitt Grill.
There is also a great tapas restaurant near the spy museum called Jaleo's , it's super good! Probably not for really young kids, but for older kids should be fine.
The tour mobile is not a trolley, more of a bus I guess. The drivers do talk about each of the monuments and other attractions, but it's mostly just a way to get from one place to another with out having to walk, and with out needing to stick to a schedule. Most of the attractions are right near each other though, so we only used it for when family was visiting and they wanted to see everything (and we get free tickets). I wouldn't recommend it if you don't plan on hitting up the things that are a bit farther out (like the Jefferson memorial and Arlington), or unless it's super hot and humid.

 

[goofy's friends]

Monkeybug, we will have a car. Is that easier or should we park it and ride the bus/trolley? I have a feeling parking could be a nightmare. LOL at the opposite views of the tour, I guess I will defer to my kiddos and see what they think!

 

[Avery&Todd]

I did a lot of planning for a trip we were supposed to take to DC next Thursday!! But 2 weeks ago, DH said.."cancel DC, lets go to Disney"!!

So, that's what I did!!

anyway..we were going to do the Musuem of Natural History, American History, Air & Space, we had a tour of the Capital and I had signed us up for a tour of the White House by getting in touch with my "local Congressman" LAST August, but we still didnt get it.... - I think that may be why DH wanted me to cancel the trip..

We were also planning on the Spy Musuem and my DH's favorite....The Bureau of Engraving - where they make the money!! but those tour tickets are also given out through your "local Congressman" are gone about a year ahead of time..but you can get daily "free" tickets each morning - there is info on their "tour" tab on where to get them.

http://www.moneyfactory.gov/


I wouldnt suggest driving if you were doing the Smithsonians - there is craziness down there - but there is a HUGE parking deck at Union Station (where the food & shopping is) and if you go to Arlington Cemetary (which is touching) they have tons of "pay for" parking.

We were going to stay in Alexandria and they have a "water tour of the Monuments" where you can take a boat tour and they even a have a night cruise!! Here's their website..

http://www.potomacriverboatco.com/monuments-cruise.php

ummm...let me see what else did I learn...

oh, and I'd also heard that the Air & Space Museum not at "the Mall" was better..oh, and you can visit the "Castle" at "the Mall" which is where they have all the pamplets on the area and it was mentioned in the 2nd "Night at the Museum" movie...

and wear good shoes - lots of walking!!!

 

[goofy's friends]

Just in case anyone is interest....a short trip report. We had a great time, but it was hotter than hades and we could NOT believe the crowds---shoulder to shoulder people the whole time. If we go back, we would try to go in the spring.

Day1: We were coming from Williamsburg (which was my favorite part of the whole trip), so we went to Mount Vernon on the way in to DC. We arrived at 12:30 and walked straight in to the mansion. Wow--there were huge lines when we got out, so just blessed I guess! Mount Vernon was really wonderful and made an impact on my kids. We couldn't get into the National Treasure tour (which we knew ahead of time and is why we showed up later). We left Mt. Vernon at closing time and headed into the city. Ate a cheap dinner and drove to see the monuments. We got out and walked up to the Lincoln Memorial, walked down the mall to the WW2 memorial, came back to the car by way of the Korean Memorial. All were very impressive and we were glad to see them in the cooler evening and the sunset was amazing. Great pics.

Day2: We took the subway and got off to see the White House before our tour at the Capitol. Both are beautiful. The new visitor center at the capitol is really nice and the tour was great with the video. I don't know how they get so many people through there. We took the tunnel to Library of Congress and that was the most amazing architecture I've ever seen besides Europe--it's a must see. We would have loved to spend more time here--there was a computer scavenger hunt the kids could go on and we will make time to do if we go back. We had to meet someone at 3, so couldn't stay. We headed to the American History Museum. It had some really fun things, but we were suprised there wasn't more to see there. DDs favorites were the inaugral dressed by the first ladies. We ate dinner and went to our Lincoln Assassination tour scheduled at 6:30 from the Ford's Theatre. This was my older kids' favorite thing we did in DC. Detective McDevitt walks you through town explaiing all the clues the came up with to solve the case. very interesting. LOTS OF WALKING after a tiring day is my only complaint there!

Day 3: We started in the zoo, hoping for cooler weather to be outside--wrong! If you can park in one of the first 2 parking lots, you can get in and see the pandas fast and get out. However, we had to park the farthest away and ended up being there way longer than intended. Next, was Ford's Theatre because we had thought we'd get to see it on the tour and didn't--we all wanted to see it and the Petersen house. From there we walked to the National Archives and saw the important and impressive documents. We walked to Natural History after that arriving around 3:30. We spent some time here, but wasn't our favorite. DS loved the dinosaurs and DDs loved the jewelry.

Day 4: We started out at Arlington Cemetery again hoping for cooler weather--WRONG again! It was too hot really and we tried to walk it instead of taking the tram--big mistake. Unknown soldier was a tearjerker and very moving. If my kids get nothing else out of this trip, I hope they got to understand a little bit of the sacrifices that were made for this country to come into being. We had to leave town at 3, so it ended up with all that walking, that we spent too long at the cemetery. The kids voted to do the Spy Museum (I voted for the National Cathedral and was outvoted!) The Spy Museum was very fun. Older DDs went on a spy misssion (pay extra) and loved it--said it was very realistic! Our favorite thing there is 007's car! Cool!

 

[minniebeth]

So glad you had a great trip! Hot and crowded is typical for this time of year. It sounds like you got to do a lot! I think as you reflect back on the trip and as the memories of the heat and crowds disperse, your memories will get even better!

Where did you eat? Lots of people always ask that question when looking for places in DC, we are always looking for new ideas too. We'll be there in 2 weeks!

...and glad you enjoyed Williamsbug!

 

[goofy's friends]

minniebeth, we tried to eat at Ebbitt's Grill, but the wait was 2 hours at 8:30. I'm sure it was worth the wait, but we couldn't do that with kids. We ate at food courts and things on the way, so no where exciting. Mainly fastfood. In Williamsburg, we did the tavern experience and that was great. We heard there is a similar tavern in Alexandria--Old Town. That would be a fun place to go.

 

[MidgeD79]

We leave 2 weeks from today for DC. I hope it's not too hot while we are there.

 

[Christine]

We leave 2 weeks from today for DC. I hope it's not too hot while we are there.

The heat wave just broke today and temps are going to be more normal, at least for the next 5 days. Hopefully it will not be 100 degree when you are here (which is what it has been for the past 3-4 days).

 

[eduk8r26]

DC by foot (dcbyfoot.com) is supposed to be a great tour. You pay in tips only and they are young people who infuse a lot of humor into their spiels. Also a great view of Washington is seen from the top of the old Postal Building.

 

[Stitchnut]

We are going to Dc for the first time in August. Thank you so much everyone for sharing your great suggestions and tips.