So three days from now, I should be safely landed in Virginia with my luggage picked up from the Baggage Carousel, and waiting in line for a Taxi to our hotel in Downtown DC. I have had a request for our itinerary so that others can follow along vicariously. As I stated on another forum as we only have three ADRs and still no tour reservations
these plans are more a guideline. And not part of the pirate code.
Itinerary
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
9:25AM flight out of LAX on American Airlines, this means we need to be at the airport by 7AM maybe even 6:30 so I have time to drop Fran off at the curb with our luggage scooters, and then go park the car!
Arrive Dulles around 5:20PM, catch an accessible taxi to our Downtown Hotel, I estimate two hours.
There is a Whole Foods less than a mile away, other than that the closest restaurants are all very ethnic and probably more than we are up for after a long day of flying. Theres not even a fast food restaurant within a mile of our hotel, so Whole Foods or CVS is it for dinner for us!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Our hotel has a complimentary breakfast.
so well hit that between 6 & 9 AM. Our plan is to visit a Smithsonian Museum, and based on my analysis of the exhibits and our ratings (dont ask, its way too OCD over the top!
), the Museum of American History wins for the first day. That means Julia Childs Kitchen, the lunch box exhibit and many other interesting things.
Hopefully well take a night city tour, but since we havent booked it yet, I doubt it will happen, we may just retire to the room and call tour companies to book one for later in the trip.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
This was the day that we planned to take a city tour for the day, but we have not booked it. All the guide books say that if you need an accessible tour, you need to book it days in advance. Technically we have a few more days, but time is running out, so maybe well end up at a Smithsonian again. The next one up is the Natural History Museum, but perhaps there is still time to book the city tour, cool.
This is the night that we have an ADR at Kinkeads. This is one of the top seafood restaurants in DC, Ive read countless reviews of the place and though it is pricey, everyone has said it is worth the price. Im looking forward to this dinner.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Again we plan this day to visit one of the Smithsonian Museums, possibly the American Indian Museum as it has less galleries than most of the others. You see today we are picking up our rental car at 3PM in preparation for the remainder of our trip. Once we get the rental car we plan on visiting the Spy Museum. It is open much later than many of the others so we plan to stay until 9PM when they close. I have made a reservation at a Brazilian Steakhouse (Churrascaria) Fogo de Chao for 9:30PM as it is only a few blocks from the Spy Museum. After a late night, well head back to the room and pack up for transfer the next morning.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
This day we will transfer hotels. We will move from Downtown DC to Alexandria, VA. I am hoping that the pace will be a little slower out in the burbs. I know that a Downtown hotel will drive me nuts after a few days, and I will relish a hotel with free self parking. The ability to come and go with our own car will be much more comfortable than a hotel where we are dependent on public transportation and cabs.
We actually have no plans for this day, other than we need to hit a supermarket because we will be cooking in the room a couple nights while in Alexandria. Im sure Fran will come up with some ideas of what to do!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
This is Easter Sunday and we are hoping that most people will be in church, at brunch or planning for Easter Supper. Instead we plan on visiting one of the Smithsonian Museums. This time perhaps the Museum of Natural History, where they have the Hope Diamond on display, and were also interested in the fossils and dinosaurs. After the museum well go back to our hotel, do some laundry and make spaghetti for dinner.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Writing up this itinerary has caused me to rethink our plans, and I have moved Mondays activity to Tuesday. As a result the majority of this day is free. Our only obligation is dinner at Gadsbys Tavern, a place where many famous people have dined including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison & James Monroe. The building was built in the late 1700s and while it has not been in continuous operation (the Union Oyster House in Boston bears that distinction of continuous operation since 1826, and we have also eaten there), the restaurant and museum are kept in business through a lease to modern restaurant entrepreneurs. It serves a Continental Menu with some Traditional Tavern Favorites.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Well get an early start this morning because we plan to drive to Fredericksburg (about 45 miles south) to visit the Old Town, Museums and Battlefield. This was a significant battle as it was one of the most one-sided conflicts of the Civil War. The North suffered twice as many casualties as the South due to delays in the arrival of the pontoon bridges, thus allowing the South to further entrench themselves and defend against the North. This will be an all day trip and well probably catch our meals as we can either fixing dinner in the room when we get home, or if were starving hit a drive through.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Travel home day. Always bittersweet on vacation, on the one hand we miss our kitties and want to go home, but also enjoy sightseeing and our travels. Check out is at noon, but our plane doesnt leave until 6:20PM so we have until around 3PM before we need to head to the airport. Who knows leisurely lunch, shopping
Thats it, anyone with any suggestions or has any more information, let me know!
Thanks!
