Washington, DC Area DISers, Need Help Pls

[keishashadow]

OT re Disney planning- sorry; can't find answer anywhere...thought i'd ask the DISboard DC homies

Im considering a short trip to DC end of July (yep, i know, it'll be muggier than WDW)

Don't want to drive the beltway (yep, im chicken too)

Looked @ map & it seems Rockville, MD, or Reston/Dunn Loring, VA, might work as hotel base for couple night stay to visit the monuments; replying soley upon using metro rail into DC.

Map in guidebook im looking @ (frommers) seems to show that the red line metro goes to/near Rockville, MD & the yellow line passes near Reston/Dunn Loring (?) VA so i guess either would work?

please correct me if im wrong.

Rockville would be shorter drive for us & I seem to recall Reston/Dunn Loring is near airport (dulles?), if so i'd want to avoid that area too

Which of the two towns would u pick?

 

[pepperw23]

I asked a friend of mine that lives in Fairfax. She said Rockville would be better...less hectic too.

 

[librarygal]

I live near the Dunn Loring Metro (which is nowhere near Reston) and it is pretty long haul into the city. I would look for a Priceline hotel in Alexandria or Arlington.

 

[keishashadow]

I asked a friend of mine that lives in Fairfax. She said Rockville would be better...less hectic too.

appreciate itim a white-knuckle driver on the beltway, figured better to skip it entirely & spend extra time on metro

bethesda looked promising, yet would have to figure out how to reach backroads, probably not worth it.

re alexandria & arlington mapquest increase driving time substantially to those areas - traffic maybe?

 

[judowoman]

Definetly Rockville!

 

[keishashadow]

thanx

 

[Donut23]

How about.....

Find a hotel near the Mall in downtown DC. Park outside the city and take the Metro downtown for the weekend.

First.....(I just posted on another thread)......hotels which normally cater to business travelers often have rooms available for the weekend for far less $$$ on the weekend.

Checkout Google Maps - enter the prospective hotels address and checkout how close you are to a Metro station.

The advantage of being downtown....you will avoid a long subway ride to and from the city. If you have a good hotel location....you can walk to the mall - plenty to do there....or pickup a tour bus and travel wherever.


2 winters ago we stayed downtown for Valentines weekend....Hamilton (a Crown Plaza hotel). Now it WAS winter....but we had a standard room for $109 p/night.....$365 later during the week. The hotel makes it's $$$ from the business traveler.

It was 1 block from the metro station....walking distance to restaurants AND only 2 blocks from the White House. GREAT weekend!

 

[keishashadow]

thanx for the suggestion

i hadn't considered as I thought you could only park in metro lot for 'the day' & even then figured it'd be how it is here with an hourly parking fee?

is it free to park @ the metro stations for several days @ a time & would my car still be there when we got back (security)?

 

[Donut23]

thanx for the suggestion

i hadn't considered as I thought you could only park in metro lot for 'the day' & even then figured it'd be how it is here with an hourly parking fee?

is it free to park @ the metro stations for several days @ a time & would my car still be there when we got back (security)?

WAIT WAIT WAIT - even BETTER idea!!!

Drive to the Amtrak station at BWI Airport. There are two VERY BIG parking garages there. Your car will be safe here.

Buy a train ticket from BWI Rail station to Union Station (downtown DC across from the Capital Building). From Union Station it's a quick cab ride to anyplace or just transfer in Union Station to the Metro to your hotel.

Union Station is big, renovated building, plenty of places to grab a bite and right in the middle of everything.

This will be a very easy solution......you will be downtown for your vacation (no commuting) and will be easy-easy-easy.

When I travel to Manhattan for business or pleasure....I leave my car here.


Buy your ticket online at the Amtrak website....print out your ticket at the kiosk when you arrive at the station. It's a small train station...bathrooms, tiny place to grab a sandwich, soda, snack....AC seating to wait for your train. AAA discounts available.

If you happen to see a short lady walking a terrier with a scarf....that's ME waiting for my DH to return from NYC.

 

[rgf207]

Rockville is much better. There is a Red Line metro station nearby. The hotel may even offer free transport to the metro. Should be about a 30 minute metro ride into the city. When I worked in DC, I got off at the Farragut North station and walked to the White House. Not a bad walk either.

 

[GranddadTom]

I live just north of Rockville. There are really three pretty good options for what you want to do - they are the last three stops on the Red Metro Line. These are 1) the Shady Grove Road area, 2) the Rockville area, and 3) the Twinbrook area. The easiest to get to from I-270 (which is the highway you will be coming to Washington on) is Shady Grove - several nice hotels right there at the exit and a short drive down Shady Grove Road to the Metro parking lot. There are places to stay in downtown Rockville but I wouldn't recommend staying there. Twinbrook is a little more involved getting to from I-270 (but not bad) but there are several nice hotels within walking distance of the Twinbrook Metro station there. My recommendation would be to look in the Twinbrook area first.

 

[LoveKermit]

I like the BWI/Amtrak idea.

Union Station is super easy to navigate and I think the red line is what you catch there (maybe others). I remember there is a Johnny Rockets but I think there are also some sandwichy places as well.

And the capital is literally two blocks away.

Good luck!

 

[keishashadow]

im printing this thread out, have many (other) options now to consider, thank you all!

airfare is currently cheap into BWI from PIT, it might be cheaper to just fly than drive depending on price of gas then! cool

donut i will keep an eye out & shout 'hey if I manage to pull the trip together!

 

[jparc]

Do Rockville if you go the metro route especially if you want to avoid the beltway( anywhere you go in VA close to DC you would have to take the beltway or drive through DC- the next closest crossing into VA is 40 minutes west out where I live).... Reston itself isn't close to the metro and they are currently begining work on extending metro to Tysons Corner and dulles airport/Reston so in the last couple of weeks there have been several closings on that orange line.

 

[Donut23]

I like the BWI/Amtrak idea.

Union Station is super easy to navigate and I think the red line is what you catch there (maybe others). I remember there is a Johnny Rockets but I think there are also some sandwichy places as well.

And the capital is literally two blocks away.

Good luck!

The cool thing about Union Station....when you come up to ground level and walk outside....you are in the middle of EVERYTHING you want to see. Like walking under the train station at MK and squirting out onto Main Street.

You will save yourself over an hour a day by staying in the city.....like staying at a Disney Resort vs. a resort complex outside WDW......want to go back to the room for a break from the heat for an hour or so.....it will not involve long subway rides and shuttles.

I know, I know.......staying in downtown was my idea...but I still like it.

 

[Donut23]

im printing this thread out, have many (other) options now to consider, thank you all!

airfare is currently cheap into BWI from PIT, it might be cheaper to just fly than drive depending on price of gas then! cool

donut i will keep an eye out & shout 'hey if I manage to pull the trip together!

You are welcome to PM me if you have any questions. I'll be away from my laptop toward the end of June but otherwise -- ask away.

Best airport to fly into DC is Reagan National. The Metro goes to Reagan National and you can ride into the city easily.

If Airfare is better into BWI.....there is a FREE shuttle from the airport to the BWI rail station -- runs all day.

Good luck!


Take the on-off tour bus for the day (or two). It goes out to Arlington National Cemetary (formerly Robert E Lee's home--actually his wifes.) Anyway, it was concecrated as a National Cemetary following the battle of Gettysburg and fallen union soldiers were buried surrounding Lee Mansion. The tour is beautiful, emotionally powerful and reminds us of the meaning of "The last full measure of devotion.....A. Lincoln, Gettysburg Address). Don't miss the tomb of the unknowns.

Museum of American History opened a few years ago after a big rehab. The actual flag which flew over Ft. McHenry during the battle of baltimore has been restored and on display. It is the very fabric that a young prisioner onboard a British Man-O-War looked for desperatly that lonely night. The british were bombing Ft. McHenry - entrance to baltimore harbor. In the morning, when the flag was still flying, Frances Scott Key, overwhelmed with joy that his young nation had prevailed, wrote the lyrics which became the Star Spangled Banner. The actual flag is right there in the museum - carefully restored.

Also....First Ladies Gowns in the museum of American History.

The new visitors center for the US Capital Building is now open. Take the tour, well worth the time.

You will be a short walk from the Air and Space Museum...don't miss it.

Then start walking down the mall....Washington Monument....walk to the WW11 memorial. Look around, you will often see a veteran or two, lost in their memories. Be sure to walk up to them and say......Thank You.

Continue and don't miss the Viet Nam memorial - blink back tears....this one is powerful.

Korea memorial is across on the other side of the reflection pool but walk ahead and say hello to President Lincoln. Read his Gettysburg address. He followed a speaker that day who spoke for over 2 hours. Then Lincoln rose, and spoke his 2 minutes of words...one of the best speaches ever written..and he thought he had failed. we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.

I didn't even scratch the surface of what there is to see and do in DC.

Have a wonderful time.

 

[uva185]

I would be inclined to avoid taking the Metro from the suburbs to downtown everyday for your vacation...

The whole Metro system has been having problems but for some reason the Red Line is having more problems (I think its the oldest line). They are doing track maintenance on the weekends and the wait for trains (especially in the suburbs) can be hefty. Sometimes they have to "single track" or even shut down both directions certain times of the day. Not fun!

From the Metro website...
Multi-day parking is available at three stations: Greenbelt, Huntington, and Franconia-Springfield. Each of these stations has between 15 and 17 spaces allocated for multi-day use of up to 10 days. Availability is on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no charge for multi-day parking beyond the regular fee, paid with a SmarTrip card on the day of exit if exiting during collection hours (10:30 a.m. - midnight on Monday - Thursday, and 10:30 a.m. - 3 a.m. Friday).

 

[DEA]

OT re Disney planning- sorry; can't find answer anywhere...thought i'd ask the DISboard DC homies

Im considering a short trip to DC end of July (yep, i know, it'll be muggier than WDW)

Map in guidebook im looking @ (frommers) seems to show that the red line metro goes to/near Rockville, MD & the yellow line passes near Reston/Dunn Loring (?) VA so i guess either would work?

please correct me if im wrong.

Sorry, just did a quick read-through and didn't see anyone correct this. The Orange Line is the one that heads out to Dunn Loring and points West, not the Yellow Line (which heads south of DC down to Reagan-National Airport and points South).

And, I'd suggest staying in closer to the city than either of these options, anyway. Trying to get into the city from the suburbs during your vacation will put you in competition with every Metro-riding commuter coming in for work. They are generally docile, but don't stand on the left side of an escalator, or you could end up on the receiving end of muttered curses and rolled eyes. In general, it is not a relaxing way to travel unless you steer well clear of rush hours.

 

[keishashadow]

thanx again all

donut, appreciate the offer, will do if i get stuck planning

 

[MS_mom_1965]

Several nice hotels within a couple blocks of Union Station. Weekend rates are pretty good - but during the week rates are sky high! I stayed at Liaison with my family, but there are 3 or 4 others nearby too.

Try Washington.org for good rates.