What to see/do in DC?--adding trip reports, page 11 to start

[mominwestlake]

Golfgal, that is too bad about the American History Museum. I went quite awhile ago and really liked it. I wonder if they changed displays after they remodeled? I've never been to the Natural History Museum and am looking forward to visiting there in July.

I am impressed by all your travel by metro. Is it really as easy as you make it sound? I hope you get a lot done tomorrow!

 

[minniecarousel]

My younger DS & DDIL arrived in DC today. I hope they made some advance plans. They were both so busy at work lately, they may be winging it. I hope they get to see some of what they want. They leave from there on Friday to go to NY to visit with DDIL's mother and extended family.

 

[golfgal]

Golfgal, that is too bad about the American History Museum. I went quite awhile ago and really liked it. I wonder if they changed displays after they remodeled? I've never been to the Natural History Museum and am looking forward to visiting there in July.

I am impressed by all your travel by metro. Is it really as easy as you make it sound? I hope you get a lot done tomorrow!

The metro is simple. All you need to know is which direction to go and which stop to get off on. There are maps everywhere so it is easy to figure out. The hardest part is orienting yourself after you get out of a building to find the next metro stop

I know that they rotate a lot of the displays but I was expecting to see more at one time. They have some of the 1st ladies gowns, Kermit/Oscar, Dorothy's ruby slippers, Abe Lincoln's hat and suit and a few other things of his, the flag that inspired the National Anthem (nice display there). That is pretty much it. They have several trains, cars and other transportation modes. They have an old house from the 1700's to show what life was like then. I was expecting to see more movie props, presidential memorabilia, etc.

 

[golfgal]

Day 4:

We started at the Holocaust Museum. We reserved tickets online for the permanent exhibit and I was glad we did. We got there around 10:30 for our 11:00 entrance time and there wasn't a line but by 11:00 it was standing room only. It is an amazing museum. It took us about 2 hours to go through everything there.

We had a 3:10 tour of the Capital so we were trying to stay in that general area for lunch. We ended up eating at the Library of Congress cafeteria. It was a good place to eat, they had a great selection of food and the price wasn't too bad $35 for the 4 of us. We walked over to the Capital after that. We had about 30 minutes before we could line up for our tour so the kids and I went over to the Library of Congress main building-the cafe is in another building. That building is a MUST see--WOW!!! There is a tunnel connecting this to the Capital so it is easy to do both. The Capital tour is a waste of time. We got to see a movie about the history of the building, went to the Rotunda (which is beautiful) and the crypt, that's it. You can get passes to go into the House and the Senate buildings, which we didn't know, so if you go and want to see that, get the passes for that. We stopped by Claire McCaskill's office (Grandma and Grandpa live in Missouri) and Amy Klobuchar's office. While walking there DS16 got a text from his friend saying that the MN Supreme Court just ruled in favor of Franken so we now have 2 Senators again and no longer have to listen to (or PAY for the battle ),

After that the boys and Grandma and Grandpa went back to the hotel while DD14 and I went back to the Archives. We waiting in line, behind a very tired 2 year old and heard "Daddy, up, Daddy, up, Daddy, up" for 20 minutes before enough glaring eyes from all around prompted Daddy to pick the kid up. It isn't his fault you didn't bring a stroller . We finally got to see the documents-very cool. They are getting so faded, I wonder how long they will last?

We met the rest of our party back at the metro station and took the trolley into Old Town Alexandria for dinner and what we thought would be some shopping-most of the shops were closed for the evening though . It was PACKED downtown so that confused us. We tried to eat at a restaurant along the river but they were full. We ate at an Italian place, pretty good food, rude waiter though, then walked over to Pop's Ice Cream for dessert. That is a cute place. Then, hopped the trolley back to the hotel to bed.

Metro tip--walk to the front of the metro line to where the first 3 or so cars will stop. Those cars, even during rush hour, were usually close to empty. Yesterday was nice as most of the things we did were very close to metro stops so we didn't do quite as much walking. The area between the Lincoln memorial and the Washington memorial is not well serviced by the metro rail. If you don't want to walk that much, check into the bus schedules.

Today we have Mount Vernon on the schedule. We are still trying to figure out how to get there. We checked out the boat rides but didn't want to be limited to their time schedule, nor did we want to pay the $24-35 per person. I think we will take the metro then a bus.

 

[mominwestlake]

Golfgal, you are making the most of your trip! I am impressed. How long did you have to wait for the Archives? Did your dd appreciate it?
Also, how did you arrange your tour of the Capitol? Was it through your congressperson or through the Capitol website? Last time we arranged ours through our congressional rep. His aid took us around and then dumped us when we finally could get into the gallery. I wish she had stayed and explained to us what we were seeing. I am not sure my kids appreciated it at all.
Are you doing the Supreme Court?
I have never been to Mount Vernon so I can't wait to hear your report. How is the weather there?
Hope you have a great day!

 

[jillyb]

I can't wait to see the Library of Congress! Thanks for the info on the food at the cafeteria there. Also, thanks for the Metro tip. Glad you finally got to see the Archives.

I was especially glad to hear about your tour of the Capitol. We aren't planning on doing the guided tour. I was thinking of just going to the Visitor Center, walk around and leave; same thing for the White House: just go to the Visitor Center. I've since taken both off of our itinerary because I just don't think it's going to be worth the trouble.

 

[Green Tea]

The attendants at the Metro are plentiful and willing to help. Just ask which train you need and which side of the platform.

 

[marathonmommy]

Two things we did last year that were really fun and 'must sees' in my mind:

the Duck Boat Tour was a fun thing to do before really investigating the city. It gave a great overview of things you want to see later, it was funny, and we "parked" under some planes taking off at the airport. Even little kids get a kick out of their bus turning into a boat. It's not likely I'll ever float on the Potomac without a Duck Boat.

The Korean War Memorial MUST be seen at night. It looks so real . . . we did one of the moonlight tours. It is breathtaking.

 

[torinsmom]

The attendants at the Metro are plentiful and willing to help. Just ask which train you need and which side of the platform.

I don't know? I had a bad experience with a metro employee; she was just as rude as could be and told me to look at the signs.

I also had a great experience when DS and I took the elevator down at the Woodley Park Station. Evidently, the last metro turnstile we went through did not print our balance on the ticket. We thought we had 2.25, but we only had .95. SO when we put the tickets through, it wouldn't take them and open. That turnstile is isolated by the tracks, with no attendants nearby. SO we pushed the help button the elevator and a nice attendant came down and let us through so we could go and put more money on our tickets. She could have made us go back up the elevator, across the street and down the escalator.

Before you take a trip on the metro, use their website to find what the route is. I used their trip planner. It will tell you what line and towards where(last station) In the station, just look on the poles for the color line you need and then on the platform, there will be the names of the last station to show you which side to stand on. There are also displays over the track that tells you trains coming in and how long til they come. THe trains also have the info on the side as they come in. It is a little confusing the first time or two but you get used to it.

Marsha

 

[Quiksilvr]

On my recent visits, the pattern was the opposite: stand right, walk left. Actually, SPRINT left, for the most part. Makes sense if you think about it -- that is the same rule that is used on US highways, where the slow lane is the far right.

In any case, pay attention to it, and get out of the way of people who are walking ASAP (especially be aware of where your children are standing -- they tend to be the worst offenders because they are too busy looking around.)

This is definitely the credited response. Stand right, walk left! I sprint sometimes... depends on whether my spidey-sense tells me the train I want is about to arrive. The tourists who crowd the escalator irritate me to no end. If it's one of the longer escalators I tell them to move. If it's a short escalator I just kinda seethe until it's over.

Last night I was out with my wife and a friend, and our friend was standing on the left every time we got on the escalator. I didn't say anything until someone was trying to get by and she had to move. I said "you've lived here for five years! you know you're supposed to stand on the right!" She was unapologetic. I guess she felt like being a rebel.

 

[TDC Nala]

On my recent visits, the pattern was the opposite: stand right, walk left. Actually, SPRINT left, for the most part. Makes sense if you think about it -- that is the same rule that is used on US highways, where the slow lane is the far right.

In any case, pay attention to it, and get out of the way of people who are walking ASAP (especially be aware of where your children are standing -- they tend to be the worst offenders because they are too busy looking around.)

As far as I know it is always stand right, walk left. And we commuters will let you know about it when you block the right side especially if you are descending to a platform and our train is pulling in.

 

[Green Tea]

Sometimes, even in the really deep stations like Woodley Park or Dupont Circle, the escalators are broken. I'm just saying.....(and huffing and puffing)

 

[jillyb]

Before you take a trip on the metro, use their website to find what the route is. I used their trip planner. It will tell you what line and towards where(last station) In the station, just look on the poles for the color line you need and then on the platform, there will be the names of the last station to show you which side to stand on. There are also displays over the track that tells you trains coming in and how long til they come. THe trains also have the info on the side as they come in. It is a little confusing the first time or two but you get used to it.

Marsha

I called them up and they sent me a packet of routes and other information about the Metro. I'll probably use their online trip planner too...cause I'm anal that way.

 

[The Princess]

How do I order tickets ahead for the Holocaust Museum?

 

[torinsmom]

I called them up and they sent me a packet of routes and other information about the Metro. I'll probably use their online trip planner too...cause I'm anal that way.

That trip planner really helped me. We planned out our day and I had it all typed up " Take Red line towards Shady Grove, get off at metro Center. Transfer to Blue line towards Largo and get off at Smithsonian" I even had the fare on there and added them all up(then added $5 to that total) to determine how much to put on the fare card.

Oh, make sure you have a map of the metro stops with you on the metro, because I don't think I understood the driver's announcements more than twice during our trip. You can either count the stops or watch out the window. The station names are on the wall.

Marsha

 

[TDC Nala]

That trip planner really helped me. We planned out our day and I had it all typed up " Take Red line towards Shady Grove, get off at metro Center. Transfer to Blue line towards Largo and get off at Smithsonian"

You could have also taken Orange line toward New Carrollton to Smithsonian. The Orange and Blue lines run on the same track while downtown.

 

[torinsmom]

You could have also taken Orange line toward New Carrollton to Smithsonian. The Orange and Blue lines run on the same track while downtown.

Yeah, but I was coming from Woodley Park and they only have the red line.

Marsha

 

[Nancy for Disney]

How do I order tickets ahead for the Holocaust Museum?

Go to their website. http://www.ushmm.org/visit/
Go down about halfway on the page and there is a link to tickets.com.

 

[golfgal]

Golfgal, you are making the most of your trip! I am impressed. How long did you have to wait for the Archives? Did your dd appreciate it?
Also, how did you arrange your tour of the Capitol? Was it through your congressperson or through the Capitol website? Last time we arranged ours through our congressional rep. His aid took us around and then dumped us when we finally could get into the gallery. I wish she had stayed and explained to us what we were seeing. I am not sure my kids appreciated it at all.
Are you doing the Supreme Court?
I have never been to Mount Vernon so I can't wait to hear your report. How is the weather there?
Hope you have a great day!

I think we waiting about 40 minutes for the Archives. My Dad arranged our Capital Tour with his Congressperson. I thought we were getting a personal tour, so did he. I am sure he will give Claire a call on Monday to let her know we didn't .

OK DAY 5:

The free internet at the hotel stopped at the end of June and I wasn't paying $10/day to go on the internet.

Mount Vernon-I LOVED Mount Vernon. We took the Metro out to Huntington Station and caught the bus from there. It was $1.35/person each way on the bus, way better then the $35 for the boat trip. We got there just in time, about 10:30-11:00 or so. We skipped all the visitor center stuff and headed right for the mansion. We had to wait about 20 minutes to get in there and by the time we were done with the tour the line was at least an hour long, in the SUN. If you go, bring a small umbrella or something for shade while waiting in line.

The tour itself was great. They have a docent in each room telling you the history, what happened, etc. The kids kept saying "George Washington sat here", "George Washington walked up these stairs", etc. You could FEEL the plantation and the workings. It is just amazing. If you get a chance, catch Martha Washington in the Martha Theater-we stumbled upon this. The actress is AMAZING. She is needlepointing and just talking like you are a visitor to the mansion. She asked where people were from and when she got to me and I said Minnesota she gave me this blank stare-it was PERFECT as there was no MN then. I told her "Indian Country". She then said "you know, I think George's Great Grandnephew Merriweather Lewis and his friend were going out to survey someplace that she thought was Minnesota.

We ate at the Mount Vernon Inn. They also have a food court in the visitor center. The food at the Inn was very good. I had turkey pot pie.

We went back to the hotel and everyone was pretty wipped out so we didn't do much. The boys stayed at the hotel for the evening and DD, Grandma and Grandpa and I went into Old Town for dinner. We got caught in a downpour after dinner so we stopped at the CVC Pharmacy and bought umbrellas.

Coming up: Spy Museum and Georgetown

 

[golfgal]

Day 6:

We had tickets to the Spy Museum but Grandma and Grandpa did not want to go so the kids and I went. Waste of time. It would have been fun if the kids were like 8 or 9. It is a pumped up Children's Museum basically. We were in and out of there in about 30 minutes. We decided to go to the Natural History Museum. DS16 loved this museum. He wanted to stay longer but we had to meet Grandma and Grandpa in Georgetown for lunch.

We took the metro to Foggy Bottom, caught a bus over to Georgetown. That was not like I was expecting either. I was expecting a quaint, tree lined town, not the hustle and bustle you saw there--traffic is CRAZY there. We at at 5 Guy's. The french fries there were amazing. The burgers are pretty good too. If you like burgers and fries it is worth a stop to one of these places.

We got on the bus after lunch to head back into DC. We got caught up in traffic to find that there was a huge sink hole in the road so we got off the bus and walked to the metro stop. We took the metro to the White House and got some great pictures. We went to the front of the White House, took a bunch of pictures and then around to the back. We had to wait a bit to get to the back-something was going on on the lawn. We took pictures and then went over to the White House Visitor Center.

We headed back to the hotel and got some pizza for dinner and crashed. I think we walked about 100 miles last week. The metro is a great way to get around. We got a 7 day unlimited pass and that was slick. I am sure we got our moneys worth out of that pass.

We had left this morning open if we wanted to go back and see something but we were just too tired so we hung out at the hotel this morning and then took the metro over to the airport. Our fights were on time so that is always a plus. I thought I might have seen Marine One landing at the airport when we took off but looking at the news reports for the Obama's plans this weekend I don't think it was.

All in all it was a great trip. Too bad Dh had to miss it. The kids' favorite thing was the Holocaust Museum and Mount Vernon. I think the Archives were my favorite and Mount Vernon after that.