Posted on 03/18/2005 1:33:54 PM PST by Tunehead54
Bump. Thanks for putting this up. We are going the week of April 23-30, so I'm piggybacking on this advice.
Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Go there to walk down the brick sidewalks, admire the eighteenth-century architecture, have lunch at a seafood restaurant, take a boat tour of the Potomac, and then drive down the beautiful, scenic George Washington Parkway to Mount Vernon. After you return, have a candle-lit dinner at Gadsby's Tavern, where Washington ate. Much of the town is remarkably unchanged, though there is less horse manure there than there was 200 years ago. King Street is full of delightful shops. Historic Christ Church on Washington Street is where Washington owned a pew and where Bobby Lee was baptized and received his orders from the new Confederate government for the first time. His boyhood home (now in private hands) and the Lee-Fendall House are there; the latter is available for tours,too. An amazing city.
For you and all the other kind folks thanks for your help! ;-)
You may also enjoy a drive a few minutes north of Alexandria, on the GW Parkway. This is a gorgeous drive (though I would really recommend doing it in mid April rather than now) and there are two overlooks where you can stop the car and contemplate the river gorge of the Potomac and the lights of the city. Really splendid.
If you come back, you must also go upriver to Potomac, Maryland, where you can hike along the historic Chesapeake & Ohio Canal towpath. It will lead you on a route parallel to the river, and you can walk on on a wooden bridge that goes over some dramatic river gorges and then out to an aweing view of the Great Falls of the Potomac. In the summer you can also take a mule-drawn ride on one of the canal barges, which are steered by costumed docents. Continue your walk on the towpath about two miles southward on the towpath and you'll come to the Old Angler's Inn, which is where people in DC traditionally go to propose marriage. It's a fine restaurant with a fireplace in the cold weather months, outdoor eating in the warm weather months, and excellent food and wine at any time. NOT CHEAP, and not for kids. But the towpath hike/bike ride is great for getting the kids worn out. There are also lots of hiking paths in the highlands above the river, with maps furnished by helpful park rangers.
And then of course there are the Gettysburg, Manassas, Harper's Ferry, and Antietam National Battlefield Parks; the beautiful gardens of Dumbarton Oaks above Georgetown, a drive through Rock Creek Park, Annapolis, the Shenandoah Valley. . .
You will be horrified at the traffic. Do not drive anywhere except to Alexandria/Mount Vernon or out into the country, and certainly do not do that in rush hour. Use the Metro otherwise. It's clean, fast, and safe (though denizens of DC like to complain about it).
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