[Prairie Pubbie]

Our Freeper family is planning a family vacation ("kids" are 20 and 17) in May or June to DC. It will be our first visit there to see our national monuments! We're planning to stay 8 nights and leaning toward the Alexandria area. We would like the excellent, trustworthy help and advice of Freepers regarding ideas about where to stay (economical but nice & safe area), which airport to use, hints about the public transit system (we don't plan to rent a car), etc. Any advice or thoughts and experiences (must do's,things to avoid, great places to eat, etc.) would be greatly appreciated! We definitely won't be in Kansas anymore! This is the first thread I've ever started, so I apologize if I've done anything incorrectly.

[jwalsh07]

My advice, postpone the trip until Bush's inaugaral. It will be a site to behold.

[Arrowhead1952]

WTGPA, care to add any advice here? You probably know some great places to visit.

[RoseofTexas]

Definitely a MUST SEE is the Ford Theater!! You could almost feel the presence of President Lincoln there! Have fun!

[McGruff]

This is a useful thread. I'm bookmarking for possible trip with my family.

Question, the last time I was there in the 1980's the Moonies would be outside all the major attractions and really made me angry. Are they still there?

We also rode a bus type thing around the White house and museums. It was a quick way to see a lot of locations. Do they still exist?

[Prairie Pubbie]

Another BIG thanks to all you dear, patriotic Freepers! With your sage help this will be the best family vacation we've EVER taken!

[Moose4]

Well, I haven't been back up there in at least ten years, but here goes...

You're very smart not to take a car (but you might want one for a couple of days--see below). DC is hell to drive around in. For a city that's supposedly laid out in a nice simple grid pattern, it is surprisingly tough to maneuver through it. Between one-way streets and the infamous traffic circles (I still have post-traumatic stress from the first time I ever drove through Dupont Circle, and I don't mean from the locals on the street) it's better to park and take the subway.

Metro is nice--other people have provided links to the WMATA Metro site with maps and all. It's a bit expensive, but when I lived up there, it was very clean and safe and easy to navigate. Just be careful and plan your route ahead of time, and don't get off at the wrong station. If you fly into DCA (Washington Reagan National) you can get on the Metro right there. It covers most everywhere you need to go.

Take comfortable shoes. You will be walking A LOT. If you've never been to the National Mall area, you have no concept of just how bloody huge it is. And there's stuff to see on the entire length of it. The Smithsonian, the Vietnam Wall, the various monuments...it's amazing. And tiring!

I don't know how they handle visitors' galleries in Congress anymore, or at the Supreme Court, but on a high school field trip we got to go in for five minutes and watch a case being argued before the Supreme Court. They may still be doing that. Call your Congresscritter's office for more info, if you're interested.

Other non-Mall-area places of interest are the National Cathedral and National Zoo, both of which are close to Metro stops, and both worth a look. And Old Town Alexandria itself is pretty cool.

You might want to go ahead and rent a car for just a couple of days. Mount Vernon is several miles south of Old Town Alexandria and best accessible by car. Likewise, the new Air and Space Annex is way out at Washington Dulles International Airport, 20 miles out of town. There's a toll road right off Interstate 66 West that'll run you right out there. And if you feel like getting away from the city completely, go an hour west on I-66 and you're into the Shenendoah Valley up near Front Royal and Winchester--beautiful, beautiful country.

Don't go to DC in the summer. Go in May. DC is built on a swamp and it feels it after Memorial Day, it gets hotter than hell.

Just watch yourself like you would in any big city. Keep your money close, watch for pickpockets, etc. Don't wander too far. I think the town's better than it was when I lived in the area, but there are big chunks of DC that still qualify as "mismanaged crime-ridden drug-infested liberal-managed hellhole." Stick to the well-traveled areas, don't wander at night. And be ready for panhandlers outside the Metro stations.

DC, for all its faults, is a wonderful place to visit. Just use a good dollop of common sense, be careful, and you'll have a great time.

}:-)4

[VA is for Freepers]

I live near DC and concur with all recommendations. The great thing about DC is a lot of the tourist sites are free... from the monuments, museums to the National Zoo. Lunch for the four of you at a museum will set you back $40-$60 and the food will be cafeteria quality. Plan your site seeing with lunch in mind. Ford's Theatre, Union Station, and the Old Post Office are tourist attractions a little bit off the Mall with a variety of food options.

There are two other excellent tours:

FBI (J Edgar Hoover Building):
http://sc94.ameslab.gov/TOUR/fbi.html

Bureau of Engraving and Printing:
http://sc94.ameslab.gov/TOUR/engrave.html

Bring your best walking shoes...

Mike

[meowmeow]

When you ride the Metro escalators, STAND on the right side or WALK on the left side - especially during rush hours.

Old Town Alexandria is my favorite place to spend an evening.

There is a trolley service from Arlington Cemetery. Tickets are $20 I think for a day. It drives around and around The Mall and you can get on and off wherever you please, all day.

My favorites here: the Zoo, Air & Space Museum, American History Museum. Enjoy! We like tourists - as long as they are not standing on the left side of the escalators when it's time to go home.

[Tribune7]

The Smithsonian Institution is the greatest museum in the world and it's free. You can spend days in it.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Taxis are unusually cheap compared to most cities.

I plan to visit the NRA firearms museum next time, but haven't seen it yet, so can't guarantee.

The library of Congress is definitely worth a quick peek into the spectacular lobby, and your kids should see insude the Supreme Court buliding, just to know where all that nonsense comes from. Same for viewing Congress in session. Get tickets from your Congressman, and plan it for when your feet will need 30 minutes rest.

If you are a political junkie, ride the Senate subway, and see how many famous Con(gress)men you can spot.

The Holocaust Museum is a must.

[Little Ray]

Go see the National Air and Space Museum annex. This is where they keep the really cool stuff.

Also, visit the aircraft museum at Dulles.

Finally, you are not that far away from the Aberdeen proving ground with more cool weapons and vehicles.

[Inspectorette]

Went all the way to Post 86 - what a treasure trove of valuable info for anyone traveling to DC.

Hope some other Freepers who are traveling to other areas will post looking for advice too!

[Prairie Pubbie]

Bless you, Freepers! There can't be a better bunch of trip advisors in the whole world! Each post is VERY helpful!

[drb9]

If you're going to tour the White House (and who comes all the way to Washington and skips it?), you'll need to arrange a tour through your Congressman's office. The catch here is that you have to be a group of 10 or more. So, you'll need to submit names, dates of birth, and SSNs for 10 people in "your group." If those people get "sick" at the last minute and can't show up for the tour, that's their tough luck, but you'll still get to go. Wink wink.

[Joe Boucher]

National Cathederal, National Art Gallery, National air and space museum, Robert E. Lees' home in the middle of Arlington Cemetary, Have fun.

[Rebelbase]

I've been many times and have always stayed in Alexandria.

I agree with other who have said to use the Metro, its the most efficient way to get around town and there are a couple of stations in Alexandria to use.

Also, a day trip to Mt. Vernon will be well worth your time.

And, a side note, there is a pretty good cafeteria in the basement of the Sentate office building behind the Capitol building. Decent food and you have a chance of spotting some Senators. There is also an underground transport that runs between the senate building and the Capitol bld...small carriages that hold 4-6 people. My kids and I shared a ride in one with Senators Hal Heflin and Fred Thompson.

I was kind of funny, My son was about 8 or 9 and had a wallet with a chain to his belt. Hal Heflin asked him how much money he had in his wallet. My son pulled it out and opened it up to show him and Fred Thompson interrupted and said "Son, let this be a lesson, never open your wallet in front of a politician".

[Prairie Pubbie]

bttt;^)

[Rebelbase]

Oh yeah, I read another post and it reminded me....There are special tours of the White House avaiable by going through your congressman's office...its not the normal run of the mill touristy tour. Call them or write them and let them know you are coming to town and would like their help in arranging a visit.

[Stu Cohen]

I lived in DC for many, many years.

In the city, not the suburbs.

I would recommend staying in the city ... maybe the Comfort Inn in Chinatown (around the corner from the MCI Center), the Holiday Inn in Thomas Circle), or the Renaissance or Holiday Inn in Scott Circle.

Staying in Alexandia is kind of like visiting NYC and staying in New Jersey. I would stay in the city if you could. The rates aren't much higher.

In addition to the monuments (most locals don't consider many of those areas to even be in DC since it is mostly federal land and not city land) ... maybe you should check out the city itself.

Adams-Morgan (the most densely populated neighborhood with 100 resturants in a five square block area), Eastern Market, Dupont Circle, Georgetown, Columbia Heights (stop by Ben's at 15th & U St. for probably the best Chili Dogs you'll find anywhere), Woodley Park and the Zoo, Chinatown (we called it China Block cause it is very small), the Farragut Square Downtown area, etc.

You don't need a car. You can get to all of these places via Metrorail. It's a simple color-coded train system. Practically idiot-proof. As a matter of fact, you can walk between most places (like from Farragut to Dupont to Adams Morgan to Woodley Park).

See the monuments, then check out the actual city of DC.

[Trueblackman]

If you value the life of you and family, you will stay as far away from DC as possible.