to check out whether a hotel is in a good area, I use "www.tripadvisor.com" and I look for the "forum" for the city. Local experts are willing to answer questions and folks also post reviews/experiences of their stay at different hotels. The "washington d.c." forum helped me a lot when I checked it.
Several issues to keep in mind: you'll probably want to be close to a metro station if possible, or get a hotel that will shuttle you to a station, as driving/parking will not be easy that day. Second, check on the cost of parking at your hotel; some tack on an extra $10 to $20 per day!!
Thought y'all would enjoy this suggested cadence for use at the sites AWAY from the Memorial. It beats "swim to cuba" in my personal opinion :-) This was posted on www.usvetdsp.com/eagle
"I dont know but I've been told
Hanoi Jane is getting old.
Look there at that wrinkled bag
man she is a nasty hag.
I remember back in the day
she made love to a tripple A
We know she's a trator
That's why we hate her!
Sound off!
One Two!
Sound OFF!
Three Four!
Sound off!
One Two Three Four! LETS GO!!!"
Thanks for the info. I'm pretty much down to 2 hotels to choose from, and one is a block from a metro station. The other is a little further, but a shuttle runs from the hotel.
Our other big decision is driving 11 hours with the kids (11, 7 and 5) or leaving them with grandparents? The 11 yr old won't have it, the 7 year old would slaughter us if we went to any war memorials and didn't take him, and the 5 yr old wouldn't want to be left behind. We've tried to explain to them how quick our trip will be, but oh well. The cause is just and so some inconvenience on their (and our) part is nothing compared to what our soldiers went through in previous wars, and are going through right now.
I know I am getting excited!
Thanks again.