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General => General Discussion => Topic started by: bosk1 on June 03, 2021, 12:11:21 AM
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We have been trying to get there with the kids for the past 3 years, Spy and it keeps not happening. So we are doing it this year. Bringing an 18-year-old, 16-year-old, and 11-year-old. My wife and I have each been there a couple of times and have seen a few things. But there is still so much more.
Some of the things we are considering:
-Nighttime monuments tour (this is practically mandatory)
-Daytime stroll from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, and visit any important monuments we missed or want to see in the daytime
-Spy Museum
-Holocaust Museum
-Colonial Williamsburg (may stay an extra day and hit Busch Gardens for a fun change of pace the kids may enjoy)
-Jamestown
-Mt. Vernon (VERY likely, since my wife and I both love it)
-Montecello
Any other suggestions? Things to see/do? Places to eat? Other?
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There's a restaurant down there called The Founding Farmers that's great for breakfast.
The Air and Space museum should be on your list too!
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Any parts of the Smithsonian are worthwhile. The National Gallery of Art is also worth a trip.
Further north to Baltimore might be fun to check out. The Harbor is fun if its a nice day out, plus you have the Walter's Art Gallery, Fort McHenry, the Science Center, etc.
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There's almost too much to do, and a lot of it is subjective, based on what you like to do.
I'm a fan of the Air and Space Museum; the new 'wing' out at Dulles Airport is worth the trip for the larger craft (especially for the "space" part). I'm a fan of the Museum of Modern History. I enjoyed the Spy Museum a LOT, but that's sort of my thing. I get a lot of pleasure from seeing history, so viewing the Charters of Freedom (the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights) at the National Archives is special. We're thinking about going back soon; I would want to focus on some of the older buildings in the District. I also want to tour the White House and am thinking of calling in a favor or two through my Congressperson. I don't care about meeting a President (well, I do, but not tied to this trip) but I have a dream of stepping foot in the Oval Office. It's one of those things that I think it would be cool to say (like I can say I've stood on Stage 8H, where Saturday Night Live is taped).
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There is not enough time for every Smithsonian building for sure. I'd suggest to look at what's in each building and prioritize what few you'd like to see.
Camden Yards is only 55 minutes from DC and it's a beautiful baseball park and surrounding area. Maybe the Orioles are there that week.
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Washington D.C. was our last trip back in 2019, and we did a lot of the things on your list.
How much time do you have? We had about three days in D.C. and our days were packed. We would do three or four things per day, and by the end of the day we'd just try and find someplace to eat and crash, trying to get some sleep for the next day.
The Spy Museum in particular was great and a lot of fun, probably my favorite on the trip. Holocaust museum was sobering and impactful, as you would expect. I did Jamestown and Monticello on another trip, but remember both of those and think they were worth seeing. Personally, I enjoyed Monticello more than Mt. Vernon because Monticello seemed more architecturally interesting to me.
We did do Air and Space Museum, which was good but iirc some planes/exhibits were at another location that we didn't travel to. Also did American History Museum, which wasn't bad but probably the least interesting of the museums we went to. We also might've just been burned out at the time.
Arlington Cemetery was a good trip, if that's your thing. Saw the Tomb of the Unknown solider and other notables. However, if it is hot, maybe opt for the covered tour. I'm pretty sure it was over 90 degrees when we went and the walk started to get quite long in that heat.
We took a tour of the Capitol, which was alright. I was probably more interested in seeing the Declaration and Constitution at the Archives (again, if I'm remembering correctly) which was right off the mall. We were able to pop in there and get out in about 30 minutes, so it was a nice side stop.
The Mall/Monuments at night is a HUGE must, as you already know. Probably the most memorable moments from the trip. I had little knowledge of it before my trip, but the WWII memorial ended up being one of my favorites.
The nice thing is that a lot of the national monuments and museums are free. It was nice to be able to just pop into a museum or building if we were curious. However, not sure if they'll have reserved times with COVID guidelines, depending on when you're going.
Our biggest mistake was that we stayed too far from 95% of the attractions we wanted to see. I looked at a map and booked a hotel just north of the White House. Obviously my sense of scale was off that day, because it ended up being quite a long walk to start each day. That was nice on the first day, but every subsequent day we just wanted to get to where we were going. We did have a car, but figured that since we'd be bouncing around so many places, we didn't want to think about parking. Our only other regret was just that we should have taken an extra day and spaced things out a bit more.
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I started on this when there were no responses. I’ll still include what I had written, just to confirm the prior picks. We consider DC is our ‘3rd home’, just behind NYC.
(as mentioned earlier, not sure of the C19 restrictions at various locations)
National Museum of African American History and Culture: Five stars. A somber and sobering experience.
National Portrait Gallery: Five stars. https://npg.si.edu/
Smithsonian, Air and Space Museum: Five stars.
Ford Theatre …a definite. You will need tix ahead of time. The tour only lasts less than an hour. Show up a bit early to see the artifacts in the museum https://www.fords.org/
Peterson House (where Lincoln died) https://www.fords.org/visit/welcome-back/ Optional, and currently closed.
Warner Theater walk by, a couple of blocks west of Ford Theater. https://www.warnertheatredc.com/ with a McD’s just to the north on F Street. I’ve seen Dream Theater perform there three times.
The Elephant & Castle restaurant – where we hosted the largest turnout for a Dream Theater preshow gathering.
Spy Museum: Five stars (my wife would give it six).
Capitol One Arena is a few blocks away, Chinatown a few blocks from there. Subway and other fast food joints nearby. You could also blow your entire food budget at the Capitol Grille 😉
Nationals Stadium (and grab a Ben’s Chili Dog or three). Ben’s Chili Bowl is up on U St.NW.
FDR Memorial – lovely walk along the Potomac, and very few people most of the time.
Paddle boat rentals from Tidal Basin on the Potomac. Relaxing and something different. https://boatingindc.com/boathouses/tidal-basin/
Sadly, not sure how close you can even get to the Capitol or WH these days. We did tour both back in 2016.
Mt. Vernon: we did a nighttime wine and cheese visit. Five stars.
Arlington National Cemetery and the Vietnam War Memorial.
I would suggest Camden Yards in Baltimore, but it looks like your other trip destinations are south of DC. Also...if you were going to a night game, it would take two hours due to the snail hour traffic.
If you are taking I-66 / US 29 to/from Charlottesville-DC for your Monticello visit, stop in at the Northside 29 Diner: https://www.northside29.com/
A good time for a pit stop. Moderate prices, excellent comfort food. It was our stopping point when visiting my stepdaughter at UVa, and I continued to do so when Central Michigan or Maryland would play football in Charlottesville.
Monticello: Five stars
Also…..best to use Lyft or Uber or taxis. Depending on the day of the week, finding parking spaces after 8 or 9am is near impossible. Or, you find one and end up many blocks away. Besides, with the different ‘quadrants’, it can be a real PITA if you’ve never been there before.
Enjoy!
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There's a restaurant down there called The Founding Farmers that's great for breakfast.
The Air and Space museum should be on your list too!
Agree. There's two of them: one in DC along the Mall, and one out near Dulles called the Udvar-Hazy Center. The UHC is an absolute must. The Enola Gay is there, along with MANY other historical airplanes.
(https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/26771_1252952844507_5864476_n.jpg?_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=cdbe9c&_nc_ohc=6HCqGEHDp0YAX_xkkeJ&tn=ZfSsT23eKKrFQwef&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.xx&oh=69f9e81cd6f300d72416b9ea57d67a60&oe=60DDF841)
(https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/26771_1252953084513_3290029_n.jpg?_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=cdbe9c&_nc_ohc=FpPkxs_oOqYAX8X7C7k&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=b19262f5e7cd5bb8e01b5252ce8cb248&oe=60DD17F9)
Anything else I'd suggest has already been mentioned. Have fun!
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There's a restaurant down there called The Founding Farmers that's great for breakfast.
The Air and Space museum should be on your list too!
Agree. There's two of them: one in DC along the Mall, and one out near Dulles called the Udvar-Hazy Center. The UHC is an absolute must. The Enola Gay is there, along with MANY other historical airplanes.
Anything else I'd suggest has already been mentioned. Have fun!
If memory serves me right there's a Blackbird and a Shuttle there as well. It's been 19+ years since I've been to that one.
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Night tour of the monuments sounds awesome.
Hopefully you aren't too exhausted from everything you do during the days to enjoy it.
Most of the things I would suggest have already been listed. One I don't see is the Library of Congress.
Another is the National Cathedral. Awe-inspiring.
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If memory serves me right there's a Blackbird and a Shuttle there as well. It's been 19+ years since I've been to that one.
Not sure what a Blackbird is, but you're right about the Shuttle (Enterprise).
(https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/26771_1252952524499_5495517_n.jpg?_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=cdbe9c&_nc_ohc=0yw5W9TtzCoAX_B7zbN&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=91102b7ad5320b9d11a4a51a9434d703&oe=60DFCAA0)
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If memory serves me right there's a Blackbird and a Shuttle there as well. It's been 19+ years since I've been to that one.
Not sure what a Blackbird is
It's the black one. It's capable of something like 2100mph.
(https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets%2F191025132855-335876main-ec97-44165-149-full.jpg&hash=fe31d0bd2e0d60e60f9e469cd0d0cdde2c5d1b61)
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You already listed it, but when my family did a DC trip a few years back, we all agreed the Holocaust Museum was the most interesting. Highly recommended.
I'll also add the Space and Science museum, haven't been to that since I was a kid but I loved it. I've wanted to go back the last two times I went to DC but just ran out of time.
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Protip just for DC in general: Go the week of Christmas if you can. My ex and I did that 5 or 6 years ago and the place was a complete ghost town. Everything was open except on Christmas day, and there were no lines or crowds anywhere. All the people that work in DC are out of the city, schools aren't doing field trips, and most people aren't vacationing to DC for Christmas. It was awesome. We walked the National Mall on Christmas Eve and saw maybe 15 people from end-to-end.
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If memory serves me right there's a Blackbird and a Shuttle there as well. It's been 19+ years since I've been to that one.
Not sure what a Blackbird is
It's the black one. It's capable of something like 2100mph.
(https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets%2F191025132855-335876main-ec97-44165-149-full.jpg&hash=fe31d0bd2e0d60e60f9e469cd0d0cdde2c5d1b61)
Ahhh...yup. There was one there.
(https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/26771_1252951804481_5652892_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=cdbe9c&_nc_ohc=-dqGTLzCCOQAX82RuBh&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.xx&oh=2bcadfda9602ff2dc1bd134b3dbd6158&oe=60E035D3)
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Smash the patriarchy.
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Smash the patriarchy.
I was going to offer "Storm the capitol", but it might be too soon.
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There's a restaurant down there called The Founding Farmers that's great for breakfast.
The Air and Space museum should be on your list too!
Agree. There's two of them: one in DC along the Mall, and one out near Dulles called the Udvar-Hazy Center. The UHC is an absolute must. The Enola Gay is there, along with MANY other historical airplanes.
Anything else I'd suggest has already been mentioned. Have fun!
If memory serves me right there's a Blackbird and a Shuttle there as well. It's been 19+ years since I've been to that one.
There are both. You can also see both in NYC on the Intrepid, FYI. It's not free like the Smithsonian, but you get the added bonus of an aircraft carrier and submarine tour. That's where I spent the day before meeting up with you guys at the Astonishing meetup.
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There's a restaurant down there called The Founding Farmers that's great for breakfast.
The Air and Space museum should be on your list too!
Agree. There's two of them: one in DC along the Mall, and one out near Dulles called the Udvar-Hazy Center. The UHC is an absolute must. The Enola Gay is there, along with MANY other historical airplanes.
Anything else I'd suggest has already been mentioned. Have fun!
If memory serves me right there's a Blackbird and a Shuttle there as well. It's been 19+ years since I've been to that one.
There are both. You can also see both in NYC on the Intrepid, FYI. It's not free like the Smithsonian, but you get the added bonus of an aircraft carrier and submarine tour. That's where I spent the day before meeting up with you guys at the Astonishing meetup.
I've seen a Blackbird there too. No idea they had a shuttle. Is it just parked up on the deck?
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As for a recommendation, assuming it's in session, oral arguments at the SCOTUS are pretty fascinating. Obviously quite dry, and you're probably the only one who may be interested (and quite possibly not), but it's great to actually see the process. See how they behave and what the whole thing looks like. And if you do go to Baltimore (and I wouldn't), the aquarium is pretty good. Not the best, but still good.
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If memory serves me right there's a Blackbird and a Shuttle there as well. It's been 19+ years since I've been to that one.
Not sure what a Blackbird is
It's the black one. It's capable of something like 2100mph.
There's one on the Intrepid in New York as well. If one can have a "favorite plane", then that's mine (it's the Lockheed SR-71). There's a book on the guy (Kelly Johnson) and the team (Skunkworks) that developed it. It flew so fast, and got so hot (friction; physics, kids!) that they didn't have materials to seal off the fuel tanks and withstand the expansion, so they would fill the tank, it would leak fuel (on purpose) until the plane was "at speed" and the materials would expand and seal. It is the current (and still) record-holder for fastest air-breathing man-made aircraft. It was also a breakthrough technology in terms of stealth.
(Fun fact: the cutting of the budget for the SR-71 - which led to it's final retirement - was a part of the case under which the Supreme Court found the "line-item veto to be unconstitutional.)
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There's a restaurant down there called The Founding Farmers that's great for breakfast.
The Air and Space museum should be on your list too!
Agree. There's two of them: one in DC along the Mall, and one out near Dulles called the Udvar-Hazy Center. The UHC is an absolute must. The Enola Gay is there, along with MANY other historical airplanes.
Anything else I'd suggest has already been mentioned. Have fun!
If memory serves me right there's a Blackbird and a Shuttle there as well. It's been 19+ years since I've been to that one.
There are both. You can also see both in NYC on the Intrepid, FYI. It's not free like the Smithsonian, but you get the added bonus of an aircraft carrier and submarine tour. That's where I spent the day before meeting up with you guys at the Astonishing meetup.
I've seen a Blackbird there too. No idea they had a shuttle. Is it just parked up on the deck?
They built a pavilion for it. Looks like sometime around 2013. They've got Enterprise, which of course never flew in orbit, but did several atmospheric flights. I had a good chat with one of the oldtimers standing around fielding questions and he was pretty knowledgeable. They shot a hole in one of the wings as part of the Columbia investigation (since repaired) and he was actually up to speed on that. It never had SSMEs installed, but to be honest, I'm not sure any of the shuttles on display still have theirs.
And for some reason, they had the original shuttlecraft Galileo, now restored, on display right next to it.
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Smash the patriarchy.
I was going to offer "Storm the capitol", but it might be too soon.
LOL... With smashing the patriarchy, he can reinforce the life lesson to his daughter not to take shit from no man...
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There's a restaurant down there called The Founding Farmers that's great for breakfast.
The Air and Space museum should be on your list too!
Agree. There's two of them: one in DC along the Mall, and one out near Dulles called the Udvar-Hazy Center. The UHC is an absolute must. The Enola Gay is there, along with MANY other historical airplanes.
Anything else I'd suggest has already been mentioned. Have fun!
If memory serves me right there's a Blackbird and a Shuttle there as well. It's been 19+ years since I've been to that one.
There are both. You can also see both in NYC on the Intrepid, FYI. It's not free like the Smithsonian, but you get the added bonus of an aircraft carrier and submarine tour. That's where I spent the day before meeting up with you guys at the Astonishing meetup.
I've seen a Blackbird there too. No idea they had a shuttle. Is it just parked up on the deck?
They built a pavilion for it. Looks like sometime around 2013. They've got Enterprise, which of course never flew in orbit, but did several atmospheric flights. I had a good chat with one of the oldtimers standing around fielding questions and he was pretty knowledgeable. They shot a hole in one of the wings as part of the Columbia investigation (since repaired) and he was actually up to speed on that. It never had SSMEs installed, but to be honest, I'm not sure any of the shuttles on display still have theirs.
And for some reason, they had the original shuttlecraft Galileo, now restored, on display right next to it.
Interesting. That's the one I saw down in DC. I wonder if it rotates between the exhibits, or if it's on the Intrepid indefinitely.
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If memory serves me right there's a Blackbird and a Shuttle there as well. It's been 19+ years since I've been to that one.
Not sure what a Blackbird is
It's the black one. It's capable of something like 2100mph.
There's one on the Intrepid in New York as well. If one can have a "favorite plane", then that's mine (it's the Lockheed SR-71). There's a book on the guy (Kelly Johnson) and the team (Skunkworks) that developed it. It flew so fast, and got so hot (friction; physics, kids!) that they didn't have materials to seal off the fuel tanks and withstand the expansion, so they would fill the tank, it would leak fuel (on purpose) until the plane was "at speed" and the materials would expand and seal. It is the current (and still) record-holder for fastest air-breathing man-made aircraft. It was also a breakthrough technology in terms of stealth.
(Fun fact: the cutting of the budget for the SR-71 - which led to it's final retirement - was a part of the case under which the Supreme Court found the "line-item veto to be unconstitutional.)
Because of the bolded I'm pretty sure that they had to refuel the thing immediately after takeoff, or at least once it got to a decent altitude.
The niftiest tech onboard was the inlet spikes on the engines. The pointed cones sticking out the front. They retract in and out, both changing the geometry of the airflow, and at a certain point, creating a bypass around the turbofans which became an impediment rather than a requirement. Not sure any other engines have utilized that design.
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As for a recommendation, assuming it's in session, oral arguments at the SCOTUS are pretty fascinating. Obviously quite dry, and you're probably the only one who may be interested (and quite possibly not), but it's great to actually see the process. See how they behave and what the whole thing looks like. And if you do go to Baltimore (and I wouldn't), the aquarium is pretty good. Not the best, but still good.
Concur, but the current session is about to end, and there are no more oral argument sessions scheduled. The next argument sessions are scheduled on Oct. 4-6 and 12-13.
They've never been holding arguments when I've been there, which is a bummer since I'm a member of the Supreme Court Bar, so I'd get one of the good seats. For the general public, you can get in line for the full argument schedule or a "three-minute line that allows you only a brief observation period (which might be better with kids in tow -- even older kids).
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There's a restaurant down there called The Founding Farmers that's great for breakfast.
The Air and Space museum should be on your list too!
Agree. There's two of them: one in DC along the Mall, and one out near Dulles called the Udvar-Hazy Center. The UHC is an absolute must. The Enola Gay is there, along with MANY other historical airplanes.
Anything else I'd suggest has already been mentioned. Have fun!
If memory serves me right there's a Blackbird and a Shuttle there as well. It's been 19+ years since I've been to that one.
There are both. You can also see both in NYC on the Intrepid, FYI. It's not free like the Smithsonian, but you get the added bonus of an aircraft carrier and submarine tour. That's where I spent the day before meeting up with you guys at the Astonishing meetup.
I've seen a Blackbird there too. No idea they had a shuttle. Is it just parked up on the deck?
They built a pavilion for it. Looks like sometime around 2013. They've got Enterprise, which of course never flew in orbit, but did several atmospheric flights. I had a good chat with one of the oldtimers standing around fielding questions and he was pretty knowledgeable. They shot a hole in one of the wings as part of the Columbia investigation (since repaired) and he was actually up to speed on that. It never had SSMEs installed, but to be honest, I'm not sure any of the shuttles on display still have theirs.
And for some reason, they had the original shuttlecraft Galileo, now restored, on display right next to it.
Interesting. That's the one I saw down in DC. I wonder if it rotates between the exhibits, or if it's on the Intrepid indefinitely.
When the shuttles were in service that was the only one that could be on display, so naturally the Smithsonian would have it. When the remaining three were retired UHC got a proper shuttle, and Enterprise went to NYC.
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If memory serves me right there's a Blackbird and a Shuttle there as well. It's been 19+ years since I've been to that one.
Not sure what a Blackbird is
It's the black one. It's capable of something like 2100mph.
There's one on the Intrepid in New York as well. If one can have a "favorite plane", then that's mine (it's the Lockheed SR-71). There's a book on the guy (Kelly Johnson) and the team (Skunkworks) that developed it. It flew so fast, and got so hot (friction; physics, kids!) that they didn't have materials to seal off the fuel tanks and withstand the expansion, so they would fill the tank, it would leak fuel (on purpose) until the plane was "at speed" and the materials would expand and seal. It is the current (and still) record-holder for fastest air-breathing man-made aircraft. It was also a breakthrough technology in terms of stealth.
(Fun fact: the cutting of the budget for the SR-71 - which led to it's final retirement - was a part of the case under which the Supreme Court found the "line-item veto to be unconstitutional.)
Because of the bolded I'm pretty sure that they had to refuel the thing immediately after takeoff, or at least once it got to a decent altitude.
The niftiest tech onboard was the inlet spikes on the engines. The pointed cones sticking out the front. They retract in and out, both changing the geometry of the airflow, and at a certain point, creating a bypass around the turbofans which became an impediment rather than a requirement. Not sure any other engines have utilized that design.
Well, I know that they only took off with a partially-filled fuel tank. I don't know if that was for waste (or fire hazard) or something like weight/balance.
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As for a recommendation, assuming it's in session, oral arguments at the SCOTUS are pretty fascinating. Obviously quite dry, and you're probably the only one who may be interested (and quite possibly not), but it's great to actually see the process. See how they behave and what the whole thing looks like. And if you do go to Baltimore (and I wouldn't), the aquarium is pretty good. Not the best, but still good.
Concur, but the current session is about to end, and there are no more oral argument sessions scheduled. The next argument sessions are scheduled on Oct. 4-6 and 12-13.
They've never been holding arguments when I've been there, which is a bummer since I'm a member of the Supreme Court Bar, so I'd get one of the good seats. For the general public, you can get in line for the full argument schedule or a "three-minute line that allows you only a brief observation period (which might be better with kids in tow -- even older kids).
Were you sworn in there? That was one of the things that intrigued me. It hadn't occurred to me that some people would get sworn in by the Chief Justice until I saw them do it. The signed certificate would probably look pretty neat hanging on your wall.
I made a point to be there during a particularly boring case (and I think the last of the season) so I'd be able to get in. You've got to line up kind of early. The arguments were dull, and way over my head, but seeing all the details was fascinating.
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I made a point to be there during a particularly boring case (and I think the last of the season) so I'd be able to get in. You've got to line up kind of early. The arguments were dull, and way over my head, but seeing all the details was fascinating.
No. Not sworn there, although I recall it being an option, but since I'm in CA.... I still have the certificate sitting in a cardboard envelope and haven't ever been motivated to get it framed.
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Filibuster.
On a serious note, I want to go to the Smithsonian at some point in my life. I'm a sucker for museums and that one is on the top of my list.
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Filibuster.
On a serious note, I want to go to the Smithsonian at some point in my life. I'm a sucker for museums and that one is on the top of my list.
There are something like 20 of them. Smithsonian refers to a trust (created by a guy named Smithson) which includes museums for a wide variety of interests. Even the National Zoo is part of the Smithsonian Institute. Unless you're going to move there for a while you basically have to pick and choose which of the museums you're going to check out.
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Not to mention that the Smithsonian museums and zoo are basically FREE, which is a huge thing if you’re visiting with a family.
My personal favorite was the American Indian museum.
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The botanical garden is quick but really cool.
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Lots of great input. We will have 5 full days, and parts of 2 others, so a fair amount of time. I think I am going to make a list, and have everyone pick like their top 5, and then tabulate, try to figure out rough time estimates to "do" them, and then put together an itinerary.
-What is there to do/see at the cemetery? I have always heard that it is cool, but I have never heard why and what to do there.
-Is there a lot to see at the Library of Congress and National Archives? How long should we figure for those?
-Anyone have any sample itineraries they want to share?
-Any good tour companies for the night tour? I LOVED the one my wife and I did back in 2015, but have no idea what they were called. We just kinda stumbled onto them.
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As far as Williamsburg/Busch Gardens/Jamestown, each of those places is a day on its own (well, maybe not Jamestown), and with DC traffic you're easily looking at half a day to get here. Very worthwhile trip, but might be a stretch if you only have 5 days and plan on doing DC too.
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Lots of great input. We will have 5 full days, and parts of 2 others, so a fair amount of time. I think I am going to make a list, and have everyone pick like their top 5, and then tabulate, try to figure out rough time estimates to "do" them, and then put together an itinerary.
-What is there to do/see at the cemetery? I have always heard that it is cool, but I have never heard why and what to do there.
-Is there a lot to see at the Library of Congress and National Archives? How long should we figure for those?
-Anyone have any sample itineraries they want to share?
-Any good tour companies for the night tour? I LOVED the one my wife and I did back in 2015, but have no idea what they were called. We just kinda stumbled onto them.
The Library of Congress is a five minute deal. At least when I was there it was closed to anybody without an appointment to do research. You can walk around the front area, appreciate some wonderful architecture, but you can only look into the main hall.
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As far as Williamsburg/Busch Gardens/Jamestown, each of those places is a day on its own (well, maybe not Jamestown), and with DC traffic you're easily looking at half a day to get here. Very worthwhile trip, but might be a stretch if you only have 5 days and plan on doing DC too.
It has been a LONG time since I've been to Williamsburg (1991, I think), but I don't remember there being a ton there. I was thinking a day for both Williamsburg and Jamestown, and then a day for Busch Gardens. Reasonable?
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-Is there a lot to see at the Library of Congress and National Archives? How long should we figure for those?
Keep in mind that the National Archives and LOC are two different places. Check out this link for the Archives: https://museum.archives.gov/visit. How long you spend depends on your level of interest in what they have there.
The same is true of the LOC, but it's the largest library in the world, so you could spend as much time there as you want and still not see everything. Visitor link: https://www.loc.gov/visit/.
Also, make sure to check which attractions you need reservations for.
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As far as Williamsburg/Busch Gardens/Jamestown, each of those places is a day on its own (well, maybe not Jamestown), and with DC traffic you're easily looking at half a day to get here. Very worthwhile trip, but might be a stretch if you only have 5 days and plan on doing DC too.
It has been a LONG time since I've been to Williamsburg (1991, I think), but I don't remember there being a ton there. I was thinking a day for both Williamsburg and Jamestown, and then a day for Busch Gardens. Reasonable?
Yeah now that I think about it, I guess it depends with the kids and how much stuff you want to do. Williamsburg can be a day on its own, depending on how much of what it offers interests you and your family. If you like history, you may find a lot of it very interesting. Then there are sometimes concerts at night in the church or plays on one of the stages. And I guess it depends if you'll be eating there (having a "tavern meal" or something like that). But if you don't really care about any of that, you could also just spend an hour walking the streets and just check off the box.
Jamestown, I think you're right, could easily just half a day and you'd be straining for things to do beyond that. Depends on the pace of travel you prefer with the kids. I would say a day for Jamestown/Williamsburg (probably in that order) and a day for Busch is good. I would just look at a calendar of events beforehand because you could get to Williamsburg and realize that there was something going on there you really would have liked to check out, only to realize there's not enough time. I actually think Jamestown is a little bit more fun than Williamsburg, though.
I think when we went, we did something like Williamsburg (1 day), followed by Jamestown (half day), and then after lunch near Jamestown hung out on one of the nearby beaches before heading back to Colonial Williamsburg just to walk the streets again after dinner and catch a free organ demonstration that was going on at the church. Then Busch on the last day. But we travel at a pretty leisurely pace.
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The botanical garden is quick but really cool.
I second that.
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Thanks to all who provided suggestions. Some were incorporated. Some were not, either because they didn't fit our plans, or couldn't fit into the schedule. But it was a great trip. Our basic itinerary was:
Day 1:
Traveled all day and got into Dulles early evening. Traveled to our hotel in Arlington, walked around a bit, got dinner, and called it a night. The awesome thing was that there was a metro station in the basement of our hotel, so we could get to downtown VERY easily.
Day 2:
-International Spy Museum
-Took in a lot of sights around the national mall
-Ford's Theater
-"D.C. at Dusk" bus tour (hopped off the bus at various locations)
Day 3:
-Slept in a bit, since the prior day was VERY long, and we weren't fully adjusted yet.
-Took in a couple of Smithsonians and more sights along the national mall. Made a point to hit the Capitol and Supreme Court.
Day 4:
-Mt. Vernon
-Old Alexandria
-USMC memorial
Day 5:
-After church and a long lunch with an old friend who is working at the Pentagon, we drove to Harper's Ferry, which was not planned in advance, and ended up being an unexpected highlight.
Day 6:
-Drove to and visited Monticello, and then on to the new hotel in Williamsburg
Day 7:
-Historic Jamestowne
-Colonial Williamsburg
Day 8:
-Busch Gargens, Williamsburg--just wanted the kids to have a chance to blow off some steam before coming home and not have the whole trip feel completely like a week of school.
Great trip. Great memories. And lots of great food, including introducing the kids to Ethiopian food, and them loving it so much that we had to go back a second time. A few pics:
Downtown D.C.:
(https://i.imgur.com/cTgjM0V.jpg)
("Look, is that Spiderman?" became a tired running joke the whole trip every time the Washington Monument was in view)
Capitol view at night:
(https://i.imgur.com/0xE2t3B.jpg)
Mt. Vernon:
(https://i.imgur.com/UQygb3n.jpg)
Monticello:
(https://i.imgur.com/KMRyEgy.jpg)
Harper's Ferry:
(https://i.imgur.com/x2ZZmAy.jpg)
USMC:
(https://i.imgur.com/axlOGZe.jpg)
...and an ACTUAL Enigma Machine!
(https://i.imgur.com/AI75QsU.jpg)
(yes, I texted a pic of this to JP!)
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Good stuff! Glad you enjoyed.
How was the spy museum? I've wanted to go when I've been there in the past but haven't done it.
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It was cool. Came away with a new appreciation for the hows and whys of espionage, and what a critical role it has played throughout history. I would recommend it.
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Wow, you did a LOT. That sounds like a great trip!
I too am a fan of the spy museum. It's amazing seeing the things you read about in Robert Ludlum novels, or see in James Bond movies actually come to life.
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Awesome pics, glad you had a good time with the family :yarr
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It was cool. Came away with a new appreciation for the hows and whys of espionage, and what a critical role it has played throughout history. I would recommend it.
:tup :tup