Visiting Washington D.C.

Visit the National Cathedral. I hear Obama is going to turn it into a mosque.

Asalaam Aleikem.

You could pop out to Manassass to visit the civil war battlefield, if that kind of thing interests you. If you like to walk around old towns, check out Old Town Alexandria. It's still one of my favorite places.

I haven't lived in DC for years, but a couple of things popped into my head.
Sometimes the rush of sightseeing requires some time-out. One of the best places to do that is at Great Falls Park Virginia, about 15 minutes out of DC depending on traffic. You can pack a picnic basket or eat at the cafe there. Lots of rocks for the kids to climb, a breathtaking view of some major falls and if you're lucky McG, you can ride the1910 Carousel

yeah...I enjoyed the Torpedo Factory and Old Town.
Also, I was moved by the Holocaust Museum...although it seems to have become a little dicey to visit.

I forgot about Great Falls! We used to go fishing there and just hang out. You're not supposed to swim but we did. Fun to watch the kayakers too.

Arlington Cemetery was a hell of a thing to visit.

Cycloptichorn

Yes, but for making me bawl like a baby, The Wall at the Vietnam Memorial.

I spent a major part of an afternoon with "Charlie" the gardener at Mt. Vernon. This was 15 years ago. He was an old man then, so possibly he is no longer around. He gave me a boxwood cutting.

The botanical gardens are great.

And you just never know who you might run into on the rotunda at the Capital.

Have fun!

The Changing of the Guard at Arlington is worth seeing. Ford's Theatre is another place worth seeing.

Don't forget the Spy Museum.

The old C & O canal which once ran from Old Alexandria, Virginia to Cumberland Maryland, across the Potomac river on a stone bridge to Georgetown and along the north bank of the river is well worth a look: a great place for a hike or a bicycle trip .. or even just a short walk. The Potomac bridge is no longer there, but you can still see the canal at the foot of the hill in Georgetown and follow it if you wish all the way to the Maryland side of the Great Falls (just opposite the Virginia park mentioned above) some 12 miles away - and beyond if you like.

The Lincoln Memorial is, in my view, by far the best thing to see on the mall - an incomparable sight and the location is superb.

Go to Mt Vernon.
Its only a little over an hour away frm DC by car.
Also, if you have the time go to colonial Williamsburg.
Also, the museum at the FBI building is a cool place to visit.

You must go see the new American Indian Museum. It is a museum thats been developed from the Americn Indians POV. Its not just a tired old collection of artifacts, its a living presentation of everything from the paleos to the present. "Arrowheads and pottery " are actually in drawers in several of the halls, There are fascinating exhibits of how mocassin patterns varied all across the tribes, and even how the tribes would decorate their carbines and muskets.

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NATIONAL ZOO, is always a treat for kids(I even like it)

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SOme of the best art museums-Renwyck for crafts, NAt Portrait, Freer gallery, EAST WING of the NAtional GAllery is best (it has moving exhibits of everything that doesnt include baroque or "academy" art.
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WWII exhibit is OK, but is not the emotional grabber as "The Wall"

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Canadian EMbassy has some neat exhibits. Its always neat to see national identities that dont have to correspond with force of arms.

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Holocaust Musuem is like the "WAll" and the ALAMO IMHO, its a fuckin shrine , not a museum.

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NAtional Archives

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Drive up tghe parkway to Baltimore and see the NAtional Aquarium and Camden Yard.

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Cross the Chesapeake (Constitution to Blasensburg Rd, then to Rt 50 over the bridge at Annapolis) over to Tilghman Island and see the fleet of skipjacks and bugeyes and the Maritime museum at ST Michaels (you may run into Dick Cheney, he sorta lives there)

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EAT A CRABCAKE OR THREE.

Were going down there next week (before the 4th)

OH yeh, On the mall every summer till the 4th, they have an ethnic celebration of one of the worlds countries. They sell foods, have music, sell crafts etc. Its kinda cool.

I was considering Mt Vernon. It is close enough I think that we can fit that in. I finally made Hotel reservations. Just up the road from the White house between K and M streets. Maybe I can hob nob with some lobbyists while I am there.

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Bla(d)ensburg Rd, just so Mc Don't get lost...
and make it a day trip by visiting Annapolis...I lived there for a couple of years and it is truly a lovely place to visit

Sorry, Im not spelling any better since I retired. Damn!

We stayed in a tacky Holiday Inn across from the Watergate. It was very handy for what was basically a walking around or metro (whatever they call it) vacation. We did take a long day to rent a car and drive to Monticello, see the University of Virginia, and stop at George Mason's place on the way back, before having dinner in old town Alexandria. I'd seen Mount Vernon as a kid..

What I liked and others might not -
- a quick walk into the Library of Congress to eyeball it and walk out again
- the Beatrice Farrand designed gardens in Georgetown, called the Dumbarton Oaks Estate. Not, I suppose, a big pull for children, this year
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrix_Farrand
- I didn't get into the Building Museum (closed) but would see it if I were ever back in DC again
- liked the whole mall, at the time, but especially Maya Lin's Vietnam Memorial, yes, tears.
- The Phillips Collection, a small art museum that remains one of my favorites ever; it's in an old house close to Dupont Circle. The painting I most remember was a Renoir, but I generally have liked the collection. (I didn't like Renoir until I saw that in person.)
- walking around in Georgetown, including the canal area, and eating in cafes there. We had a friend of a friend who was an advisor to Carter who took us to lunch and regaled us with washington gossip. So your lobbyist comment didn't strike me as too out there..

I've also- on other trips and the last one - gone through the Smithsonian of old, the Hirshhorn Museum, the National Gallery, The Mint, walked into the Executive Office Building (I suppose that's more guarded by now), the Corcoran Gallery of Art -

and lots of hotels that I've heard of through my life. My father used to stay at the Mayflower in the late 1940's, so we walked through that; the Hay Adams, a fairly famous place; the Willard, again just to look around; some hotel on Pennsylvania avenue that was tall and had a Sky Room - I think we had gin and tonics and stared out the window; the Ritz-Carlton. Again, not so much a children oriented thing, although I liked hotels as a child too.

Anyway, after your trip, be sure to tell us about it (pictures, pictures!)

If your retired you dont have to spell.
Its up to us working slobs to decipher what you mean.