Washington D.C. trip planning

[lizzywednesday]

Daniel's Story is still closed (hasn't rep=opened after Covid closures). Agree that it leaves you emotionally wrung out and it's hard to want to do a lot else that day. It hits everyone differently but it, as well as the African American museum, are 2 of the more challenging ones.

....

Oh, I hadn't realized it was still closed! It's a small, tight space, though, IIRC, so it makes sense.

NMAAAC is on my list - they're opening a new limited exhibit in March 2023 focusing on Afrofuturism that looks freakin' amazing.

[Tenasparkl]

You may want to consider visiting Arlington National Cemetery.

Agreed! I liked it so much more than I expected to. Very moving and just a beautiful spot.

We loved all the monuments. DD and her choir had the opportunity to sing at the Lincoln Memorial and it was amazing to get to spend time there watching them and then seeing the kids explore when they finished. She and a friend decided to run to the the Washington Monument with their limited remaining time and they took off in what was a little sprinkle that turned into a hail storm with me and friend's dad trailing behind. It was something I'll never forget. Such a great memory - we laughed the entire time.

The MLK Memorial was great too. We were there with full cherry blossom bloom and it was so gorgeous.

The National Gallery has four Vermeer paintings - so amazing in person. We had limited time and were given great suggestions by someone working there on the highlights and I'm so glad we got to see them.

Our trip was very Lincoln focused and we went to Ford Theater which wasn't as interesting as I'd hoped and Lincoln's Cottage. The property is beautiful but I don't think it's worth the drive.

[lizzywednesday]

... You may want to consider visiting Arlington National Cemetery. Have a great time!

I agree if the weather's nice - weather in the DC area can be iffy that week. It snowed when I was there with my aunt & sister in the '90s, for example, and snow in the DC metro can be hazardous because the infrastructure with respect to snow removal isn't the same as it is in states further north.

Northern VA, where Arlington is located, is especially hazardous in snow, IME, because folks don't know how to drive properly in it and the roads get really slick from a lack of plow/salt/sand trucks.

Even so, Arlington National Cemetery is, and has been, hallowed ground since the Union Army reclaimed it from Robert E Lee in the 1860s. There are not many places like it in the country.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I agree if the weather's nice - weather in the DC area can be iffy that week. It snowed when I was there with my aunt & sister in the '90s, for example, and snow in the DC metro can be hazardous because the infrastructure with respect to snow removal isn't the same as it is in states further north.

Northern VA, where Arlington is located, is especially hazardous in snow, IME, because folks don't know how to drive properly in it and the roads get really slick from a lack of plow/salt/sand trucks.

Even so, Arlington National Cemetery is, and has been, hallowed ground since the Union Army reclaimed it from Robert E Lee in the 1860s. There are not many places like it in the country.

You can just take the Metro and not worry about road conditions. It goes right to ANC


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[lizzywednesday]

You can just take the Metro and not worry about road conditions. It goes right to ANC

And this shows exactly how long it's been since I rode the Metro!

[georgiegirl]

Following! We just bought tickets to DC over spring break. My kids have never been. We are planning on driving to Philadelphia for a couple of days to see some colleges.

[candaceb]

Thanks everyone for your input. We had a great trip though I think it's going to take a week for my feet to recover. We packed stuff in but still didn't do everything we wanted to do and we will definitely be back. We lucked out with the weather - it got warmer every day and we had clear sunny skies until the day we left. Weather-wise it was perfect for visiting DC especially in comparison to August.

12/26
Drive from MI
Hyatt Place Herndon-Dulles East

12/27
Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum
Lunch at Chick-fil-A near the exit from the grounds because the Shake Shack line inside was out the door and not moving at all.
Arlington National Cemetery - we did a self-guided walking tour and hit RBG, JFK, and the Changing of the Guard. It might have been better with a guide but this fit the time we had.
Dinner: Reren in Chinatown - ramen
Hotel for remaining days in DC: Hyatt Place National Mall - the location was great for getting to the mall but not great for being able to find any kind of food options. The free breakfast was a nightmare - we called it Lord of the Flies - but still managed to get something to eat and coffee each day. The P6 Bus goes right past the hotel and we figured out to find dinner options that were on that bus line.

12/28
10AM Capitol Tour
(skipped the Library of Congress because the line was at least 45 mins even with reserved tickets)
Lunch at Museum of the American Indian
Smithsonian Castle (quick visit but it was interesting)
Museum of American History highlights only (Julia Child, Kermit, ruby red slippers, First Ladies’ gowns)
Back to the hotel via the red Circulator bus - best $1 bargain in town
4:30 National Archives - well worth the $1/person reservation fee as we walked past at least 100 people in line. We had just enough time to see it with the hour before they closed and I wished I had known to skip the Constution Room until the end - it was packed when we got there but we could have had it to ourselves if we did everything else first and that last.
Dinner: Benitos Place - hole in the wall Honduran restaurant that we went to because it was an easy bus ride from the Archives and highly rated in Yelp. It was fabulous.

12/29
Air & Space Museum - 10AM reservation - only about ⅓ of the museum is opened but we were still there for 4 hours.
Lunch - Potbelly outside the museum
Back to the hotel for a rest
Dinner with family friends in Chevy Chase
Night time drive through monuments, past the White House, Embassy Row

12/30
Museum of American History
Lunch at food trucks outside the museum
2:00pm Washington Monument tickets - must be online 30 days ahead at 10AM to get tickets. Try for the first day of your trip and keep trying. It took me 4 days to get it. I figured out to go for the afternoon instead of the morning.
Walked from there in a circle to:
MLK Memorial
Saw the Jefferson from there
Korean War Memorial
Lincoln Monument
Vietnam War Memorial
Took red Circulator bus back to the hotel
Dinner at Menomale in NoMa - fabulous pizza


Things that are on our list for next time:
Portrait Gallery
National Gallery
International Spy Museum (we learned the hard way that reserving a few days ahead is a must)
White House tour (we weren't able to get a reservation this time)
Holocaust Museum
Zoo

[georgiegirl]

Thanks for sharing your itinerary. We are in the planing stages for our spring break trip. We currently have the Hyatt place north of the White House reserved, but we are open to staying elsewhere. We only have three days though (heading to Philly to look at colleges the other two days.)


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[SnuggleBuggles]

Thanks for sharing your itinerary. We are in the planing stages for our spring break trip. We currently have the Hyatt place north of the White House reserved, but we are open to staying elsewhere. We only have three days though (heading to Philly to look at colleges the other two days.)


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Look at the Hyatt House (Place?) at the Wharf. There’s a free shuttle to the mall. Being along the water at spring break should be lovely.


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