# Help Us Tweak Our Vacation: Adding Philly and DC **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 23, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089 "2011-07-23T16:50:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/21 "2011-07-26T04:43:43Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Do they still have bicycles built for two? We’ve joked about that, but I think she really would get on one of those. I actually used to ride one with a blind friend back in Texas. [http://www.bigwheelbikes.com/rentals.htm](http://www.bigwheelbikes.com/rentals.htm) Tandems are $10/hour. The location in Georgetown is not more than a mile from a Metro stop and should be pretty close to some good bike paths. That would be a nice change of pace from museum-going! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/22 "2011-07-26T04:54:00Z")
Thanks! I’m going to talk her into it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/23 "2011-07-26T04:55:35Z")
On the weekend, [Beach Drive](http://www.nps.gov/pwr/customcf/apps/maps/showmap.cfm?alphacode=rocr&parkname=Rock%20Creek%20Park), which goes through Rock Creek Park right past the National Zoo, is closed to car traffic all the way to the Maryland line so bikes and pedestrians have the road. That is a beautiful ride. It’s going the opposite direction from Mount Vernon, but it would be a lot safer for a novice rider than a pretty narrow bike path that winds through the woods along the Potomac. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/24 "2011-07-26T05:00:01Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > It worked okay in Texas. My friend had never been on one either, but he was able to sit behind and work the pedals okay. Hopefully it wouldn’t be much different for the wife. (Although I guess the fact that she can see might panic her.) Slap a blindfold on her! Or put a bag over her head! Yeah, that’s the ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/25 "2011-07-26T05:01:38Z")
I’ll at least take out extra life insurance on her, heh. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/26 "2011-07-26T12:13:48Z")
Plenty to do in Philly – let us know when and we’ll set up a Dopefest. You could hit the highlights in three days – art museums in one, historic district another, and misc. touristy stuff (Mutter Museum, Eastern State Penitentiary, Franklin Institute, City Hall Tower, Zoo, Fairmount Park, Reading Market, Rittenhouse Square, South Street, the Magic Garden) in a third. Or a third and fourth. If you guys like gardens, Philly is one of the best garden towns in the country. World-famous Longwood Gardens is about an hour outside the city (and Winterthur, another former DuPont family estate and major Americana museum, is a bit further in that direction). A non-DuPont, but superb, garden is Chanticleer, out on the Main Line. I actually prefer it to Longwood, which is pretty static for repeat visitors, but which everyone should see at least once. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/27 "2011-07-26T16:18:56Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I guess we’ll figure on a few days in Philly and a week or so in DC. We’d sort of like to see the inside of the White House, but if it’s that much trouble, then we’ll be satisfied with just staring at it from outside. Maybe President Obama will invite us in. 😃 > > We mainly like museums and historical points of interest. And eating. Shopping not so much, but we do enjoy browsing around. I’m afraid we’re not sports people at all. My wife and I did a DC-Philly-Boston vacation once - we had an agenda to see Ivy League schools and Revolutionary War sites of which there were plenty of (The spot where Washington crossed the Delaware on Christmas day is to the NE of Philadelphia, about 20-odd miles away). In Philly of course there’s the Liberty Bell, the Continental Congress, Ben Franklin stuff, and most importantly from a historical perspective, the steps where Sylvester Stallone successfully completed his workout montage in _Rocky_. 😉 Also, 90 miles in the Megalopolis that is I-95 from DC to New Haven is a MUCH longer 90 miles than I-10 in West Texas. Don’t think 90 miles \<= 90 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/28 "2011-07-26T16:22:31Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Also, 90 miles in the Megalopolis that is I-95 from DC to New Haven is a MUCH longer 90 miles than I-10 in West Texas. Don’t think 90 miles \<= 90 minutes. Ah, so you get cows and chickens blocking the road there too, eh? Everywhere ya go, it’s always the same. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/29 "2011-07-26T16:23:58Z")
No cows and chickens, just assholes and idiots. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/30 "2011-07-26T17:43:24Z")
There’s a few Civil War battle sites not far out from DC in Virginia. But other than a couple of markers, there’s not a lot to see. The land is still working farm land, unless you happen to catch some special re-enactment events. I know you said you’re going in April, but I have to say that DC is the best place in the world to be on July 4th. Not non-stop events from morning til midnight, including tremendous fireworks and terrific concerts on the Mall. OTOH, there is the July weather, when you really understand at gut level that DC was built on old swamp land. It’s kind of in a geologic bowl, and omg the heat just settles in something horrendous in mid-summer. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/31 "2011-07-26T17:51:32Z")
I’m afraid July is not possible. Due to the wife’s commitments, we’re pretty much locked into April right now. But by any chance, in July is there a re-enactment of Zachary Taylor’s death from eating contaminated cherries? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/32 "2011-07-26T18:24:13Z")
Indirectly. They re-enact Washington chopping down the cherry tree, which then falls on Zachary Taylor. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/33 "2011-07-26T18:31:44Z")
april is better than july for the eastern seaboard. we are up to heat wave # 6 or 7 now. isn’t the cherry tree thing in dc during april? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/34 "2011-07-26T20:34:29Z")
I cannot tell a lie… I do not know. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/35 "2011-07-26T20:51:42Z")
Sounds like a great trip with a wealth of Things To See. I agree that, staying in the cities, you’ll do well to use public transport, the occasional cab & your own feet. (Although the bicycle built for two is a great option.) Add to the list of Expeditions Worth Renting A Car: Harper’s Ferry. Events commemorating the [Civil War Sesquicentennial](http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/2011/07/in-or-out-jayma-mays-in-reem-acra.html) begin in April. > [@](#): > > What was the first target in Virginia following secession? Where was the largest capture of of Union troops during the Civil War? The answer to both is Harpers Ferry! Strategically located on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley, Union and Confederate troops moved through Harpers Ferry frequently. The town changed hands eight times between 1861 and 1865. Four years of warfare resulted in a garrison town under martial law, military hospitals, partisan warfare, and a base of operations for military campaigns. > The park’s battlefields include fortifications, trench lines and ruins and were described by one soldier as _carved out by nature for some great tragedy_. Although it’s worth a visit when _not_ crowded with tourists; beyond history, there is [great natural beauty](http://wikitravel.org/en/Image:HarpersFerryWv.jpg). Very different from anything in Texas. (And probably anything in Thailand.) ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/36 "2011-07-27T05:07:02Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > isn’t the cherry tree thing in dc during april? Usually late March. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/37 "2011-07-28T02:40:56Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > april is better than july for the eastern seaboard. we are up to heat wave # 6 or 7 now. Haha! _I’ll_ tell _you_ about heat. But it will be nice to get into a cooler clime for a change. April is our August over here. The wife things the tandem-bike suggestion is great. (I’ve not mentioned the extra life insurance yet.) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/38 "2011-08-22T04:21:20Z")
This is starting to get a little out of hand. Now friends in Connecticut want us to stop there, and so do friends in Boston. That’s good and nice of them, but it’s starting to feel a bit stretched now. Connecticut’s doable, as it’s right by New York, they live in a small town, so just a quick overnight and then we can catch the train somewhere. But Boston feels a bit much. I’ve never been, but the wife has, and we’d like to see places that are new for both of us this trip and have our Boston friends meet us in New York. Especially since now it turns out my friend upcountry over here, who is also a friend of the Boston group, will be in South Carolina at the same time and is thinking about meeting us up in New York. We could all get together in that case. Anyway, if we do add Boston, what’s a good amount of time for the city. Maybe a long weekend? The wife was there for maybe 60 hours 15 years ago, staying with these same friends, and she’s no longer even sure what all she saw except for Harvard. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/39 "2011-08-22T05:07:13Z")
I can’t see anyone else mentioning it, but getting on a [Whitehouse Tour](http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/tours-and-events) isn’t as simple as turning up on time or even booking in advance; you have to request a ticket via your congressman or, if you’re a foreign citizen, via your embassy. I’m not sure what you’d do as a US citizen living abroad. There’s more than enough to see in DC, anyway. We stayed at the Washington Plaza Hotel and liked having a pool for chilling out as well being all cultured and sophisticated. We didn’t actually use the metro because it was easy to either walk everywhere or use the tourist bus (we used DC bus tours, but there are others). There are also tourist buses out to Arlington, GW’s house, etc, which might be a better option than hiring a car just for one trip - you don’t stay with the group, you just get taken there. Given how great it was in August, I’m jealous of you getting to go in April. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089/40 "2011-08-22T16:47:30Z")
Thanks. I do have a congresman based on my voting district in the US, but I think we’ll pass on the White House tour. It doesn’t sound like any great shakes. (I’m holding out for a personal invitation by President Obama.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-tweak-our-vacation-adding-philly-and-dc/590089.md?page=3)