WMATA is only reliable in the sense that it reliably lets you down. Keep the car. Just last weekend they shut down several entire stations for track work, and buses frequently just don’t show up. Mount Vernon by public transport is a long train ride plus a bus connection.
Be fair. For weekday commuting and getting around town it’s pretty convenient, but yes it goes way downhill on weekends. If a trip is going to involve Metro’ing to the end of the line and getting on a bus, yeah, you’re much better off keeping the car.
We’ll keep the bike idea, but not to Mt Vernon. The wife likes the idea of a tandem ride but not that distance.
Thanks for the info. We’ll be keeping the car the extra day. Drive around some and take a look at Alexandria in addition to Mt Vernon. My US license expired long ago, but I have an international one based on my Thai license. Should be fun. Will take twickster’s suggestion and see about a Dopefest as time gets closer.
If you’re going to be in DC on a Sunday, I suggest biking along Beach Drive in Rock Creek Park, when they shut down the auto traffic.
That sounds good. The wife’s never learned to ride a bike, so that would make her more comfortable with it.
Yup, having thought about it some, the Mount Vernon bike trail is kinda narrow and twisty for a tandem, even aside from any distance issues.
I’m glad we decided against biking out to Mt Vernon, as I have a history of getting us into situations that are harassing for her. Such as getting us lost on a hike up on Tantalus on Oahu and actually emerging miles away from where we should have. Or walking down a small mountain outside of Pokhara, Nepal instead of finding some sort of transport; on that one, her legs gave out at one point and she rolled into a rice paddy.
I might even go. 
Then I would say to skip the tandem bike altogether unless you can do Beach drive on a Sunday. I wouldn’t go out on any streets in DC with a shaky rider and unfamiliar bike – auto traffic is heavy and constant. And the bike trails are all narrow and also filled with hikers. Beach Drive is the only place I can think of that’s safe enough.
It does have the advantage of being beautiful and it allows you almost to forget that you’re in the middle of a big city. It also runs right next to the National Zoo, another nice place to visit.
The Beach Drive is a good idea. You can lock the bike up and walk along Rock Creek (or visit the Zoo, as suggested) which is quite lovely. Teddy Rex used to go horseback-riding along the creek when he was President. You could even lock it up and stroll (uphill a few blocks) the streets of Adams-Morgan–a nice place for a lunch on a good day.
Or a cab from the Huntington Metro station.
A car would certainly be easier, but is it worth 125 extra dollars?
Metro is pretty reliable, weekend track work notwithstanding. Those can be a pain. Depending on what day(s) you’ll be in DC and when you’re going to want to go where.
One of the Smithsonian museums (the Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy center) is located 20ish miles west of town; if you’re interested in going there a car would be useful (though there is some kind of bus that runs - for a fee - from the A&S museum location in the city).
WHOOPS!!!
For what it’s worth, the bike trail to Mount Vernon is pretty much “can’t get lost” once you’re on the Virginia side of things (though around the airport there might be some traffic to deal with). But it is a long ride if you’re not in shape.
(former Hershey neighbor here): Depends on what you want to do in Hershey. There’s a pretty significant theme part there as well - called, not surprisingly, Hersheypark :).
Chocolate World (where you ride a ride through a cutesy educational exhibit, get a small piece of free candy, then get dumped into a huge shop that sells all things chocolate) is free - parking is even free (just follow the signs for Chocolate World vs the park). Interestingly, I’ve never visited the museum itself. If you want to go to the park, that’s certainly a full day; depending on your travel dates however it may or may not be open for the season yet.
A drive down Chocolate Avenue (I think) shows the nifty streetlights which are shaped like Hershey Kisses.
I’d actually suggest making a point of driving through some of the local roads in Amish country (en route from Philly to Hershey). One of my favorite “cognitive dissonance” moments was when we were stopped at a traffic light in Strasburg. catty-corner from a bank with a drive-up window… and watched an Amish man take his horse-drawn buggy through the drive-up.
(I should read the whole thread and reply ONCE, not spam with a bunch of little posts in a row - sorry!).
Actually, coming from Philly, they could take the Pennsylvania Turnpike. It’s a toll road, but is likely to be faster than US 30 if not quite as direct. I’ve never taken 30 except for a few miles west of Lancaster. The turnpike would put you on Route 15 30ish miles north of Gettysburg; US 15 is an easy drive to Gettysburg from there. To go to Hershey, you’d get off at the Harrisburg East exit near the airport, or you could exit 20ish miles east of there at Lancaster.
Siam Sam:
It really isn’t any great shakes as a tour, but it doesn’t take long to do, and how do you say you’ve “seen” Washington DC when you didn’t do its most well-known landmark? I live in New York, so I’ve been in incredibly tall buildings and seen views from up high, but I never for a second considered visiting Saint Louis without going up the Arch, or Seattle without the Space Needle. An iconic landmark is its own sense of greatness.
I’ll echo what most people here suggested in Washington, and add two more sites that I didn’t see mentioned: The Crime and Punishment Museum (it’s about a blocks away from the Spy Museum and costs about the same amount) and the Voice of America Radio studio tour (free, their offices are about two blocks from the Air and Space Museum).
Also, just outside of Washington on the Maryland side (in Ford Meade, to be specific) is the NSA’s Cryptography Museum. Awesome and unique place.
I hope she realizes that Hershey is the center of the chocolate universe like Budweiser is the center of the beer universe. The taste is… less than one would hope for such popular products.
That’s a ways out, isn’t it? About half way between DC and Baltimore?
It’s only an exit or two past the Beltway. I’ve never been, though.
Re: the bike path, where do you plan to start? I understand that the southern end (through downtown) is a little more challenging, and the road isn’t closed there. You might also think about the C&) Canal Towpath or the Capital Crescent Trail, both of which are immediately accessible from Georgetown and have no motor vehicle traffic to contend with. I haven’t actually done Beach Dr/Rock Creek Trail that far south, so maybe it isn’t too bad.
Boyo Jim:
When I went there, I was coming from Baltimore, and it took me about 1/2 hour, with traffic not a major issue in my drive, so it has to be closer to Washington.
Thanks again, all. Definitely will keep the car the extra day. I figure we can spend a day driving around to Mount Vernon, Alexandria, maybe even Baltimore. I drive once a decade or so these days, so it will be fun. (Just stay out of my way! :eek:! Nah, I’m actually a good driver). Doing Beach Drive in Rock Creek Park on a Sunday sounds good. (Isn’t that the park where that congressman’s aide was murdered? And even though it turned out he didn’t do it, suspicion fell on him all summer of 2001 because they had been having an affair? I remember that being the big news story in the US until 9/11 finally bumped it down the ladder.)
Still not sure about the White House tour. But for Hershey, if it does turn out to be rather flat, that might not be a bad thing. Means we can cross it off our list quickly. The theme park itself we hadn’t planned to hit and are not even sure if it’s open mid-April when we’re there.