So Sturmhauke and I will be in Washington, D.C. from Saturday, Sept. 17 to Monday, Sept. 26. My parents and brother will be flying to meet us there partway through. All of us except my brother have been there before, so while we’ve done the monument thing, we’ll probably do it again for his sake. We’re staying at a hotel in Alexandria near a metro station (Van Dorn, I think). We’ll probably rent a car for some day trips (see below) but take the Metro into D.C.
I’d love to hear dopers’ thoughts on other fun & interesting things to do. We’re planning to spend one whole day at the Smithsonian, and we still won’t see it all, but I think that’ll be enough for me. I’d also like to see the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and the Supreme Court (it won’t be in session, but we can get the tour or whatever.)
From looking at previous threads on this topic, we may check out the Folger Library, and/or the International Spy Museum. I’d also like to see Mount Vernon. We’d also like to hit the Birchmere one night based on doper recs in previous threads.
I’d like to take a day trip to Colonial Williamsburg - is this doable? Or way too far? Or just overrated? Sturmhauke might like to check out some of the Civil War sites, like Fredericksburg - worth it?
Also, what’s the weather like in D.C. in late September? Obviously, I’ll check weather shortly before packing, but I’d love to have some idea of what’s typical for that time of year.
Finally, would any D.C. Dopers be interested in meeting up and hanging out some evening? Probably it would be easiest for us to do so at the start of our trip, before my family flies out. I’d love to meet some of you!
Williamsburg is about a 3 hour drive from DC. It’s a good time of year to go as the weather will have cooled off some and it won’t be as crowded. Plus, classes at William & Mary will be in session, which adds somewhat to the atmosphere. I would stay overnight though – to me 3 hours driving + a whole day spent walking around + 3 more hours driving= no fun. If you stay overnight and you’re not into the Colonial Tavern experience, eat at Giuseppe’s.
I don’t know if its overrated – it depends on what you like really. There are little demos about Colonial life in each of the shops and locales – its an open-air museum. Kinda neat, kinda cheesy. There are also some smaller self-contained museums (there’s one focusing on textiles, I recall). I always enjoy the Fife & Drum Corps.
The weather should be excellent that time of year – I would expect temps from the low 60s to high 70s with minimal (for DC) humidity. You should also see significant fall foliage by then.
Fredericksburg Battlefield is convienient to I-95 so if you’re going past it’s a good stop. And the sunken road & Marye’s Heights are right next to the visitors center so it’s very easy to get a good feel for the battle in a short time.
Seconded. This place is a world unto itself. Parking is absolutely horrendous, though. I’d recommend WMATA’s new DC Circulator buses.
Heh, really? I’ll have to keep this in mind for myself.
I have not done any of the agency building tours; work taking me to most of the buildings really disenchants the whole thing. The Spy Museum is a private enterprise, though, and is really quite fun taking as little or as much time as you want, but any little ones or people averse to reading (though it doesn’t appear to be your case) will get antsy as there is a lot of reading involved in getting the most from it.
If history is your thing, consider heading up to Baltimore for Ft. McHenry (site of the siege during which Francis Scott Key wrote the National Anthem). It’s only about 35 miles up I-95 from DC.
Mt. Vernon is wonderful. The mansion is surprisingly small, but the grounds are beautiful.
Old Town Alexandria is kind of fun; nice restaurants, touristy. A bit like Georgetown, but a lot easier to park.
The Dubliner, near the Capitol, is a fine Irish bar. Very crowded at night (like almost everything on the Hill); if you don’t like crowds, try it in the afternoon.
There’s a local restaurant chain called Great American Restaurants that I’m really taken with. The have a number of restaurants, from the brew-pubby Sweet Water Tavern to the more upscale (in atmosphere, the prices are about the same) Carlyle.
Every time I go to DC, I spend an afternoon at Shenandoah Nat’l Park. I did my thesis there almost 30 years ago, and never get tired of it.
It’s a shame you only have one day for the Smithsonian, it’s my favorite spot in DC. The Air and Space Museum, Natural History, and American History Museum’s could take a day each.
If you’re near Union Station it’s a fun place to grab lunch. During the workweek I think half the workers in DC eat lunch there. I recommend the bourbon chicken
Try to go to Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street for a half-smoke, the one unique DC food. It’s like a hot dog, only bigger and spicier. Ben’s is a local institution. All the hot dog vendors sell half smokes too, but since those are boiled and Ben’s are grilled, it’s not the same thing.
My lunch today (at 3pm) was a half-assed half-smoke. Vendor right outside the OPM building @ 19th and F(?). Blech. Definitely doesn’t have not have the best supplier.
One neat thing to tour that few tourists see are the Diplomatic Reception Rooms at the State Department. They took the top floor of this typical ugly concrete government building and made it over on the inside to be unrecognizable. And gorgeous. Elaborate woodwork and trim, parquet floors, fancy carpets, fancy artwork, beautiful period furniture. These rooms are where visting foreign dignitaries are entertained and receptions are held. But during the day? You, dear taxpayer, can tour them. You have to set up an appointment ahead of time (which is why so few people do it, apparently), but that’s no big deal.
There really isn’t a single place you could call “The Smithsonian.” There are dozens of museums, which you choose will be up to you and your interests. Some of them are much better to hit early in the morning (because they get so crowded) but others are fairly calm no matter when you go (Renwick, anyone?)
I highly recommend the Holocaust Museum. It is a sober, terrible, beautiful place. Very well done, from the architecture to the exhibits. It’s a hard place to visit but I haven’t regretted it either time.
A nice change from DC is Old Town Alexandria, mentioned earlier. It’s nice to take a tour with a tour guide (from the visitor’s center). You’ll appreciate the town in a whole new way.
DC is one vacation spot I never get tired of. I’ve been there a dozen times and still haven’t seen everything. Plus the stuff changes so it’s always worth repeating the things I’ve seen/toured before.
Insider Tip: Park just south of Reservoir Rd, around Dent, Q, and Volta Streets. You can almost always find parking there. Then you have a nice little walk through historic residental Georgetown, as you make your way to the commercial districts.
Yup, and here’s the list, in all it’s foamy glory.
Over the year’s, I’ve had ~ 50 different beers from that list and I’ve barely scratched the surface of it.
BTW, the food is pretty good there, as well. Definitely worth checking out.
If you enjoy the Air and Space Museum in D.C., don’t forget to visit the Annex in Dulles, where they have the exhibits they can’t fit in the regular museum. It’s about a half-hour drive out of the city.
Thanks for all the replies so far, please keep 'em coming! Definitely we’ll have to check out some of this stuff.
Awwwwwww, baby panda! (But do they have baby Zerglings or Mini Diablos? ) Is the zoo depressing, with the animals in small cages, like the Oakland Zoo, or more open & less confined, like the San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park? I find the confining zoos just terribly sad.
What kind of music is this? Sounds interesting.
Yeah, I know…but I have a fairly low museum tolerance. If there’s stuff that I really want to see that we haven’t gotten to, we’ll probably go back another day. but I’d rather be out and about, seeing historical sites, gardens, etc., rather than just spend days and days in museums. Which are the ones that we should hit early in the morning? I’d assume Air and Space gets crowded; any others?
Hmmm…this is interesting. We have a few hours’ wait between our checkout time at our hotel and our flight out from Dulles. This may be perfect - how hard would it be to hit the airport, check our luggage, and then pop over to the Annex?
National Zoo is probably halfway between the two examples. There’s no open-air wild animal park as in the SDZoo or Bronx Zoo. The enclosures are open and naturalistic, but you won’t be thinking the animals are roaming free. Foliage and land type are appropriate to the animals – there aren’t any cages.
National Zoo has a really unique primate program. There is an “enrichment room” where they study learning and language in primates, called the Think Tank. The interesting thing is they mostly only study the Orangs that go there voluntarily – when they feel like participating they take these overhead cables (they have a cute name for the cable system: the “O” Line) from their regular enclosure to the language lab.
It’s New-Folk music with a distinctive acoustic sound: Two acoustic guitars with hand percussion and strong four-part harmonies.
And they’re actually not from Ohio. They’re from Northern Virginia. They’ve been around since the early '90s and have cultivated a strong national following. I consider them to be one of the best bands to come out of the DC Metro Area in a long, long time.
Plus, if you go, you’ll get to check out The 9:30 Club, a DC musical landmark.
