Please let me know what you think of my itinerary...

My family of six (children 11, 9, 8 and 2 years old) and coming into town this Friday. Listed below is what I have put together for our trip. I would appreciate any and all feedback.

Friday - Arrive at Mt. Vernon at 9:00 and stay for 3 鈥?4 hours. Try for early check in at hotel in Arlington if possible, if not park and take Crystal City metro (staying at Crystal City Embassy Suites) to Federal Triangle. Visit the Old Post Office and White House Visitor鈥檚 Center before heading to dinner at Capitol City Brewing (New York Ave location) and take the Metro Center metro to hotel.

Saturday 鈥?Take the metro to the Capital City Metro stop to visit the Library of Congress. Will try to catch the 10:30 tour. Walk over to the Capital to check-in for our 12:10 tour with our Senators office. Walk up the steps to see the Supreme Court. I know it is closed but would at least like to see the outside. Grab a hotdog for lunch on the Mall and head over to the American History Museum for Thanks for the Memories and the First Ladies exhibit. Hope on the metro at the Federal Triangle back to the hotel and drive to the Italian Store for dinner.

Sunday 鈥?Stop in the Natural History Museum at 10:00. Over to DC by Foot for their 11:30 tour. We will be packing a lunch and enjoying it on the Mall. Back to the Natural History Museum to see what we didn鈥檛 see before (would like to get in the Hope Diamond, Ocean Hall and Dinosaurs if possible). Then over to the West Building of the National Gallery of Art for a look at DaVinci (my daughters special request) and Monet and Van Gogh if time allows. Get on the metro at Archives back to the hotel and drive to Ray鈥檚 Hell Burger for dinner.

Monday 鈥?Check out of the hotel and take the metro to the Smithsonian stop. Get in line for BEP tickets at 8:00. (I tried through my senator but didn鈥檛 get lucky enough to get any.) Go over to National Archives for 10:30 tour. Take metro back to the hotel to pick up the car. Drive to Arlington National Cemetary. See what we can before it closes at 5:00. Grab some dinner and head for Pittsburgh.

Please let me know what you think of my itinerary...

This sounds like a great trip to me. Just a couple of things...

1. If you%26#39;d like something more substantial than a hot dog on the Mall after your Capitol tour, ask your guide if any of the House or Senate cafeterias are open on Saturday. Last summer on a weekday, our guide directed us to a cafeteria in one of the House office buildings which had a wide selection of food choices at good prices. You could also have lunch in one of the Smithsonians. I%26#39;ve heard raves about the food in the Museum of the American Indian. My family enjoys the variety in the food court underground between the East and West National Galleries of Art (neat waterfall). Also, there%26#39;s a cafe in the newly-reopened American History Museum where you are headed.

2. Are you planning on driving to the Mall on Sunday? You should be able to find parking near the museums if you get there early enough. If you don%26#39;t plan to leave your picnic lunch in the car, you will have to leave it in the check room off the Rotunda of the Natural History Museum. (No food or drink allowed in the museum itself.)

3. Should Ray%26#39;s Hell Burger be too crowded for you on Sunday night, you might want to try Elevation Burger at 442 South Washington Street in Falls Church. (Unfortunately, the Arlington branch off Lee Highway hasn%26#39;t opened yet.) It gets good reviews from the Washington Post food critic and my neighbor, who takes her 2-year-old there, raves about it. http://www.elevationburger.com/

Please let me know what you think of my itinerary...

Great information!! Thanks longhorn74. I didn%26#39;t realize you couldn%26#39;t bring a sack lunch into the museums. We will not be driving in that day so I will have to look into checking it into the check room like you suggested.

I see a *lot* of walking for the children, are they used to it?

The American History museum has much more than those two exhibits - suggest the ';Star Spangled Banner'; flag, very impressive and moving (2nd floor) and the America on the Move exhibit on the lower floor. The Thanks for the Memories was very small and quite disappointing, IMO.

Don%26#39;t miss the other fabulous jewels near the Hope Diamond!

Try to catch the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

Very well planned. I wish I could join you. LOL.

Should you guys decide to change your evening dinner plans there are lots of restaurants near by.

There are tons of restaurants in Pentagon Row (behind Pentagon City Mall). Faves include Lebanese Taverna, Asia Bistro, Sine (Irish).

www.pentagonrow.com

There are also a ton of restaurants on 23rd Street which if often called Restaurant Row. Faves include Crystal City Sport Pub, Bonsai Sushi, Cafe Italia.

And lastly there are lots of restaurants in Crystal City proper. Faves include McCormick and Schmicks (seafood) and Jaleo (tapas)

crystalcity.com/Dine_Shop_Stay/Dine/Restaura鈥?/a>

Your restaurant choices are excellent choices and you have chosen well. I just wanted you to have some other options should you want to change your plans.

From your itinerary you will be doing a ton of walking. Be prepared to have to change on the fly. I would also second the recommendation for trying to see the Changing of the Guards. I also love that you are doing the Old Post Office Pavillion early in your trip as you can see how far or close things are and it gives you an overview of where things are.

Great itinerary and planning.

You%26#39;ll probably need to bring something to put your bag lunches in. Here%26#39;s what the website for the Smithsonian%26#39;s Natural History Museum says:

';Lunches may be stored in large plastic bags or coolers in the check rooms off the Rotunda and the Constitution Avenue Lobby (no refrigerated storage available).';

Thank you everyone for the all the wonderful advice. I do realize that there is a lot of walking involved. Being a large family, we are always prepared to do things on the fly! The youngest will be in a stroller for the most part and the older children are pretty active. So we will hope for the best and anything we miss on this trip we will just have to see on the next trip. It is good excuse to visit again! I also hope to spend some time just sitting on the Mall, relaxing and enjoying the scenery in between activities (weather permitting). Hopefully that will break up a lot of the walking. Thanks again!!