We recently returned from a late February nine day visit to Washington DC. Yes, I said NINE DAYS! We picked this time of year for our trip because we do not mind the cold weather(we live in California%26#39;s Northern Sierra Mtns.), low winter B%26amp;B rates and to avoid the crowds during the Cherry Blossom Festival and Spring Breaks. Both of us had been to DC on previous visits. I was there in Dec 1965 for a short visit and toured the inside of the White House, Capitol, Mint, Arlington, and the Mall all in one day! My husband was last there in April of 1968, sent there during his Army service to patrol the streets during the MLK riots(he was shot in the leg!) We stayed at the Meridian Manor B%26amp;B on 16th Street just a few doors up from the U Street Corridor. We really liked staying in this neighborhood, lots of restaurants and unique shops and the U Street Metro station was only 3 blocks from our B%26amp;B, plus we had wireless internet at the B%26amp;B. Ben%26#39;s Chili Bowl was nearby a though we walked passed it twice and looked in the windows, the lines were always too long. We flew SWA from Reno(RNO) to Baltimore(BWI) direct arriving very late at BWI and spent the night at the Comfort Suites BWI.
Day 1- The hotel shuttle bus took us back to BWI where we boarded the B30 bus, for a 40 minute trip to the Greenbelt Metro station. It is $3.10 to Greenbelt and you must have exact change. At Greenbelt we purchased our Metro Smartrip Cards from a vending machine for $5 each and put $10 on each of them. The machines only take $1, $5 and $10 bills %26amp; debit %26amp; credit cards. We used the Oystercards in London several years ago and the Smartrip cards work the same way. You tap your card on a circle at the metro turnstile and the gate opens. When you get to the end of your trip you tap the circle again when exiting and the amount of your trip in deducted from your card. We refilled our Smartrip cards several times at vending machines and after the last use they had 80 cents left on them. We have passed them on to friends visiting DC in April. We tried to use the metro after 9:30 in the morning to avoid the rush hour fares and crowds. The metro was never packed and we always felt safe.
At Greenbelt we called our B%26amp;B host, John, and told him we were on our way. It was a short walk from the U Street station, 13th Street exit, rolling our luggage along the sidewalk. Use the north side of U Street for wheeled luggage, better sidewalks. John was waiting for us at check in and after we were given a tour and settled we were off to stretch our legs after the long flight.
We walked to DuPont Circle along New Hampshire passing several embassies along the way. We checked out Kramers books and had a great pastrami lunch at their Afterwords cafe. We continued our walk down Connecticut to the White House. Visited the White House Visitor Center and then circled around the White House grounds passing the Blair House, US Treasury and Eisenhower Executive Office Bldg. We saw few other tourists until we got near the White House and even then there weren%26#39;t many. We walked north to the Farragut North Station and took the Metro back to U Street. We had a nice dinner at a restaurant on U Street called JoJo%26#39;s. They had a special that night, wine was $5 and good crab cake sandwiches, dinner for two was under $25.
Day 2- Took the metro to the Archives Station and walked to the Air and Space Museum on the Mall. We spent almost the whole day at the Air and Space Museum! The Apollo exhibits are so interesting! My favorite was Friendship 7, the capsule John Glenn first orbited the earth in, it is so tiny and very primitive by today%26#39;s standards! We at lunch here at the McDonalds/Dominoes/Boston Market ';cafe';. In the late afternoon we walked over to the Museum of the American Indian for about a one hour visit. Back across town by metro and we picked up some subs for dinner to have in the dining room of our B%26amp;B rather than try to eat out on on Friday night.
Day 3- Today we took the metro to the Eastern Market. We were kind of disappointed in the market, it is in a temporary bldg while they rebuild after a fire. We did enjoy looking at the produce, meat and cheeses. The best thing was a real Pickle Man selling pickles out of barrels. The we took the metro to Union Station. We walked around the station and looked at the shops and restaurants. We were told to eat at the America Cafe but decided on a quick burger instead. After lunch we walked across the street to the US Postal Museum. We both really enjoyed this museum and it is in a beautifully restored building. I bought a postcard for my Postmistress and mailed it to her from the museum post office. Several people were there buying special issue stamps.
Next we walked to the National Museum of the American Indian past the US Capitol building. Took lots of pictures along the way. We spent the afternoon in the NMAI. We were both kind of disappointed in this museum.(And my husband is of Native American Heritage) It did not feel child friendly and they seem to avoid any anthropological history. They do have a great gift shop! We wanted to eat at the Mitsitam Cafe but it was too early for dinner. We headed out and walked along the National Mall got a hot chocolate and sat on a bench and watched the soccer and frisbee games. Some players were in shorts and lost of joggers everywhere. Everyone in DC is very polite and friendly, a gentleman even offered his seat to me on the metro. Headed back to the B%26amp;B by metro and once again got some take out food. We decided food would not be our focus on this trip and we are trying to keep to a food budget of $50 per day for the two of us. When were were in London and Italy we had a much higher dining budget as we wanted to sample the regional foods.
Day 4- We went to the National Museum of American History in the morning. My favorite exhibit was Julia Child%26#39;s Kitchen! It had plexiglass inserts so you could almost step inside her kitchen. Other favorites were: the Star Spangled Banner, Abraham Lincoln, Price of Freedom(history of American Wartime), the Ruby Red Slippers, C3PO%26#39;s costume from Star Wars and the gowns of the First Ladies. We had lunch here in the Stars and Stripes Cafe, I had a pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw.
Next we went to the National Museum of Natural History. First we visited the Hope Diamond and Gemstone Exhibit. Then we split up and each went our own way. My husband visited the ';Written in Bone'; exhibit and I missed it so we will go back later so I can see it. It was a little bit crowded at these two museums, lots of families having a good time!Then we walked over to the Smithsonian Castle to get printed instructions from the information counter on how to take public transportation to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center(Air and Space Museum Annex at Dulles). Across town via metro and once again we had another nice dinner at JoJo%26#39;s.
Day 5- Today we went to Dulles to visit the Air and Space Museum Annex properly called the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. We took the metro to the L%26#39;Enfant Plaza station and a helpful metro employee told us where to find the bus stop for the 5A bus that goes to Dulles. It is on the north side of D Street between 6th and 7th in front of Irene%26#39;s Deli. It was $3.00 each for the trip to Dulles and we used our Smartrip cards. The bus aso stops at the Rosslyn Metro station and you can board it there. It took about an hour to get to Dulles. There we waited about 45 minutes to catch the Virginia Regional Transit Association(VRTA) bus to the Air and Space museum. There is no bus shelter from the wind and not very good signage so you have to watch for the VRTA bus, it was 50 cents one way and it is about a 10-15 minute trip to the museum. Once at the museum we had an early lunch at the McDonalds(the only choice) ther also have a McCafe that has specialty coffees amd muffins etc.
The most significant aircraft here is the ';Enola Gay';! Also there is a test Space Shuttle the ';Enterprise';, a Concorde and a SR71. This is the third SR71 I have seen and I got to see one fly once at an air show at March AFB. My husband is a space and aviation history expert so I have been to a lot of air and space museums over the past 35 years! He is usually my tour guide but after a while we split up and each went our own way. There are two huge hangers here full of aircraft. I hope someday they will have a F117 Nighthawk here.
I opted for a afternoon cappucino at the McCafe and later we took the VRTA shuttle back to Dulles. This trip our timing was better and we had a short wait for the 5A bus back to DC. This time we got off at the Rosslyn stop and took the metro to DuPont Circle. We arrived at the DuPont Circle metro escalator to find it out of order! 142 steps to the top during rush hour, it was like climbing the Chilcot Pass in Alaska, you could not stop. Once some oxygen got back into our leg muscles we continued our walk back to the B%26amp;B stopping at the Safeway store on Corcoran Street. We got take out sandwiches and soup for dinner.
Day 6- This morming we went to the International Spy Museum and it was $18 each to get in. We both enjoyed this museum and we took about two hours to go through it. Next we went to the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian Art Museum. We had lunch at the Courtyard Cafe and I had a sandwich, turkey and brie with watercress on walnut cranberry bread, delish! This cafe is in a glass enclosed courtyard in the center of the buildings. Some people were enjoying there brown bag lunches there too.
We especially enjoyed the Native American Art by George Catlin. Other prominent artist were: Frederick Remington, Ansel Adams, Georgia O%26#39;Keefe, Maynard Dixon and Grandma Moses. We also visited the Folk Art Exhibit. Next we walked over to the National Archives and walked right in, no lines! Viewed the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights and a copy of the Magna Carta. There were 38 original copies of the Magna Carta and four known copies are left, I have seen two of those and my husband has seen three! I wonder where the fourth one is?
We decided to re-visit the Natural History Museum. I wanted to see the ';Written in Bone'; exhibit. If you have any famnily member interested in forensic science this is the exhibit to see.
Took our late afternoon cross town metro trip to the B%26amp;B. Went out for dinner at a local Belgian restaurant on 18th Street that turned out to be way over priced!
Day 7- Lots of walking today! We started out at the National Geogrphic Explorers Hall. Viewed two photo and art exhibits, one featured Leopards and the other was Birds of North America. From here we walked to the DAR Museum(Daughters of the American Revolution). I wanted to talk to the staff there about my great, great, great, great, great Grandfather who fought in the Revolutionary War. He was awarded land for his service, called a land warrant. I have always wanted to prove my heritage to my Patriot ancestor so I talked to several people at the DAR library and Hdqrs and they set me up with the paperwork and information I needed.
Next we took the metro to the National Zoo and got off at the Van Ness station to avoid the uphill walk to the Zoo entrance from the Woodley Park/Zoo metro station. Walked down hill through the Zoo, our main objective was to view the Giant Pandas. We were lucky as the Giant Pandas were all out snoozing in the sun. Then we had to walk all the way through the Zoo to eat at the only cafe open, the ';Mane Restaurant';. Worked our lunch off walking back up hill out to the Zoo entrance. The one other really neat exhibit here is the Orangutan exhibit. They have a tower they can climb and then swing by cable across zoo visitor%26#39;s head to several other towers. I would like to see them out doing that somnetime!
We went back across town to visit the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. It is new and very nice but I was shocked to find over 18,000 names on it. We have five law enforcement officers in our family. It is south side of E Street between 5th and 4th Streets and there is a small Visitor Center and Store on 7th Street near D Street.
Took the metro back to the B%26amp;B and got take out pizza, wish I could remember the name of the pizza place(Mille and Al%26#39;s?) as it was very good! Did laundry tonight! My husband thinks he saw a Presidential motorcade today. I was gawking at the buildings and missed the whole thing. You get so use to all the sirens going off that after a few days you stop looking at where they are coming from. This time them were coming from two police vehicles, two secret service vehicles and one giant limo!
Day 8- Even more walking today! First thing we took the metro to Arlington Station. Walked to the visitor center and bought tickets to take the Tourmobile to the Kennedy graves and also to the Tomb of the Unknowns. I was at the Kennedy gravesite in 1965 and it is a bit changed. Also Robert Kennedy%26#39;s grave is nearby marked by a simple white cross. Next we went to the Tomb of the Unknowns. We watched the changing of the guard and also two wreath laying took place while we were there. Wreath layings are very emotional as they have the playing of taps each time. We walked up to the Shuttle Crew memorials and heard a drum corps. There in the distance we saw a horse drawn caisson pulled by 6 horses. The caisson had a flag draped coffin on the back. It was a very moving experience to witness that. I found out later that a highly deocrated General was being buried that day. We eventually took the Tourmobile back to the visitor center and then we walked to the Iwo Jima Memorial. My father-in-law was in the Marines in WWII. Landed on the beach at Tarawa, Sai Pan and was part of the occupational forces in the Phillipines. Walked back to the visitor center and then headed across the Potomac River by foot over the Memorial Bridge. Had a light lunch at one of the Mall food stands. Visited the Lincoln Memorial, the Viet Nam Memorial and then the Korean Memorial. The the Viet Nam Memorial seemed very peaceful and the Korean Memorial is very dramatic, with a simple inscription ';Freedom Isn%26#39;t Free';. The Reflecting Pool was empty and tractors were scooping out the sludge and goose poop. Next we headed east toward the World War Two Memorial. Along the way we ran into a Mounted Park Policeman and posed for pictures.
Our last stop was the Washington Memorial. We did not plan on getting ticket to go to the top and I wouldn%26#39;t have enjoyed that trip anyway! So we just walked around the Monument and enjoyed the view down the Mall. We decided not to walk to the Jefferson Memorial as we had already walked about ten miles that day. Headed back to the B%26amp;B and picked up some cupcakes at the ';Cake Love'; cafe for my husband%26#39;s birthday. We had a quiet celebration with our B%26amp;B hosts.
Day 9- We headed back to the National Air and Space Museum to re-visit the Apollo exhibits. We also wanted to purchase some items there for our two grandsons. Then we went to the Mitsitam Cafe for lunch. I had an Indian Taco topped with Buffalo Chili and a Pinenut Tart for dessert. Mu husband had a Buffalo Shank and a burrito. All of it was delicious! We walked over to the US Botanic Gardens and walked through the greenhouses and then headed back to the B%26amp;B for an early night and to re-pack our luggage. Since we had a big lunch we just had a light supper snack of cheese, salami, crackers and apples.
Day 10- Departure Day! Checked out of the Meridian and said goodbye to our wonderful hosts. With luggage in tow we walked to the U Street Station to find the metro undergoing repairs. We had a bit of a wait to catch our train to National Airport. Finally there we picked up a rental car and headed for Quantico Virginia to visit the new USMC Museum located just outside the base. It is a very well done museum! We emjoyed talking to the retired USMC docents. Had a good lunch there at the ';Tun Tavern';. The original Tun Tavern in Philadelphia was where the first Marines were recruited.
This pretty much ends our time in Washington DC. From here we drove to Pennsylvanis for another nine days visiting my extended farm family in the rural parts of York County. My mom is from a wondeful Pennsylvanis Dutch family of good cooks. We had a good time visiting with family and made one trip to Lancaster County to eat at Shady Maple and do some shopping in little hidden away Amish owned stores were my cousin shops. We also had to stop at Wilbur Chocolate Facotory in Lititz for some Wilbur Buds. We did two factory tours in PA, Snyders Pretzels in Hanover and the Family Heirlom Weavers in Red Lion. I have relatives that work at Snyders and it is a very interesting tour. I also enjoyed the weaving mill they have very old looms, both have websites on how to arrange for tours. My husband went to Gettysburg(again) one day by himself.
After the end our our PA visit we drove back to Baltimore and visited Fort McHenry NM. It was very interesting to see where the orginal Star Spangled Banner flew after seeing it at the Museum of American History. We had lunch on the Inner Harbor at the Rusty Scupper, our last crab cakes! Turned in our rental car at BWI(We picked Alamo as they did not charge us a drop off fee for returning it at BWI instead of National). Back to Comfort Suites for the night and flew home on SWA back to Reno.
It was a great mid-winter trip and we liked having nine days to visit all the sites we wanted to see In Washington. We made a list of what we wanted to see in DC and set priorities for each once. Our main objective was to visit the Smithsonian Museums, Arlington and the Monuments on the Mall. We didn%26#39;t make it to Mount Vernon, maybe next time. We went to London three years ago and spent almost two weeks visiting museums and took two days trips out of the city. Two years ago we spent 18 days in Italy. I told my husband when we got back from Italy we are not going to Europe again until we visit our own National Museums. How do they compare? Well our National Museums are pretty wonderful! I would have to say the Crown Jewels beat out the Hope Diamond and you won%26#39;t find McDonalds in any Museums in London or Italy! But they don%26#39;t have the great Air and Space exhibits nor any of our National Treasures. Be prepared to do a lot of walking. Just walking from one side of the Mall to the other can be quite a distance if you are not used to walking alot. The Apollo exhibits alone were worth the trip!
Trip Report: Nine Days in Washington DC... long report
Thanks so much for this detailed report. It%26#39;s a great help in finalizing my plans for my own trip in April. However, it may get buried in the ';District of Columbia'; forum. You may want to re-post it on the ';Washington D.C.'; forum. I really don%26#39;t know why there are two separate forums when Washington, D.C. and District of Columbia are the exact same place. But, I%26#39;d hate to see this report get buried because of this TA anomaly. Thanks again!
Trip Report: Nine Days in Washington DC... long report
Dear Almost-middle-aged,
I would be glad to re-post it in the ';Washington DC Forum'; if you would tell me how to do it with out re-typing the whole long report! I can%26#39;t find any information on how to re-post on another forum at the TA help center. I used the ';District of Columbia Forum'; for my pre-trip research and that was the one I had bookmarked.
My husband tells me I also have a correction: his USMC father was at Tarawa, Saipan, Okinawa, and in Nagasaki at part of the occupation force, not the Phillipines as I reported above.
Have a good visit in April and wear your hiking boots!
Ouiser
No comments:
Post a Comment