Getting veteran around the city

My Dad is 81 and we are going to DC next week to visit the WWII memorial - he can%26#39;t walk too far. What is the best metro stop to get off for this? Would we take a cab from the Metro stop to the memorial? We are then heading to the Kennedy Center - again - should we take a cab?

Then for other touring, he wants to go to the Holocaust Musuem, National Archives, and Natural American History Museum. What are the best metro stops and then would we need a cab?

Thanks for your help - Can%26#39;t wait to take him!

Getting veteran around the city

-WW II Memorial is accessible by the Metro (Smithsonian Station-Orange Line and blue line). Only problem you will have to walk up and across many DC busy streets to get there and with an elderly person who probably isn%26#39;t going to walk very fast and probably doesn%26#39;t want to walk at all, you could catch a quick cab ride for not much at all if you would prefer. Also there is limited handicapped parking spaces next to the Memorial but of course everyone will try to get there first.

-All of the museums you listed are on the Smithsonian Metro Stop and/or L%26#39;Enfant Plaza (orange, blue, yellow, and green) metro stops. All within reasonable walking distance for the average person. It just depends on how far he is willing to walk. Natural History, American History are right near each other. The Holocaust is on the opposite side of the museums closer to the Smithsonian Station exit at Department of Agriculture.

-Kennedy Center is the easiest of all of these. Take the metro to Foggy Bottom Station (orange and blue line) get off and get on the Kennedy Center Shuttle Bus. Check with the Kennedy Center to see what the hours of operation is and how often they pick up. Fast and convenient.

Also, there is a Circulator Bus that runs up and down the street near the museums. The fare is $1.00 and I think free or $.50 for seniors. This is fast and convenient for the museums along their bus line. Go to www.dccirculator.com and look at the map. It will show you the various stops along the ';MUSEUM'; route. This will be cheaper and probably better than catching a cab and wasting $$$$ for a few block cab ride.

Hope this helps.

Also try the Tour Mobile and the Old Town Trolley%26#39;s, the DC Duck Tours all of these allow you to get off an on the bus to see the Monuments but not the museums. At least you could do that in one day for the monument visits.

Getting veteran around the city

Thanks so much for your help...I think we%26#39;ll probably be doing some cab rides - but that%26#39;s OK. I don%26#39;t want to wear him out too much - rather have him enjoy everything. If we spend $100 on cabs, it will be money well spent. Thanks again!

My Dad is also the same age as your Dad and also is a WWII veteran. He%26#39;s had his knee replaced but was still able to walk from the WWII memorial to the Vietnam one and then on to the Foggy Bottom Metro station. FYI, there are lots of benches around if your Dad needs to sit for a while. We considered using a taxi that day but for some reason they were scarce around the Mall. Also, consider buying tickets for the Old Town Trolley (http://www.historictours.com/washington/) or the Tourmobile(http://www.tourmobile.com/). Both go by the monuments and memorials and run frequently.

The Metro stations are pretty far from the memorials and the Holocaust musuem if you%26#39;re not a strong walker--more than a half mile. And the ones that are closest if you wanted to try it often put you places cabs tend not to be. Good stops for a short cab ride to the WW2 memorial would be Farragut West or Farragut North. If you%26#39;re staying in DC, maybe easiest just to get the cab straight from your hotel. From there to the Kenedy Center it%26#39;s a pretty straightforward cab ride--start by looking for one wherever you got dropped off. Holocaust museum is a cab ride for certain.

I second the idea of taking a cab from the hotel. Since DC cabs operate on a zone system (as opposed to a time and distance-based meter), it doesn%26#39;t really matter where your hotel is, as long as it%26#39;s within the same zone as the WW II Memorial. (most of the downtown hotels south of H Street are within the Downtown zone).

You also might want to contact your local VFW chapter or the VFW chapter here in the DC Metro area and see if they have any information for you. It%26#39;s possible the local chapter in DC has volunteers for just his purpose. I know there were a lot of programs available for the dedication and some may still be in service.

Thanks to all of you for all your help.

I need one more piece of advice...My mom and dad will celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary on Monday and we want to take them somewhere special for dinner that night. This may be our big splurge night!

Any great ideas??

N2 --

What type of food do they like to eat? Would you like a place that has a view, like a waterfront restaurant?

They are farm people and like meat and potatoes - I was thinking something of a view of the monuments..Any suggestions?

Not as a dinner suggestion, but for a nice view of the monuments, The Hotel Washington has a roof top cafe where you can order drinks, dessert and appetizers. (Pennsylvania %26amp; 15th Street, N.W., about two blocks from Metro Center 13th and F street)

It%26#39;s beautiful at night or to go for sunset. You get a nice view of everything. I usually go there after dinner for coffee and dessert and relax.

You can get hamburgers and stuff there, but I don%26#39;t recommend it. I had a burger there once and it was pretty bad. The fruit and cheese platter was fine though.

I haven%26#39;t been to any celebratory-type American restaurants in DC lately, so I will leave that to the experts.

I will say that the meal we had at the new Clydes at the MCI Center before the Bon Jovi concert in January or February was awful and they are the same people who own Old Ebbitt Grill. I%26#39;ve never been to Ruth%26#39;s Chris Steakhouse.