We loved every minute of our trip! In the few short days, we squeezed in a lot! We flew from California to BWI, got a car and drove to Ocean City. Then we drove up from OC to DC and then over to Baltimore taking 17 days total vacationing!
We stayed at the Embassy Suites(Convention Center) and it was really nice. The only neg was the ';happy hour'; because we were used to having ';hot'; snacks and all they served was pretzles, chips, etc, so don%26#39;t count on a ';filler'; meal. The breakfast was very good but incredibly crowded so it took over an hour-just be aware of this in planning your time.
It was simple to catch the circulator bus to go to the Mall area but also not a bad walk, all down hill. Coming back was a nightmare each time as the bus would not come and the walk uphill was looong. We ended up just getting a taxi.
We loved all the museums, 2 kids ages 6 %26amp; 11, just enjoyed everything. We didn%26#39;t arrange a Capitol tour ahead of time and DH ran down to get some of the ';limited number of tickets'; that were available in the morning but they wouldn%26#39;t give them to him unless the whole goup was present. The kids were still sleeping! Then I called the concierge to find out about the Bureau of Engraving Tour(where you can see them print the money). This is the hardest to get into and most difficult to find out the information! We didn%26#39;t get to do it but the concierge called and got us Capitol Tour tickets! It was great, we were the only ones in the group so it was just like a personal tour and we all loved it.
We saw all the monuments, Jefferson and Roosevelt are difficult to do, off the beaten path so we went in the evening and had no trouble parking. Don%26#39;t miss Roosevelt, it was spectacular! We went to visit the main mall monuments early evening and it was great because as we were finishing up, it got dark and we could see them all lit up too! Perfect! We gave the 6 year old a penny to hold as we approached the Lincoln Memorial and she was so excited when she realized that was it!!
The one regret was not having enough time at the Art Gallery. We never dreamed the kids would be so interested but they loved it. You can get a ';highlights'; tour guide at the desk for ';an hour or less'; and that is what we did but we could have spent a lot more time there. Also the Air %26amp; Space museum was not the ';big'; highlight for our kids that we thought it would be. We could have spent less time there and more in the Art Gallery. ) Note too, the 11 year old was very disappointed that we didn%26#39;t see the ';real'; Declaration of Independence at the National Archives! It was just a ';fake'; but no one said it, we just saw the tiny tiny note on the side after waiting in line about 30 minutes.)
One big highlight for them was in the American History Museum. There was a muppets exhibit and we saw everything from Ted Baxter%26#39;s Blazer to the Ruby Slippers from the Wizard of Oz. However the thing we almost missed that was most impressive was the flag from Ft. McHenry that is being restored. The kids were really impressed and after DC we went to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore and took them to Ft. McHenry! They loved being able to tell the tour guide at Ft. McHenry that they had just seen the flag!
So thanks for all of your tips and hints! Of course, they all want to go back again and spend more time in DC!!
Just checking back in-had a great trip! Thanks all!
Thank you for writing a trip report! It is very informative! You mentioned that the Declaration of Independence was not the real one when you went through. Are there times when the authentic document is the one on display?
Thanks!
Readaloud
Just checking back in-had a great trip! Thanks all!
According to the National Archives website, the real Declaration of Independence is on display in the Rotunda. The Rotunda was closed for 3 weeks due to flooding so perhaps fidoprincess was in another part of the building?
Thank you for your summary--a lot of good information, ideas, and suggestions!
mopsydog, I am not sure what the schedule is for the ';real'; D of I but I do know that we were in the right place-lol! All of the renovations were complete when we visited in early August. You wait in a line just to see the documents and we got there really early. It was out first thing of the day!
The exhibit is specifically titled ';Charters of Freedom and you do go into the Rotunda at the National Archives Building and on the left is the ';fake'; D of I, the ';real'; Bill of RIghts is on the right hand side and the ';real'; Constitution is in the center. There was no signage about the D of I being ';restored'; or anything else, just a tiny sign that said it was a fake. Here is the link to the National Archives SIte (archives.gov/national-archives-experience/vi…) There is no information on the website either saying why or when the real one is on display. My kids are sure that is was removed because of the Nick Cage Movie-lol! My husband thinks it is because of the threat of terrorism.
We know that they lower the case each night into a vault, perhaps no one was working to raise it in the morning. I wished we would have questioned the guard or something but he was so excited and busy telling us about finding the ';hidden'; eagles in the room, we just got sidetracked!
This coming Sunday, Sept 17th, you can add your own signature to the US Constitution!!! (or at least a reasonable facsimile of it). It%26#39;s Constitution Day at the Archives, where you can meet its author, James Madison (or at least a reasonable historical reenactor). Click on www.archives.gov/dc-metro/events/index.html#1 for more info.
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