ANY tips for 1.5 days in DC with 80yr old dad?

We parked on the street near the Capitol on a Sunday a few years ago. I'm not sure you still can but traffic was very light on the weekend.

Hope you have a great trip.

Since your dad would have been 25 years old in 1944, find out where he was and what he was doing during The War. Then enter this information at

WWIIMemorial.Org

I can not emphasize enough that the organization wants information on what EVERYONE -- not just those in the military -- was doing during those years. If your father did something other than spy for the Axis, they want to record it. They store it permanently online, indexed by city, county, and state.

It takes a couple days for the info to be approved, and its entirely an honor system -- so be honorable and honest! Then, when you actually go to the World War Two Memorial, you can do a search for his name and show that he'll be remembered at this site for all time!

The FDR memorial is wonderful. It's also close to the Korea and Vietnam memorials.

Take the Metro, it will be easier and less stressful than driving; many find it fun, and your dad sounds like he would. If the weather is decent, walking around as many of the monuments as you can would be my choice, since he's a good walker; you can always hop a cab to cover a larger distance, or back to the Metro. Vietnam, WWII, FDR, Jefferson, Lincoln (of course), Washington, all are worth a stop. You could hop back on the Metro, or cab, or even walk to the Capitol along the Mall, too, and if either of you are interested in any of the museums along the way, stop in, b/c they're all free. Google Smithsonian Institution for a list.

Then it depends what you're interested in: Arlington Cemetery, a stroll past the White House, more time inside a museum, National Archives, Holocaust Museum, the Newseum. With just 1.5 days, I would definitely center myself on the National mall and go from there. Have fun!

I agree it would be easiest if you just drive to a metro station with parking, leave your car and use the metro to get around. It's fast, convenient and easy to use. In terms of what to see in a short time, the monuments are probably what most people think of and certainly the WWII one would be on the top of the list since he probably remembers a lot about WWII even if he was too young to have served. He was probably of age during the Korean conflict and that's a great memorial also. Someone mentioned the FDR one too and that one is fabulous. All are within walking distance of each other, but still entails a significant amount of walking. The Smithsonian metro stop is probably the closest one to the monuments. During the summer there are tour buses available to take you around to the various memorials but I don't know if they run in October.

The National Cathedral is nice and often overlooked, if you want something a little lower key. Ford's Theatre where Lincoln was shot is also often overlooked but worth a visit. You can tour the house across the street where he was taken. It is staffed with very knowledgeable people from the National Park service. If you want to do that you should visit this website for more information: http://www.fordstheatre.org/home/plan-your-visit

Arlington cemetery is also worth a visit where you can see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and watch the changing of the guard and then tour Lee's house. Depending on your dad's stamina you could do the monument tour and Arlington (which you access via the metro) in one day.

If the weather is bad, there are always the museums. The Smithsonians, National Art Gallery and National Archives are all good rainy day places.

For a really cool place for lunch, go to the top of the old Hotel Washington. It's open air, overlooks the White House and the mall and has great views. Unfortunately I can't tell you the new name as it was recently sold and renovated. I don't even know if it's as nice as before but it used to be a really neat place. It's next to the Willard Hotel (another very well known hotel).

Another great place for lunch nearby is Old Ebbitt Grill. It's a very popular Washington DC restaurant and the food is good.

Finally, if you want to skip downtown DC altogether and want something really leisurely, just walking around Georgetown is nice as is walking around old Alexandria. Both places have lots of great little restaurants and are just good for strolling, window shopping and/or sitting by the river.

Get a toll transponder - it speeds up the trip thru NY and NJ. My GPS had a problem going thru Washington, DC around some area of new highway interchanges - car has built-in GPS and was less than a year old at the time - no idea of age of interchanges or maps in GPS, however. So grab a map just in case.

Your GPS will take you over the GW Bridge thru NYC on the trip - my opinion, and past consensus here is to avoid that and take Tappan Zee Bridge instead. Much discussion on that routing here, but ask again if it is easier or you can not find it.

Some form of hop on/hop off bus or TourMobile might make sense for your trip. It can just ride you around if you want. On Saturday evening I might take your own car back into DC to ride by the various monuments lit up.

If you leave Sunday early afternoon you will hit return-to-NYC weekend traffic plus possibly similar but lighter traffic in Boston area - not a deal killer, just be aware. Fortunatly no NE Patriots game that weekend which can tie up the entire south of Boston road system for hours on game day.

And my final piece of advice that I indelicately bring up whenever people are traveling with an elderly person (sorry, it is the nurse in me) - bathrooms. The route you are taking has ample Dunkin Donuts/fast food places in which to find a bathroom - except for the areas around whichever bridge you are taking around NYC. It could be a few hours if there is traffic before you find a reasonable place to stop. Also, the area from Baltimore to Washington has some sketchy places you may not feel comfortable stopping at, especially since it may be approaching dark by the time you get there.

Nice of you to do this - hope everyone has a good trip.

One other thought - airfare is $140 each RT if you leave Friday and return Monday - higher if you have to return Sunday. Car rental for that time period is under $100. Not sure about your budget, but something to consider.

If there's any chance your dad is handicapped (with a parking tag) I strongly recommend looking at parking near the Lincoln Memorial. We spent an hour driving all over the place looking to park and when we finally saw the sign near the LM there were about half dozen parking spaces still empty!

Other than that, I DEFINITLY recommend riding the tour-mobile. You get to see the city, have the option of hopping on and off anywhere along the route and when you are on the tourmobile a tour guide describes all sorts of little nuggets that many people don't know about the city.

I haven't been to DC is quite a few years but I remember the trolley ride as being for good esp for a short visit. On another trip to a friend's who lived on the outskirts, we took a canal boat ride. It was pouring rain but we still had fun. After a ride around, overview, you could go back to what looks most interesting to your Dad. There might be a particular Smithsonian museum that interests him. The only thing I didn't care for was the boat ride to Mt Vernon. There were a lot of people visiting that day so we didn't have time to go inside the house before it was time to get back on the boat.

WOW! Thanks to everyone for taking the time to post such great replies so quickly!

Dad is a Korean war vet, but his two late brothers were WWII vets (and brother we're visiting was career army), so I'll follow some of your suggestions on those areas.

There is a newish bus service called the Circulator-you might want to check its route online.


The Library of Congress is wonderful-a good Bob Hope exhibit.

If weather permits, a walk along the Mall.

So many museums to choose from and so many free.

Your hotel is right at the Friendship Heights metro stop on the Red line so metro access would be easy for you.
http://www.wmata.com/
Weekends traffic can be lighter in DC and parking easier esp on a Sunday early to mid morning. U can usually find a parking space on a Saturday or Sunday if you drive around enough and keep looking. There are garages all about, they range in price, but none are cheap.

The Hotel Washington which someone mentioned is now the W Hotel and supposed to be quite pricey but still has the great view. For awhile it was hard to get tables, but that may have calmed down since it opened inthe summer.

Goergetown is really just a bunch of stores (mainly chain stores these days) and restaurants and I wouldn't recommend visiting with the limited time you have. On Halloween Georgetwon is a big spot for people to hang out in costumes. It gets really crowded and they block traffic and limit parking. With Halloween on a Saturday it should be a zoo. If u decide to go, there is no metro access right in Georgetown.

TD's suggestion for the circulator is a good one 4 getting around parts of DC.
http://www.dccirculator.com/DCCirculator.html#home

Enjoy DC

My 92 yr. old Mom and friends enjoy the ride on the Potomac river, gliding by monuments, scenic beauty, bits of history are narrated, there are refreshments and a rest room on board - and it's a pleasant hour or so of edutainment.

The DC Metro is easy but if for some reason you decide you want to drive - there is almost always metered parking behind the old Smithsonian/Renwick (on the Monument end of the Mall)- especially if you arrive on the early side. Then you can use the public restrooms & grab info. as you pass through the Renwick on your way to the Mall.

The National Cathedral is beautiful but if you decide to go there- check where the Metro stops. It used to be a bit of a walk.

We loved the tourmobile as a quick, warm, & dry introductory visit when I took my kids to DC .

Have a great visit!

Suggestion: Take Metro Red Line to Farragut North station. Walk through Farragut Square diagonally from the intersection of Connecticut Ave and K Street so you pick up Connecticut Ave on the other side of the Square.

Continue down Connecticut Avenue to Lafayette Square and through that Square to see the North front of the White House. Turn right (as you face the White House and walk past Blair House (on your right, where an assasination attempt on Truman occurred) and the Old Executive Office Building (on your left). Turn left on 17th Street.

Continue on 17th Street a few blocks (you can detour left at the Ellipse to see the South front of the White House if you wish) and you will be at the WWII Memorial. Then walk along the Reflecting Pool to the Lincoln Memorial. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is on the right near the LM and the Korean Veterans Memorial (a must-see for your Dad) is on the left side.

If your Dad still has the energy, you can continue South from the Korean Veterans Memorial to see the FDR Memorial, which lies along the Tidal Basin. If you need a break, there are always cabs lined up next to the Lincoln Memorial near the Korean Veterans Memorial, take one of those back some place closer to a Metro stop. For example, you could go to the National Gallery Sculpture Garden (7th and Constitution NW), which has a nice little cafe, or to the National Museum of American History (Constitution b/w 12th and 14th NW), a Smithsonian museum, which was recently reopened after an extensive renovation.

What service was your Dad in? He might be interested in the Air and Space Museum, or in the Navy Memorial.

take the hop on/hop off bus that starts at union station and visit the various mall sites--there is a parking garage at union station; or, alternatively, he might enjoy the air and space branch near dulles, $12 or so parking, which frequently has tours by wwII veterans and is less travelled than the very busy mall museum. If he likes art, try one of the period rooms at the national gallery--rembrandt, goya, etc or the new Spanish armor show that was just installed. A different type of museum is the Native American Museum on the mall which has an intersting film and exhibits on the second floor. Then too, weather depending, take a hike on the c& o canal which starts (or ends) in Georgetown, or you can park at one of the locations on Canal Road and enter the canal that way.

These are great replies.

Something I haven't done yet, but intend to get around to someday: DC Duck. It is a narrated trolley ride through town and then a splash in the water for a while. I've seen it go into the Potomac near National airport - if you're lucky the planes will be landing in that direction (as opposed to taking off) and you'll have quite a good show.

Have you asked your father what he really wants to see? I would do that!

Washington is like a box of truffles -- all good and which ones do you choose? I took my 80+ year old Dad to the Air and Space Museum. He loved it. Where else in the world can you see the complete history of something which quite literally spanned our Dads' life times? Plus, he got a great kick out of actually touching the moon rock. Plan to spend at least half a day there -- it's worth it. The other place Dad loved, and wich is well worth 1/2 day is the Spy Museum. We all had an extraordinary time there. (You must make a reservation for tickets in advance for a specific time because you can't get in before the time on your ticket.) This museum is interactive and simply amazing. As soon as you get off the elevator inside you are given a fake cover identity. And, you had better remember it or you may find yourself fake dead! But the whole history of spying is there. Your Dad will love the James Bond car that shoots bullets out of the axels! But there is tons of real spy stuff too. We spent 1/2 hour watching the movie and learning how they caught the spy inside the FBI. Every spy you have ever heard of has a section -- plus there is a whole lot on spys we never heard of. Take your Dad to the Korean War Memorial. The first time I saw it was on a foggy night and we walked up on it in the dark with fog swirling around the statues of the soldiers -- conditions much like those the men who were depicted suffered through. The effect was stunning! Finally, there are two things I try to do every time I get to Washington -- stand in front of the Lincoln Memorial and read his words around the building's top and go to the Archive to see the real, honest to goodness, Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights--the documents that all the guys we read about in grade school actually signed! Lincoln's words and those three documents make this County what it is today -- and every American should see them at least once in their lifetime!

Our trip went off without a hitch, and I've finally had a chance to post a little trip report about it.

Although we didn't have much time to take in all of your recommendations, thank you to everyone for your helpful posts.

It is good to hear that alley's trip was a succes, so this info is too late for them but could be usful to others who look to this thread for advice about DC and mobility-limited visitors:

During my most recent taxi ride, I took a careful look at the fare chart and saw that the official fixed rate for one hour is $25, with each additional 15 minutes charged at $6.25.

I think that the next time I have an elderly relative in town, I'll spring for a two-hour tour of the monuments (being driven from place to place and having the car wait ten minutes or so for a brief look around each site) and consider that $50 (plus a nice tip) well spent.

This might also be worthwhile for a family of three or four (especially in the evening when traffic is light and 90 minutes would let you hit the highlights) if the cost of multiple tickets on a tour bus would break the budget.

The Korean War Memorial was my favorite. Its 3/4 size depiction of men on patrol made the conflict so real. I'm not putting down any of the other memorials--they are all so important to our history and culture. But I see the difference as men versus marble.