tchoiniere

3 of us decided to make another trip to DC from Hartford. Seems to have become a yearly trip...Due to this, we have a very light schedule which will be at a relaxed pace (this is why National Archives, Holocaust Museum, etc are not on our itinerary.)

Coming September 20-25 (will be cooler than last years trip in August...I'll never forget the day we went to the zoo and it was 95 degrees. The animals didn't even want to be outside and were laughing at us). Hopefully, no earthquake happens 3 days after we get home (we still joke that happened due to our wallets leaving there)

We have booked the Americana again. It works great for us and we have had no issues with it.

Thursday
We get into DC around 1 on Amtrak (got a great deal on the Round Trip tickets for $100 from Hartford) so we will just get to hotel and drop off bags.
Dodgers @ Nationals baseball game. What a surprise for me going to a game.

Friday
White House Tour (if we get tickets - have already put request in)
Art Museum / Portrait Gallery - mostly to see Video Game Exhibit but this is my favorite Smithsonian besides Udvar Haazy
Brewers @ Nationals - wouldn't be a trip without multiple games...

Saturday
Arlington Cemetery / Iwo Jima Memorial - going to use the shuttle but walk further from each stop than we did last year. We are going to seek out certain graves, etc that we didnt do last year. Mostly famous people from WW2 - Omar Bradley, James Doolittle, etc and some of the other monuments.

Capitol Steps - highly recommend their new CD "Take the Money and Run for President"

Sunday - Udvar Hazy Air Museum. Yes, its a pain in the butt to get to via Public Transportation. Yes, we have been there. And Yes, we are going back all day. No way am I missing it. Working at Pratt makes it easy to spend days at Air Museums.

Monday - Monument walk at a slow pace. Just going to take our time and walk them. Enjoy the day visiting them. We have even discussed skipping the Monuments this time and maybe moving up to Baltimore for this day / night to fit in an Orioles game but not sure on likelihood.

Tuesday
Will have the morning to possibly visit something as our train leaves at 3pm. Back to Hartford around 10.

Obviously this schedule is dependent on White House tour but am very flexible. We will mix in other Smithsonians as possible. I am just happy that we can do it at our own pace and not have to pack a lot in. Nobody will have a broken leg this time nor lay-offs to deal with...

How is the American Indian Museum?

Any other suggestions?

yestravel

I think the American Indian musuem building outshines the musuem itself. I have never been I pressed within. Have u been to the Newseum! Not free, but a great musuem.

If the Nationals keep it going, should be very fun games.

and yes, late Sept is generally lovely weather in DC.

tchoiniere

Yes, we went to the Newseum last year and really enjoyed it. Its on our list of backups for this year too.

Nationals have been a great team so far (thankfully as I have a lot of them on my Fantasy Baseball Teams). I really enjoy that stadium and am glad for the team and city.

bardo1

Where is your hotel - I may have some recs regarding restaurants/cafes/bars....

tchoiniere

Its the Americana in Crystal City again. We will take any recommendations.

Thanks

NewbE

I tend to agree with yestravel that the Museum of the American Indian' holdings are less impressive than the building. But hey, like all the Smithsonian museums, it's free, so you could stop in, perhaps during your monument walk or after the White House Tour, and move on if it doesn't grab you. I love this kind of thing, so I am usually happy in there for an hour or so.

A word about the WH tour: it's very, very short. Just FYI.

Like you, I love the Portrait Gallery. Other ideas: the Phillips Collection in Dupont Circle, or the Sackler (Asian art) on the Mall.

Or how about historic homes/gardens? Dumbarton Oaks, at the tippy top of Georgetown, is lovely, and you'd see a different neighborhood on the way. Tudor Place is right around the corner and also worth a stop and a tour.

tchoiniere

We realize that about the WH tour. Its more just to say we have been in the WH. With this being our 4th trip, we figured it was time to do it.

NewbE

Oh, I think it's absolutely worth it! You're right, it's a must-do. I overheard one person in our group say "gee, that's it?," and I understood what he meant as I recall the extensive WH tours one used to get, waaay back in the eighties. But I enjoyed the recent, short one we took; even the security rigamarole made me feel solemn and privileged. Enjoy!

bardo1

No eating/drinking help for hotel area so will rec based on itinerary instead:

Friday/Monday/Tuesday:

Near the White House (1 block)for breakfast or lunch - http://www.breadline.com/

Near to both Art Museum & Portrait Gallery - http://www.jaleo.com/ and/or http://www.oyamel.com/(for longer meal) or http://www.paul-usa.com/ at 8th & Penn. Ave. for quick in/out) Jaleo also has a Crystal City location...

General places close to Metro and worth a trip:
http://dukemrestaurant.com/ (1 block to U St. Metro stop)
http://www.thepigdc.com/ (5 blocks to Dupont Metro stop)

Near Capitol Steps performance (i.e. the Ronald Reagan bldg):
http://www.centralmichelrichard.com ($$)
http://www.lepainquotidien.us/ @ 10th & F ($)

Near to Nationals Stadium:
Nothing - Metro to somewhere else 8th St. near Eastern Market Metro or U st near U St. Metro or 7th St. near Gallery Place Metro...

tomfuller

If you are going to Baltimore, go early and see the National Aquarium by the Inner Harbor. It is within walking distance of Camden Yards.

longhorn55

I love the design of the American Indian Museum building, but I was not impressed with the exhibits inside. There were many exhibits in which the items did not have signs or tags explaining what they were. Instead, you had to go to a nearby computer screen and look at the replica of the exhibit on the screen to see the description of the item. That was very off-putting to me.

BlueSwimmer

American Indian Museum- gorgeous building and great food (although pricey for a museum cafeteria) but boring (and I love Native American history and crafts). I concur on the recommendation for the Sackler if you like Asian art. The Freer is great for Asian art too, plus they have the Whistlers. The US Botanical Garden is also fun for an hour or so.

If you like Udvar Hazy, you should come to DC in May one year for the Joint Service Air Show at Andrews Air Force Base, just east of DC. http://jsoh.org/ I'm not all that interested in planes and it was incredibly cool. My DH, Navy pilot's son and plane lover, is in heaven!

In Crystal City, Cafe Pizzaiolo is excellent for thin crust, brick oven style pizza. I love the grana padano and arugula. The owners are a very nice young couple. If you want to splurge, the Ruth's Chris in Crystal City is excellent, with gorgeous views of the Potomac and National Airport. There is also a Jaleo in Crystal City for tapas.

Crystal City is a 10 dollar taxi ride to my neighborhood, just south down Route 1- Del Ray, Alexandria. We have a cute, walkable main street, Mt Vernon Avenue, and lots of good restaurants, from BBQ to gourmet tacos, including our own fancy cheese shop, Cheesetique, and the Dairy Godmother, our frozen custard shop.

Have a great trip!

gardendiva

If you decide to go to Balitmore check out The American Visionary Museum. It is at the foot of Federal Hill just off the Inner Harbor. It took me about 2 hours to see the whole museum. I found it more interesting than the Aquarium but the Aquarium is very nice.

ElendilPickle

This place is within walking distance of the Americana - maybe half a mile? Obxgirl recommended it to us last year and we loved it. http://www.kabobpalaceusa.com/

Lee Ann

tchoiniere

Thanks for all the great recommendations. Will make for some interesting decisions.

Just saw that there is a wine-tasting (Grapes with the Apes) at the Zoo the night we get there. We may rearrange our schedule to go to that. May just come down to how much time we get at the zoo beforehand - realizing we have to go to the hotel first.

5alive

If you do get your White House tour, read the fine print. Briefly: It's not the same as the security even at the Capitol, where you can check in your camera etc before watching the House or Senate in action. There is nowhere to check anything. And not even a small purse such as a teen girl would wear is allowed.

tchoiniere

Just bought our Brewers @ Nationals tickets for the Friday night game. We ended up with the same exact seats as last year. Straight away CF and 2 rows off of the Field. This is right in front of the Red Porch Restaurant. More importantly, its close to the Exit and to Metro...Nationals Park has become 1 of my favorite places to see a game and with such a great young team, I cannot wait for the game.

5alive, thanks for the reminder about the fine print about the WH tour. Thats why we hadn't done it but my feeling is that at 1 point, you need to bite the bullet and do it. Depending on what time we get, we may use the lockers at the Portrait Gallery or check a bag at Union Station. Alternatively, I may just end up buying a disposable camera that day to use at the Museum and at the stadium.

tchoiniere

Sorry for the double-post. For the Capitol Steps at the Ronald Reagan Building, are there any seats to avoid or are they all good?

5alive

Those are all good solutions to the bag storage problem. I felt like on our first visit we should go if we could get a spot, given that are opportunities are slim. We actually really enjoyed our tour. We found that the staff were more than happy to answer questions as we walked through.

There is a fairly decent souvenir shop quite near the exit of the White House, and they MAY have disposable cameras there. Not sure.

tchoiniere

They just released the prices for the Wine Tasting at the Zoo and it is more than we wanted to spend (as I had anticipated). We are back to going to the game on Thursday night and again on Friday night. Just bought cheap seats for Thursday night.