Quick Trip to D.C. In April

Old Feb 22nd, 2017, 05:25 PM
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Quick Trip to D.C. In April

Just booked a quick trip to D.C. for Easter weekend with a good Amtrak deal. Really just need to get out of town. Obviously going to include a Nationals game (playing the Phillies that weekend) and a few museums / breweries.

Now onto the fun of hotels! Lastminutetravel has some deals I need to sort thru rather than just picking the Americana again. Best looking deal is the Marriott Wardman Park near the Zoo on top of the Metro Station (or just about).

Will just pick and choose the museums having been to most of them. Portrait Gallery is a must as they have a Babe Ruth Exhibit ending in May.

I know crowds may be a living nightmare and not what i want...Monuments will not be a priority though having been to them many times.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2017, 08:10 PM
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And your question is...?

If you are asking about the Marriott Wardman Park, yes, the location is excellent.

Be sure to check the wmata website for planned work on the red line (which is the one that stops by that Marriott) -- entire lines are being shut down for repairs over the next several months.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 03:29 AM
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And start taking your allergy medicine a month before you go. Pollen is brutal in March and April.

Can't wait for your beer report!
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 04:08 AM
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That's definitely part of it, though we have done a lot of the DC breweries. That being said, we liked them all...


I just booked the Marriott Wardman for $120 a night so got a really good deal.

Going to try to avoid having an itinerary and just wing it. Will not be easy for me though I am flexible when having them and willing to change. Just want to relax and enjoy it.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 08:30 AM
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I just booked the Marriott Wardman for $120 a night so got a really good deal.

Agreed, bona fide deal.

I think you will enjoy the Babe Ruth exhibit.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 08:46 AM
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I have always enjoyed the Portrait Gallery as it is typically less crowded and quiet compared to other museums. I still find it shocking that a museum that was not on our initial itinerary for our first trip has become a mainstay for us and the first Smithsonian I will recommend! I am definitely looking forward to the Babe Ruth exhibit.

How bad are the crowds expected to be that weekend, given that it is typical school vacation week and Easter weekend?

One roadblock for any planning are the Nationals gametimes - 3 day games so it makes it hard to fit a lot in if we want to go to multiple games - have to go to at least 1.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 09:02 AM
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IME, serious crowds are confined to the National Mall and its museums and monuments. If you avoid all that, you should be fine. Oh, maybe avoid the Wisconsin & M shopping area in Georgetown, too. That's always crowded, even on normal weekends.

If you're looking for (slightly) off the beaten path suggestions, have you already been to the Phillips Collection in Dupont Circle? How about Hillwood? Lincoln's Cottage?

Legitimately off the beaten path, but near Dupont, are the Anderson House, home of the Society of the Cincinnati and a must for history buffs; and the Woodrow Wilson house.

http://www.societyofthecincinnati.or..._house/history
http://www.woodrowwilsonhouse.org

You can also tour the Masonic Temple of the Scottish Rite, and that is a hoot, let me tell you. (It used to be closed to the public.)
https://scottishrite.org/headquarters/visitors/
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 10:14 AM
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tchoiniere, with all of your trips, you're as much of a DC expert as anyone who posts here.

How bad are the crowds expected to be that weekend, given that it is typical school vacation week and Easter weekend?

Busy enough that if you want to make certain you see a thing that offers a timed entry ticket, get that timed ticket.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 10:14 AM
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i recommend going to the Kreeger Museum. Used to be a private home, designed by Philip Johnson, that houses an impressive and important art collection. You have to be guided through.

Then there is the Marjorie Merriweather Post House (Hillwood Estate) with a beautiful garden and also great collections.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 10:23 AM
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I wouldn't want to deal with the Mall even with a timed ticket!
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 10:39 AM
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NewBe, Lincoln's Cottage works great as it is not far from the first brewery (3 Stars Brewery) we want to hit on Saturday or Sunday (dependent on Brewery's hours on Easter Sunday. I have wanted to visit so that will definitely be an option.

Will look at the other suggestions too.

If we go to the Monuments, it will be first thing in the morning on a weekend day so it will hopefully be less crowded then.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 10:53 AM
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Cool, I hope you enjoy Lincoln's Cottage! Take a tour--the docents really add a lot to the experience.

Seeing the monuments will be OK even in a crowd, as you won't need to queue up to go inside anything and they're scaled for crowds.

Have fun!
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 11:06 AM
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I wouldn't want to deal with the Mall even with a timed ticket!

The National Mall is over 2 miles in length and comprises many museums and monuments, all of varying degrees of interest and popularity.

The OP has been a frequent enough visitor to the city that he probably doesn't need to seek out the most touristed spots on the Mall but your blanket statement is needlessly negative and possibly off-putting to those who might be seeking DC travel advice for the spring.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 11:24 AM
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Well, obxgirl, I'd say we all have a right to an opinion, don't we? I'd be fine with your disagreeing with me were it not for the word "needlessly".

The OP has indeed been to DC often, and will most likely return, which is why I advised him (or her) to avoid the Mall and its crowds during spring break season.

If it were his/her one and only trip, I'd have said, make the best of it.

So I find nothing needless about my comments. Yours, on the other hand...not so much.

Why do so many longtime posters here feel the need to angrily assert control of their pet topics??
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 11:36 AM
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Why do so many longtime posters here feel the need to angrily assert control of their pet topics??

Alerting visitors to the fact that timed tickets are advisable for busy times of the year isn't angrily asserting anything. It's good advice. Hyperbolic I wouldn't want to deal with the Mall even with a timed ticket!I is both off-putting and negative.

While you're wringing your hands about the state of the state, ask yourself the same question.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 12:12 PM
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DC Cherry Blossom Festival ends that weekend. It is also beginning of school vacation week in some of the northeast US. Fortunately the Cherry Blossom half marathon is 2 weeks prior - because that really is a giant crowd of people tourist area.

Glad you were able to get a good price on hotel. DC is almost always crowded, and in my opinion impossible only when there is a huge event like Women's March or a significant road race (and even then, crowds are gone by noon). Not sure what to think when people talk about crowds. It's crowded because it is a great destination and therefore popular. Go to rural Idaho in January if you don't want crowds.

Just check Metro website - they are still closing sections and stations while making emergent repairs.

Or you could wait 2 weeks and come to the DC GTG
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 12:12 PM
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"I just booked the Marriott Wardman for $120 a night so got a really good deal."

Great deal. I was going to suggest the Woodley Guest House at the bottom of the driveway of the Marriott but you could not get a deal like that there.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 12:49 PM
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obxgirl, I have no idea why you are dragging this otherwise useful thread down with your anger, but I would ask you to stop attacking me for no earthly reason. I disagree with you that my advice was bad and that's that.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 01:55 PM
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I took that comment in jest. That's how I felt 2 years ago in May when I vowed never to come in the spring again! Now coming in April!

Gail, it was the baseball schedule that drove us towards this weekend. I figured the crowds would be bad but what we are planning is definitely not going to be near the crowds at this point.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 03:05 PM
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You've probably been to both- but my "new" favorites were the Post House and the postal museum.

I don't think the crowds will be that awful- I went during the festival last spring; the popular monuments are crowded after dark when the bus tours start and Natural History and air and space were crowded but they always are. I only did one thing that needed advance tickets- Washington monument- and I wouldn't do that again, but I'd probably feel the same way any time of year.
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