Planning to be in Washington D.C. for about six full days, in about a week. Have many places to see and things to do on my itinerary, just trying to fill in a few blanks.

Can anyone comment on the play Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center? Is it worth $30, or is there something else I should spend my evening on?

Has anyone done the 90-minute tour at the Naval Observatory on Monday evenings? How was it? Do I need to get there very early, or just on time?

I have ordered tickets for the grandstand seating at the Cherry Blossom Festival parade (still waiting to receive them) and was wondering if these seats will be general admission or assigned. If they are general admission, how early should I arrive?

I want to go to the National Cathedral for services on Sunday and the tour afterwards. From Alexandria, would it be easier to just drive there or take the metro and transfer to bus?

One more .... I think I've read here or somewhere about a special tour of all the memorials lit up at night. Which tour company does this, how much and how long, is it worthwhile, or should I just hoof it. Don't mind walking, but thought the tour might offer interesting information also.

I think that's all I have to ask about D.C. right now. Thanks in advance for any opinions or comments. All are much appreciated.

If you are atsying in Alexandria go to the Gadsby Tavern for brunch.

$30 is pretty cheap for a play so why not go and if you get chance they have a roof top restaurant you can eat at before the performance.

Hoofing the monuments at night will be quite a walk. Not sure I would want to walk it...especially in the dark. BUT...I don't know of a tour group that does it. I would think it would not cost an arm and a leg to get a taxi to drive you around most of them. Just a suggestion.

I loved Shear Madness...but it is hard to recommend something like that without knowing someone's tastes. The thing I enjoyed so much (aside from the fact that it is a good comedy anyway) is their ability to work local current events into the comedy sketches.

Re: attending services at the National Cathedral

I used to work at the Cathedral and commuted for a while from Alexandria. I found it much simpler to drive in rather than to mess with the bus transfers on each end.

If you're going to drive in, take the Key Bridge and cut through Georgetown until you hit Wisconsin Avenue. It's basically a straight shot. Be sure to allow plenty of time to find a parking spot! If the main drag on South Road is full, try Pilgrim Road (take the first right into the circle off of South Road right after St. Albans) and follow the road or try the lot at the Beauvoir School. There is also neighborhood parking but you need to be careful not to get a ticket!

This probably doesn't apply to you, but just in case: I understand that one must be a registered member of the National Cathedral parish to attend EAster Sunday services. May not be true, but if you were planning to be there on Easter, I'd check it out!

We did the tour of the monuments at night. I highly recommend it. Washington is a truly inspiring picture after nightfall. The tour we took was through one of the bus lines. We asked about it at our hotel's concierge. It picked up at several hotels in the Capitol Hill vicinity, so there are probably other buses that go to different hotels.
By the way, we took our kids. It is a long tour, 3 to 3 1/2 hours as I remember.

Thanks everyone for your replies. Appreciated your comments.

Polly and Teacher, I found the name of a night tour in my Triple-A book, it's called The Washington After Dark Tour, 3 hours for $25, through Gray Line. I've done several different Gray Line tours before, and have always enjoyed them. This sounds worthwhile to me.

I finally got my tickets in the mail today for the parade grandstand seats. I was happy to find out that they are assigned seats.

I plan to go to the National Cathedral on the 9th, 11:00 a.m. service and tour afterwards. Thanks for the directions, Julie.

Still wondering about the Naval Observatory tour on Monday nights. Has anyone done this?

Thanks again,

Sandi