A short (but slightly longer than we expected) weekend break in Washington DC
Mar 5th, 2007 | 06:33 AM
#1
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A short (but slightly longer than we expected) weekend break in Washington DC
On a whim, we (mr_go, 14 y/o DD and I) decided to take a quick family trip to Washington DC last weekend (Feb 24th). We wanted to take advantage of some very good airfares from Chicago to the east coast that appeared back in January�$98 RT to New York or $108 to Washington DC (DCA or IAD). I�ve been to Washington DC quite a bit for work, but it had been more than 10 years since my last non-work-related trip; for mr_go, it had been almost 20 years. DD was three the last time she was there. She thinks she remembers looking at Lincoln, but I think that�s just because we�ve had this photo in our family room ever since.
http://travel.webshots.com/photo/211...53249937NqhCzR
We can�t take time off work right now, so I booked tickets to fly in very early on Saturday morning and out on the last flight Sunday evening (ORD-DCA and DCA-ORD). Of course, in the winter this can be a bit of a risky strategy, and not surprisingly given the weather last weekend, our flights in both directions were cancelled. United rebooked us from the 6am flight to the 7am on Saturday�as we discovered while getting ready to leave for the airport at 3:15am. That flight left reasonably close to schedule. We arrived at DCA around 10am, hopped on the Metro blue line, and were at the Hilton Garden Inn at Franklin Square (see below) in short order.
We kept our plans fairly flexible. If we had a nice weather, we would try to spend as much time outdoors as possible�generally in the area from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial. I had pre-booked timed tickets for the US Holocaust Memorial Museum for Sunday afternoon. Our only other must-see was the National Archives. If we had all bad weather, we�d spend time in the Air & Space Museum. Otherwise, we decided we�d play it all by ear and do whatever seemed right at the time.
http://travel.webshots.com/photo/211...53249937NqhCzR
We can�t take time off work right now, so I booked tickets to fly in very early on Saturday morning and out on the last flight Sunday evening (ORD-DCA and DCA-ORD). Of course, in the winter this can be a bit of a risky strategy, and not surprisingly given the weather last weekend, our flights in both directions were cancelled. United rebooked us from the 6am flight to the 7am on Saturday�as we discovered while getting ready to leave for the airport at 3:15am. That flight left reasonably close to schedule. We arrived at DCA around 10am, hopped on the Metro blue line, and were at the Hilton Garden Inn at Franklin Square (see below) in short order.
We kept our plans fairly flexible. If we had a nice weather, we would try to spend as much time outdoors as possible�generally in the area from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial. I had pre-booked timed tickets for the US Holocaust Memorial Museum for Sunday afternoon. Our only other must-see was the National Archives. If we had all bad weather, we�d spend time in the Air & Space Museum. Otherwise, we decided we�d play it all by ear and do whatever seemed right at the time.
Mar 5th, 2007 | 06:42 AM
#2
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Saturday
As it turned out, Saturday was a beautiful and sunny, if a bit chilly, day. We bundled up and set out for a long walk—from our hotel to the White House, around to the Washington Monument, to the World War II memorial, to the Lincoln Memorial, to the Vietnam Memorial, then back along the mall to the Smithsonian Castle and the Capitol. Of course, we stopped to rest or reflect along the way.
We spent a bit of time in the Conservatory of the National Botanical Garden, partly to warm up. And, we spent about an hour late in the day at the National Gallery of Art. We could have spent hours there, but we went just to see the Rembrandt drawings and the old photos of Paris (both of which we enjoyed, by the way). On the way back toward our hotel, along Pennsylvania Avenue, we also stopped for an elevator ride up to the top of the Old Post Office tower for the views. In hindsight, I'm glad we chose to do this on Saturday. As it happened, there wouldn't have been much of a view on Sunday.
We wrapped up the day with drinks in the bar at the JW Marriott, where I stayed on my last “for fun” trip to the city. Immediately upon entering the hotel from the side entrance, we were greeted by a security guard, who only let us by when we insisted we wanted to go to the bar, then he watched us closely until he made sure we were in the door. He was not alone; there was a full complement of security throughout the lobby area. What could this be about, we wondered? Finally, we noticed the Gobo welcoming attendees of the National Governors Association. I guess that would explain it. So, from our vantage point in the window of the bar, we started looking for familiar faces among the delegates but saw none.
We booked Saturday night’s dinner at Filomena (www.filomenadc.com) in Georgetown weeks in advance. This was primarily to be a little nostalgia trip; we had dinner here on our first anniversary in 1989 as part of one of my business trips. We also were celebrating DD’s birthday and her first choice will always be Italian food. On the whole, we thought it was pretty good, with a particular nod to the home-made gnocchi and the desserts; DD had one of her traditional favorites, chicken parmesan, and declared it just "okay." It was very crowded and a bit on the loud side, but our service was very, very good. The Easter décor (I’m hoping all those rabbits aren’t permanent) was a bit over the top. The bill for arancini and bruschetta, three entrees, one dessert (and complimentary birthday tiramisu), wine, and bottled water: $180 including tip. Oh yes, the complimentary Amaretto and Sambuca afterwards was as we remembered it. The portions are huge; we couldn’t begin to eat everything, and our waiter insisted we take it with us. Initially, we weren't going to since we were staying in a hotel, but this actually turned out to be helpful...since we wouldn’t be going home on Sunday evening as originally planned.
Will finish later this morning after I get some work done...
As it turned out, Saturday was a beautiful and sunny, if a bit chilly, day. We bundled up and set out for a long walk—from our hotel to the White House, around to the Washington Monument, to the World War II memorial, to the Lincoln Memorial, to the Vietnam Memorial, then back along the mall to the Smithsonian Castle and the Capitol. Of course, we stopped to rest or reflect along the way.
We spent a bit of time in the Conservatory of the National Botanical Garden, partly to warm up. And, we spent about an hour late in the day at the National Gallery of Art. We could have spent hours there, but we went just to see the Rembrandt drawings and the old photos of Paris (both of which we enjoyed, by the way). On the way back toward our hotel, along Pennsylvania Avenue, we also stopped for an elevator ride up to the top of the Old Post Office tower for the views. In hindsight, I'm glad we chose to do this on Saturday. As it happened, there wouldn't have been much of a view on Sunday.
We wrapped up the day with drinks in the bar at the JW Marriott, where I stayed on my last “for fun” trip to the city. Immediately upon entering the hotel from the side entrance, we were greeted by a security guard, who only let us by when we insisted we wanted to go to the bar, then he watched us closely until he made sure we were in the door. He was not alone; there was a full complement of security throughout the lobby area. What could this be about, we wondered? Finally, we noticed the Gobo welcoming attendees of the National Governors Association. I guess that would explain it. So, from our vantage point in the window of the bar, we started looking for familiar faces among the delegates but saw none.
We booked Saturday night’s dinner at Filomena (www.filomenadc.com) in Georgetown weeks in advance. This was primarily to be a little nostalgia trip; we had dinner here on our first anniversary in 1989 as part of one of my business trips. We also were celebrating DD’s birthday and her first choice will always be Italian food. On the whole, we thought it was pretty good, with a particular nod to the home-made gnocchi and the desserts; DD had one of her traditional favorites, chicken parmesan, and declared it just "okay." It was very crowded and a bit on the loud side, but our service was very, very good. The Easter décor (I’m hoping all those rabbits aren’t permanent) was a bit over the top. The bill for arancini and bruschetta, three entrees, one dessert (and complimentary birthday tiramisu), wine, and bottled water: $180 including tip. Oh yes, the complimentary Amaretto and Sambuca afterwards was as we remembered it. The portions are huge; we couldn’t begin to eat everything, and our waiter insisted we take it with us. Initially, we weren't going to since we were staying in a hotel, but this actually turned out to be helpful...since we wouldn’t be going home on Sunday evening as originally planned.
Will finish later this morning after I get some work done...
Mar 5th, 2007 | 06:44 AM
#3
Joined: Apr 2004
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I was there for a week Feb.21-28- same reasons. The total airfare for 2 both ways was under $200 total. We saw everything we wanted to see except for Mt. Vernon. I was just going to start my trip report too. Glad you got out/ back. We had no delays at all beyond 20 minutes as we flew out the day before one storm and flew home the day between two big snowfalls.
Mar 5th, 2007 | 08:41 AM
#5
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Joined: Jan 2004
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Sunday
We woke up Sunday morning to a building rain, which changed over to snow before 9am. Notably, we also woke up to not one, but three notices—email, plus voice mail messages on my mobile and home phones—from United about our cancelled flight for later that evening. Between the deteriorating weather in Washington DC and the now downright dreadful weather in Chicago (ice, snow, sleet, winds, you name it), most of the flights between the two cities were cancelled that day. Checking the website, we found that we’d been rebooked on the 8:45am flight on Monday morning. Probably not too bad, considering the circumstances, but still, I wanted to know if I had other options since DD was supposed to go to school on Monday. Unfortunately, I could not get through to United by phone at all
—busy signals galore over a period of several hours. I decided to go ahead and accept the rebooked flight, particularly since my favorite seats happened to be available, and try to deal with it later.
Our hotel, by the way, was very accommodating. The front desk staff immediately extended our reservation and told us just to leave our things in our room; if we found out later in the day we could leave, that would be fine.
We’d considered going to the National Archives on Saturday but were put off by the long line extending all the way down the block. If you want to visit here, go early. We made a point to arrive just before it opened on Sunday at 10. We were the third family in line and walked right in to the rotunda. I’d been there before (actually so had DD, but she of course didn’t remember), but mr_go never had. We spent our time looking at the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other documents in the rotunda—but actually we ended up spending even more time with some of the other Archives exhibits in the public vaults, which we found equally interesting.
By the time we emerged around 11:30, there was a two-inch coating of snow on the ground.
http://travel.webshots.com/photo/210...53249937PGpSjj
We would clearly need to find something indoors to occupy the next two hours until our appointment at the Holocaust Museum, and the Natural History Museum (rather than the Air & Space Museum) was in the right direction. Again, this museum could take an entire day, and both of us have spent a fair amount of time there in the past. For this visit, we focused on the special orchid exhibit (which kind of makes you forget about the snow temporarily), the dinosaurs and the gems, including the Hope Diamond. We also watched an Imax film about lions; a much needed chance to sit down for a little while.
Timed tickets for the US Holocaust Memorial Museum are probably a good idea on many weekend days; on this blustery, snowy Sunday, it wasn’t necessary. A lot has been written here about this museum, and there isn’t much we can add. We are not Jewish, but I do have a Jewish grandfather whose family was from the area around the convergence of Poland, Kaliningrad and Lithuania--thus, I found the two-story display of photos from Eiszyszki particularly moving. This is an extraordinarily well-done museum, and one with a lot to assimilate. It cannot be rushed; we often found it necessary to stop and ponder before moving on. We spent more than an hour on the top floor alone. It was also particularly relevant for DD, whose eighth grade social studies class is studying World War II right now and whose lit/lang class is in the process of reading and discussing Night. We also took a quick walk at the end through Daniel’s Story, the exhibit for children, which was well done but probably a little anticlimactic for DD, after having just been through the permanent exhibit and also recently visited the Anne Frankhuis in Amsterdam. Interestingly, we were held in here by security for a bit while the museum was cleared and checked due to an unattended bag.
I finally was able to reach United about 5pm and confirmed that, yes, we would indeed be spending the night in Washington DC. Cold, wet, and in a reflective mood after spending three hours in the Holocaust Museum, we really weren’t up for much at this point. We didn’t even really feel like making plans to go out for dinner. Our one order of business was finding an open store that would have some replacement shoes for DD, whose suede Vans were now soaked completely through.
The evening was spent in the hotel—at the bar (with fireplace) conversing with a friendly bartender, and later eating our leftovers from Filomena, heated in the room’s microwave with some plates and utensils happily donated by the hotel restaurant. With the Amazing Race and the Academy Awards on, snow continuing to fall outside, and slushy sidewalks all around, that was just fine with us. After all, we had planned on spending the evening in airports and on a plane.
The rest of the trip was uneventful. A quick, 15-minute cab ride to DCA at 6:30am on Monday morning. A 20-minute or so wait in the security line. Breakfast sandwiches from Potbelly. Coffee in the Red Carpet Club. Hearing the captain of our flight (on Channel 9) ask for permission to move out of line to check out a “maintenance issue” did cause a moment of concern. Fortunately, that was short-lived, and we were back in Chicago right on time.
Hopefully we can catch another good fare and do this again soon.
We woke up Sunday morning to a building rain, which changed over to snow before 9am. Notably, we also woke up to not one, but three notices—email, plus voice mail messages on my mobile and home phones—from United about our cancelled flight for later that evening. Between the deteriorating weather in Washington DC and the now downright dreadful weather in Chicago (ice, snow, sleet, winds, you name it), most of the flights between the two cities were cancelled that day. Checking the website, we found that we’d been rebooked on the 8:45am flight on Monday morning. Probably not too bad, considering the circumstances, but still, I wanted to know if I had other options since DD was supposed to go to school on Monday. Unfortunately, I could not get through to United by phone at all
—busy signals galore over a period of several hours. I decided to go ahead and accept the rebooked flight, particularly since my favorite seats happened to be available, and try to deal with it later.Our hotel, by the way, was very accommodating. The front desk staff immediately extended our reservation and told us just to leave our things in our room; if we found out later in the day we could leave, that would be fine.
We’d considered going to the National Archives on Saturday but were put off by the long line extending all the way down the block. If you want to visit here, go early. We made a point to arrive just before it opened on Sunday at 10. We were the third family in line and walked right in to the rotunda. I’d been there before (actually so had DD, but she of course didn’t remember), but mr_go never had. We spent our time looking at the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other documents in the rotunda—but actually we ended up spending even more time with some of the other Archives exhibits in the public vaults, which we found equally interesting.
By the time we emerged around 11:30, there was a two-inch coating of snow on the ground.
http://travel.webshots.com/photo/210...53249937PGpSjj
We would clearly need to find something indoors to occupy the next two hours until our appointment at the Holocaust Museum, and the Natural History Museum (rather than the Air & Space Museum) was in the right direction. Again, this museum could take an entire day, and both of us have spent a fair amount of time there in the past. For this visit, we focused on the special orchid exhibit (which kind of makes you forget about the snow temporarily), the dinosaurs and the gems, including the Hope Diamond. We also watched an Imax film about lions; a much needed chance to sit down for a little while.
Timed tickets for the US Holocaust Memorial Museum are probably a good idea on many weekend days; on this blustery, snowy Sunday, it wasn’t necessary. A lot has been written here about this museum, and there isn’t much we can add. We are not Jewish, but I do have a Jewish grandfather whose family was from the area around the convergence of Poland, Kaliningrad and Lithuania--thus, I found the two-story display of photos from Eiszyszki particularly moving. This is an extraordinarily well-done museum, and one with a lot to assimilate. It cannot be rushed; we often found it necessary to stop and ponder before moving on. We spent more than an hour on the top floor alone. It was also particularly relevant for DD, whose eighth grade social studies class is studying World War II right now and whose lit/lang class is in the process of reading and discussing Night. We also took a quick walk at the end through Daniel’s Story, the exhibit for children, which was well done but probably a little anticlimactic for DD, after having just been through the permanent exhibit and also recently visited the Anne Frankhuis in Amsterdam. Interestingly, we were held in here by security for a bit while the museum was cleared and checked due to an unattended bag.
I finally was able to reach United about 5pm and confirmed that, yes, we would indeed be spending the night in Washington DC. Cold, wet, and in a reflective mood after spending three hours in the Holocaust Museum, we really weren’t up for much at this point. We didn’t even really feel like making plans to go out for dinner. Our one order of business was finding an open store that would have some replacement shoes for DD, whose suede Vans were now soaked completely through.
The evening was spent in the hotel—at the bar (with fireplace) conversing with a friendly bartender, and later eating our leftovers from Filomena, heated in the room’s microwave with some plates and utensils happily donated by the hotel restaurant. With the Amazing Race and the Academy Awards on, snow continuing to fall outside, and slushy sidewalks all around, that was just fine with us. After all, we had planned on spending the evening in airports and on a plane.
The rest of the trip was uneventful. A quick, 15-minute cab ride to DCA at 6:30am on Monday morning. A 20-minute or so wait in the security line. Breakfast sandwiches from Potbelly. Coffee in the Red Carpet Club. Hearing the captain of our flight (on Channel 9) ask for permission to move out of line to check out a “maintenance issue” did cause a moment of concern. Fortunately, that was short-lived, and we were back in Chicago right on time.
Hopefully we can catch another good fare and do this again soon.
Mar 5th, 2007 | 08:59 AM
#6
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 17,549
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Thanks for the report.
I think you were VERY wise to make the reservations at Filomena since it has become a very popular place to eat. Sorry to hear that one of the entrees was only "OK."
I agree about the Easter decorations..kind of a shock when you get to the bottom of those stairs and see all the rabbits. (You should see the place at Christmas time).
I think you were VERY wise to make the reservations at Filomena since it has become a very popular place to eat. Sorry to hear that one of the entrees was only "OK."
I agree about the Easter decorations..kind of a shock when you get to the bottom of those stairs and see all the rabbits. (You should see the place at Christmas time).
Mar 5th, 2007 | 09:02 AM
#7
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,622
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The Hilton Garden Inn-Franklin Square
http://hiltongardeninn.hilton.com/en...tyhocn=DCACHGI
We booked this for $169 plus tax for our Saturday night stay (our unexpected stay on Sunday night was $20 more). We were very pleased with it. It isn’t a luxury hotel, of course, but it is well appointed. The furnishings, décor, carpeting, etc. seemed newer. The beds were comfortable, with white duvets rather than bedspreads. The (wired) high-speed Internet service was free, as was use of the small business center. Aside from a couple of hotels in Japan last year, I can’t think of another major-city business hotel I’ve stayed in recently that had free Internet. The room had a mini-fridge (one that was actually usable, not a mini-bar), a microwave, and a coffee maker. We did not make use of the heated indoor pool, probably because we didn’t realize there was one until we got there. Our room, on a high floor and facing 14th street, wasn’t terribly large, but it was quiet. What we liked most, though, was the truly friendly and accommodating service. I thought the location was fine, too—14th between H and I, right at a Metro stop, and just a few blocks from the Mall. It’s a business area and a little quiet on the weekend, but there were plenty of services and restaurants (particularly quick-serve, like Corner Bakery and Potbelly) around for breakfast and snacks. We’d absolutely stay here again.
http://hiltongardeninn.hilton.com/en...tyhocn=DCACHGI
We booked this for $169 plus tax for our Saturday night stay (our unexpected stay on Sunday night was $20 more). We were very pleased with it. It isn’t a luxury hotel, of course, but it is well appointed. The furnishings, décor, carpeting, etc. seemed newer. The beds were comfortable, with white duvets rather than bedspreads. The (wired) high-speed Internet service was free, as was use of the small business center. Aside from a couple of hotels in Japan last year, I can’t think of another major-city business hotel I’ve stayed in recently that had free Internet. The room had a mini-fridge (one that was actually usable, not a mini-bar), a microwave, and a coffee maker. We did not make use of the heated indoor pool, probably because we didn’t realize there was one until we got there. Our room, on a high floor and facing 14th street, wasn’t terribly large, but it was quiet. What we liked most, though, was the truly friendly and accommodating service. I thought the location was fine, too—14th between H and I, right at a Metro stop, and just a few blocks from the Mall. It’s a business area and a little quiet on the weekend, but there were plenty of services and restaurants (particularly quick-serve, like Corner Bakery and Potbelly) around for breakfast and snacks. We’d absolutely stay here again.
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Mar 5th, 2007 | 09:53 AM
#8
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,622
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Okay, I'm having problems posting here today--one computer (with Firefox) works, and the other (also with Firefox) does not??
JJ5--I hope you had a good trip. I remember when you posted about getting your tickets. Looking forward to your report.
Thanks, Dukey. I can only imagine what it looks like at the holidays. I'd love some of their agnolotti alla panna right about now. And I've discovered that they ship some of the desserts!
bardo1--I think she handled the museum well. I can tell you that by the time we got there, she was pretty tired (not to mention cold and wet from walking in the snow). Normally, when that's the case and we're in a museum, she'll sit somewhere and read. Not the case here--she was taking her time to absorb all the exhibits. I think she was pretty well prepared for what we saw--as mentioned above, we visited the Anne Frankhuis last year, and she's also seen Schindler's List recently. We offered the opportunity to talk about anything that she wanted to discuss afterward, and I know that she's gone back to school and talked with her social studies teacher, as well.
JJ5--I hope you had a good trip. I remember when you posted about getting your tickets. Looking forward to your report.
Thanks, Dukey. I can only imagine what it looks like at the holidays. I'd love some of their agnolotti alla panna right about now. And I've discovered that they ship some of the desserts!
bardo1--I think she handled the museum well. I can tell you that by the time we got there, she was pretty tired (not to mention cold and wet from walking in the snow). Normally, when that's the case and we're in a museum, she'll sit somewhere and read. Not the case here--she was taking her time to absorb all the exhibits. I think she was pretty well prepared for what we saw--as mentioned above, we visited the Anne Frankhuis last year, and she's also seen Schindler's List recently. We offered the opportunity to talk about anything that she wanted to discuss afterward, and I know that she's gone back to school and talked with her social studies teacher, as well.
