Arriving BWI for 3 days in DC -- photo tips
 

I'll be traveling alone. How do I get from BWI to the Motel 6 in D.C. on Georgia? Where are the best spots for me to take photos? (Serious amateur digital photographer with tripod.) <BR>Cheap places to eat? <BR>Any help appreciated. Thanks. <BR>Jeanne

Jeanne -- if you use the search function, you will find that Dan Woodlief posted a trip report several months ago with lots of photo tips. I personally think a great spot is from the Netherlands Carillon/Iwo Jima, on the other side of the Potomac. <BR> <BR>You can take the train from BWI into Union Station and then probably cab from there (I'm not sure exactly where the Motel 6 is, but it sounds like it's not in a great neighborhood). Union Station is on the metro's red line, and the metro is very convenient and safe, but since I'm not sure where your hotel is I'm hesitant to suggest you take metro to/from your hotel without knowing whether the neighborhood is safe.

I'd recommend taking the Blue Van--it'll get you door-to-door from BWI to your motel for $22. They promise only 3 stops per van trip, although I've seen them do as many as 5. They're pretty easy to find from the arrivals area at BWI, and if you can't find their counter, just ask anyone with the airport. <BR> <BR>If I can ask...how'd you end up with the Motel 6 on Georgia? Lisa's right that it's not in the best of neighborhoods... <BR>certainly not terrible, but I wouldn't feel all that comfortable walking around that area at night. (And I don't live all that far from there, about a mile southwest in a residential area.) There isn't much in the way of restaurants other than fast food, and most of concern for you as a traveler, there is no convenient Metro access. I think the closest Metro station would be Silver Spring, which is a good three-quarters of a mile away. You'd be taking some pretty long bus rides to get downtown to the major sights. <BR> <BR>I hate to burst any balloons, but if you can *possibly* find a different motel/hotel to stay in, I'd strongly encourage it. I understand budget considerations, but I think you'll enjoy the city more if you stay in a more convenient and somewhat safer neighborhood.

I don't think others feel as strongly about this as I do, but I really do not think you should stay there (I live not far from that area east in a MD suburb so I know what it's like) -- upper Georgia Ave is one of the worst spots in the city; there is crime and not always trivial crime, there have been a few murders around there (of gang members, police and innocent bystanders, including one poor woman just driving by in her car who got caught in the Kennedy St gang gunfire) as that is near Missouri and Kennedy streets and there are some bad night clubs around there that attract criminal activity, in addition to the gangs. However, I will admit it could be worse as that motel is around Walter Reed hospital (I think) and it does get a lot worse a few blocks further north. If you chose that motel for money, it's not worth it and there is no metro stop around there so you will have to take a cab everywhere, and cabs are not always that easy to get except in very public spots like the train station or in front of major hotels, otherwise you must call them. (It's possible some cabs might not even want to go to upper Georgia Ave at night.) I suppose there is a bus that goes up Georgia Ave, but I would not want to walk from it to that hotel, and the bus itself might not be so great. So whatever you spend on cab fare would probably make up for a little better hotel somewhere else. Maybe you have some reason for this plan, though, like if you had a relative in critical condition in Walter Reed, otherwise I would not stay there. I'm sure that motel doesn't charge much (and if it does, you really shouldnt' stay there), but there is a Days Inn on upper Conn Ave (4400 Conn Av) right near a metro stop near the Cleveland Park area which would be far superior in safety and public transportation convenience (and I hate Days Inn, but I can't think of a lot of cheap decent hotels around there). There is a Holiday Inn in Silver Spring near the metro that is decent (the Days Inn in Silver Spring is NOT decent). Some of these ordinary looking cheap motels can be deceptive to outsiders; there is one near where I live not far from this area we are discussing (Hampshire Inn on NH Ave) that looks like an ordinary cheap motel but has lots of criminal activity, especially muggings and rapes, drugs and prostitution, and murders several times a year. You really shouldn't stay in that motel in that area unless someone really knows a lot about it and recommended it and knows it's safe. You can often get reasonable deals at central DC hotels also, like Howard Johnsons, Quality, Holiday Inn, etc. Anyway, that's my opinion which you are may want to ignore if you don't worry about those kinds of things.

Wow! Thanks for the heads up, guys! I had no idea that wasn't a safe neighborhood. I will certainly cancel my reservations and stay somewhere else. You have been a huge help. <BR> <BR>Jeanne

Well, I reserved a room at the Holiday Inn downtown on Rhode Island Ave. If anyone knows something grim about this place, plese tell me. <BR> <BR>Jeanne