D.C. in a day
May 18th, 2013 | 08:50 AM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,110
Likes: 0
D.C. in a day
I have recently discovered the destination of an ancestor who left Wales in 1910. I want to visit his grave and that of his son and they are buried in Fort Lincoln cemetary and Arlington respectively.
I have never been to DC and if we are coming I know that my husband would like to see the Capitol.
Can we do all this in a day by public transport and if so could we do it in a day by public transport from Philadelphia?
This will be early November and is likely to be on a Sunday.
I am in touch with relatives who will show me the location of the graves.
Thanks!
I have never been to DC and if we are coming I know that my husband would like to see the Capitol.
Can we do all this in a day by public transport and if so could we do it in a day by public transport from Philadelphia?
This will be early November and is likely to be on a Sunday.
I am in touch with relatives who will show me the location of the graves.
Thanks!
May 18th, 2013 | 04:24 PM
#4
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 57,886
Likes: 0
Even if open I doubt you can do from Philly unless you take a 6 am train to dc and make a very long day of it.
And for the Capitol you need to contact your representative or senator's office to get tickets for the complete tour inside.
And for the Capitol you need to contact your representative or senator's office to get tickets for the complete tour inside.
May 18th, 2013 | 07:32 PM
#5
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 17,801
Likes: 0
We often go to Philly for the day from DC, so I think this is very doable. Take the train to Union Station, see the Capitol, which is walking distance, and then take the Metro to Arlington Cemetery. As for the Ft. Lincoln Cemetery, I do't know where that is, sorry, so I can't help you with that.
Don't go on a Sunday, b/c vjpblovesitaly is right, the Capitol Visitors' Center is closed.
http://www.visitthecapitol.gov/visit/index.html
You can have an informative visit without arranging a tour through your representative or senator's office. But if you can arrange one, do, because you'll get a private tour guide and more access.
We usually leave DC on a 7am train and return from Philly on a 5pm train--as I said, if you reverse the course, this is a very doable day trip.
Don't go on a Sunday, b/c vjpblovesitaly is right, the Capitol Visitors' Center is closed.
http://www.visitthecapitol.gov/visit/index.html
You can have an informative visit without arranging a tour through your representative or senator's office. But if you can arrange one, do, because you'll get a private tour guide and more access.
We usually leave DC on a 7am train and return from Philly on a 5pm train--as I said, if you reverse the course, this is a very doable day trip.
May 19th, 2013 | 04:48 AM
#6
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 7,142
Likes: 0
Fort Lincoln Cemetery is in Maryland on the MD/DC line. There is one bus that will will take you there: the B9. You can catch the B9 from the Rhode Island Avenue Metro Station on the Red Line.
Don't get on the B8 (even though the B8 says "Fort Lincoln" on the front of the bus) - the B8 instead goes to a neighborhood in DC called Fort Lincoln - not the cemetery in MD. For the cemetery, you want the B9 and exit at Fort Lincoln Funeral Home. Ask the bus driver if you are unsure.
http://www.wmata.com/bus/timetables/...e.cfm?State=DC
If might be easier if you met up with your relative downtown and had them drive you to Fort Lincoln Cemetery.
Everything else in your plan is quite simple via public transport - including getting to and from DC from Philadelphia. Even the bus to/from Fort Lincoln Cemetery isn't that bad - just check the timetables carefully (and get on the right bus).
Don't get on the B8 (even though the B8 says "Fort Lincoln" on the front of the bus) - the B8 instead goes to a neighborhood in DC called Fort Lincoln - not the cemetery in MD. For the cemetery, you want the B9 and exit at Fort Lincoln Funeral Home. Ask the bus driver if you are unsure.
http://www.wmata.com/bus/timetables/...e.cfm?State=DC
If might be easier if you met up with your relative downtown and had them drive you to Fort Lincoln Cemetery.
Everything else in your plan is quite simple via public transport - including getting to and from DC from Philadelphia. Even the bus to/from Fort Lincoln Cemetery isn't that bad - just check the timetables carefully (and get on the right bus).
Trending Topics
May 19th, 2013 | 02:30 PM
#8
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,110
Likes: 0
Anglesey Wales doesn't return representatives to the U.S.Senate so I don't have the option of having a private tour!
Thank you for your information. I am glad to hear that this is an option for a day from Philadelphia although I'm going to have to adapt in respect of the Sunday closing (means something else in Wales!).I'm particularly grateful for the bus timetable.
Thank you all.
Thank you for your information. I am glad to hear that this is an option for a day from Philadelphia although I'm going to have to adapt in respect of the Sunday closing (means something else in Wales!).I'm particularly grateful for the bus timetable.
Thank you all.
May 19th, 2013 | 03:21 PM
#9
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 17,801
Likes: 0
Oh dear, I totally missed that you will be coming from Wales! You might consider contacting your embassy in DC to arrange a tour--they used to be able to set that kind of thing up, but it's been years since I've tried. But really, the Capitol visitors' center is great, and you'll be better able to manage your own time that way. Have a great trip!
Apr 2nd, 2014 | 01:10 PM
#10
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,110
Likes: 0
Taking on board all your very helpful replies we have just returned from two nights in DC (and two nights in Philadelphia).
When we could see that the November dates weren't going to work we decided to put in longer.
Just a couple of notes
1. We pre-booked an Amtrak ticket from Philadelphia to DC some 4 hours after our US Airways flight was due to land to make sure we caught it. Our flight was early and Philadelphia was 2 degrees so we tried to change our train ticket. It was going to cost us another $50 each single! so we ended up sitting in the station for 3 hours watching the world go by.
In Baltimore the train in front of us broke down and so we had to reverse and try and pass it on another track. We had given an ETA to our B&B which we would now be late for but there was no reception on the train to telephone them.
The washrooms were significantly cleaner than those on Virgin trains in the UK
2. Our B&B The Apple Tree Inn on Capitol Hill was gorgeous! I had already said I would like to stay there if I return but they are closing in July and I'm not sure how long for.
The area felt safe and we walked out to restaurants in the dark with no fear.
3. We walked from our B&B all the way down the Mall,we passed the White House and to Arlington in the rain, But I loved it all.
4 We were collected at Arlington and driven to Fort Lincoln via the Jefferson memorial. This took us through a seedy part of town and even though I had been prepared to go by public transport I was glad to be chauffered. We found the relative's grave and I think that I am the first family member from Wales to visit it in 64 years.
5. We had a reservation at Johnny's Half-Shell that night. Good but not outstanding. Staff were well briefed.
6. We had a Capitol tour which I enjoyed immensely. Someone else apart from deladeb above had recommended the Library of Congress but we had reservations on a 13.20 Greyhound to Philadelphia. In the UK Greyhound is synonymous with the US and travelling long distances and romantic notions of great countries. Not so! Our reservation told us to be there an hour before departure. We had trouble finding the bus station in Union station- it is very poorly signposted. You couldn't get to the bus queue until 30 minutes before departure. There was no board or anything listing departures or bus lanes. We stood in lane "C" with the rain sweeping in through the side of the building. No-one gave us any information and the bus arrived an hour late. People getting on in Baltimore had waited for the previous bus which didn't arrive.
About 30 minutes out of Philadelphia the driver took a 10 minute stop in a motorway service station and nearly caused a riot! I think that by now he was exceeding his allowable hours and so had to stop driving. We arrived in Philadelphia two hours late. So much for the romance of Greyhound!and we could have seen the Library of Congress with the time we wasted!
However I really really enjoyed this and will now return in the future for longer(not by Greyhound!).
Thank you all for your help.
When we could see that the November dates weren't going to work we decided to put in longer.
Just a couple of notes
1. We pre-booked an Amtrak ticket from Philadelphia to DC some 4 hours after our US Airways flight was due to land to make sure we caught it. Our flight was early and Philadelphia was 2 degrees so we tried to change our train ticket. It was going to cost us another $50 each single! so we ended up sitting in the station for 3 hours watching the world go by.
In Baltimore the train in front of us broke down and so we had to reverse and try and pass it on another track. We had given an ETA to our B&B which we would now be late for but there was no reception on the train to telephone them.
The washrooms were significantly cleaner than those on Virgin trains in the UK
2. Our B&B The Apple Tree Inn on Capitol Hill was gorgeous! I had already said I would like to stay there if I return but they are closing in July and I'm not sure how long for.
The area felt safe and we walked out to restaurants in the dark with no fear.
3. We walked from our B&B all the way down the Mall,we passed the White House and to Arlington in the rain, But I loved it all.
4 We were collected at Arlington and driven to Fort Lincoln via the Jefferson memorial. This took us through a seedy part of town and even though I had been prepared to go by public transport I was glad to be chauffered. We found the relative's grave and I think that I am the first family member from Wales to visit it in 64 years.
5. We had a reservation at Johnny's Half-Shell that night. Good but not outstanding. Staff were well briefed.
6. We had a Capitol tour which I enjoyed immensely. Someone else apart from deladeb above had recommended the Library of Congress but we had reservations on a 13.20 Greyhound to Philadelphia. In the UK Greyhound is synonymous with the US and travelling long distances and romantic notions of great countries. Not so! Our reservation told us to be there an hour before departure. We had trouble finding the bus station in Union station- it is very poorly signposted. You couldn't get to the bus queue until 30 minutes before departure. There was no board or anything listing departures or bus lanes. We stood in lane "C" with the rain sweeping in through the side of the building. No-one gave us any information and the bus arrived an hour late. People getting on in Baltimore had waited for the previous bus which didn't arrive.
About 30 minutes out of Philadelphia the driver took a 10 minute stop in a motorway service station and nearly caused a riot! I think that by now he was exceeding his allowable hours and so had to stop driving. We arrived in Philadelphia two hours late. So much for the romance of Greyhound!and we could have seen the Library of Congress with the time we wasted!
However I really really enjoyed this and will now return in the future for longer(not by Greyhound!).
Thank you all for your help.
Apr 2nd, 2014 | 05:29 PM
#11
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 57,886
Likes: 0
Had never heard of Greyhound as being "romantic". Just thought of it as super cheap (before Mega and Bolt bus) dumpy way for impecunious college students or someone going to a place with no airport nearby.
In the US by far most travel is by car or plane - that's what the government supports. There are a few places (NE corridor being one) where train makes sense (versus plane). We still do car.
Basically the US has been focused on car travel since Henry Ford invented the assembly line in 1914 and put a car in every driveway of middle and working class families.
In the US by far most travel is by car or plane - that's what the government supports. There are a few places (NE corridor being one) where train makes sense (versus plane). We still do car.
Basically the US has been focused on car travel since Henry Ford invented the assembly line in 1914 and put a car in every driveway of middle and working class families.
