Hi all!
Just wanted to say that this forum has been fantastic in helping plan my trip and I would love your thoughts on my very preliminary itinerary.
I'll be in DC with my parents from 5/23-5/28, which leaves us four full days to see the sights (or some of them - I don't believe in trying to see everything; it's impossible and when you do that, you don't remember anything). I've put together the following:
5/24 (Thursday) - having already decided to see the memorials at night (to give us an extra day touring -plus, I've read that they are just beautiful at night. I think I'll really especially enjoy the FDR and WWII memorials then, too.
-National Archives
-National Postal Museum
-Dupont Circle/Embassy Row/lunch
-National Geographic Museum
Memorials /night
I know its the Archives and 2 other museums in one day, but it seems as if we could do the Postal in about an hour or so, and probably same with the National Geographic
5/25 (Friday)
Mom/Dad: Holocaust Museum
Me: Air & Space Museum*I'm really excited to see the greatest hits of the Museum of American History, plus anything to do with planetariums and space exploration is right up my alley
-Ford's Theatre Lincoln exhibit
-Georgetown
5/26 (Saturday)
-Eastern Market
-Library of Congress tour
-Tour of US Capitol through representative
-Supreme Court
5/27 (Sunday)
-Arlington National Cemetary (1/2 day or so)
-National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian American
The museum is not that far (or so it seems) from our hotel (Embassy Suites convention center), so I figured that we could freshen up at the hotel and enjoy the museum for a couple of hours
**Memorial Day eve Concert on lawn of US Capitol
5/28 (monday)
We will probably leave late afteroon on Monday, so I'm hoping to see some of the ceremonies at the memorials
I've tried to include a mix of indoor and outdoor activities, plus I've tried to keep the travelling to a minimum by bunching things that are relatively close together.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks!!
Betsy

We were in Washington D.C. just a month ago, and, while this doesn't make me an expert, I can easily remember how tired I felt after all the sight-seeing. I like your pattern of doing the museums early, then winding down with more leisurely afternoons. Here are my thoughts:
- You may want to split the monuments up into two evenings. It took us about four hours to see everything from the Washington Monument, speed-walking clockwise to the Lincoln Memorial. It sounds like you are on the bus tour, so your timing may be a little faster. If your folks are from the FDR or WW2 era, though, they will want to spend more time at these places.

You should add the Washington Monument, if you can get tickets (use the National Parks website to order, and pick them up anytime before your tour.) It's an easy walk from the Holocaust Museum and the Air and Space, so maybe the three of you could meet there on your second day.

I don't know anything about the Postal Museum, but the National Gallery of Art is very close to the National Archives, and it is beautiful. Even if you aren't an art lover, you'll be impressed by the collection. Speaking of the Archives, the Declaration of Independence is out for conservation; many people I waited with said they wouldn't have bothered if they had known. We had a 45 minute wait here, (but it wasn't a holiday weekend); I learned later that you can order tickets for a prearranged time.
Have a wonderful trip!

Just remebered, the Vietnam memorial was not well-lit at night. I would definitely go there in the daytime if it's important to you.

Hi Betsypaige, just a couple of thoughts to add...when you visit Ford's Theatre be sure to walk through the Petersen House across the street. It only takes a couple of minutes and brings you full circle through the history of that event.
Here's the website http://www.nps.gov/archive/foth/hwld.htm

And then, just my two cents on the National Archives...there's so much more there than the constitution and well worth your time to visit. DD, 13 and I were blown away by all of the interesting documents we saw there. It was like a magnificent paper trail through history, really enjoyable.

Have a great trip!

Just curious, is it posted on the National Archives website when documents are unavailable for viewing? I went & bumped around a bit & didn't see anything. I am heading there in Sept & would like to research.

Thanks!