Forgot to mention that u can do the Bikeshare at night --its open 24 hours
http://www.capitalbikeshare.com/

We are here now. We did the Duck tour and it was a pleasant overview. Signed up for a Mall tour at night but didn't make it. Kids are done by 3pm.... we have a few more days and are hoping to get back out at night on the Mall. I didn't bikeshare the other day on my own. But my whole family can't do because no kid bikes. Also no helmets. I wish I had brought my won helmet. It was however AMAZING to be biking through DC early on memorial day with no traffic.

Overwhelming, isn't it, sfmaster?

Enjoy!!

Thanks for your additional thoughts. You are right, the Vietnam Memorial would be best by day. And my error was looking at Google maps instead of finding a more tourist one, so I didn't realize I was missing two more memorials.

Also disappointing about the kid bikes- sfmaster-my youngest is 11 and probably not tall enough for an adult bike. Also we have so much to pack that helmets are probably not worth the extra suitcase they'd need.

Another vote for DC by Foot. We did their daytime monuments tour and it was fabulous. We had Stephen as our tour guide. It was entertaining and informative. It is a free tour and you pay a tip at the end which is well worth it. I highly recommend it.

When we are taking visiting friends back to their hotels, we take them on a night time drive by tour of the Monuments and wonderful federal buildings-- The Supreme Court, the Archives, the Library of Congress, etc. It would be easy and reasonable for you all to grab a cab for a drive around.
Personally I like Red Top Cab (our local company and personal cab of preference-- clean, air conditioned, English speaking drivers). It's an Arlington company-- cannot pick you up in the district unless you call with a Virginia destination. (703-522-3333) Your destination could be Iwo Jima or the new Air Force Memorial (or dinner). Then head back to DC via the memorials, monuments, and federal buildings. It's more than the Metro, but will not cost $150.
I hope you are loving our beautiful city. It's yours too. Enjoy the rest of your stay

I realize I had some typos in above post I DID do the Bike share. It was super cool.

This is a truly BEAUTIFUL city. The weather has turned a bit cooler which is helpful. I am just amazed by how many people are out and about...(not just tourists). People are walking and riding, eating outside, playing ball.

The Star Spangled Banner exhibit at the Museum of American History was truly inspirational. Also standing on the Lincoln Memorial looking across the mall to see the capitol, the washington monument... even with the reflecting pool under construction... is amazing. You can imagine MLK standing there.

I wonder if things might run more smoothly if all our politicians (I mean all of them) took a few days field trip to really soak up the history of our nation and the principles of our founding that need to be continually strived for.

Today everyone is exhausted but it's our last full day before wedding festivities. The 11 yr old and DH might hit the Holocost Museum. And I might take the youngers to the zoo.

It's wonderful to not be trying to do all this in 3 days.... to be able to get a feel for the place. But first off to grab a bike to go get some bagels.

Glad you're enjoying our beautiful city. Sounds like a great visit. Weather has definitely gotten better.