DC Trip Report
 

Here's a quick trip report (for me, who was reluctant to go) to DC in April.
Husband/Wife 16 yo son and 16 yo German exchange student.



Day 1:

Up at 4:30am for a 5:30am departure. 6 hour drive.

Arrive at Arlington at noon and buy tour bus tickets ($6 a piece). Stop at Kennedy grave site. Bus lines are so long we
choose to walk the rest of the Arlington sites. Waste of $24.

Arrive at Red Roof Inn at 5th and F. Desk clerk indicates there is no parking space reserved for us.
No big deal. Park in a underground lot off 6th street, and leave the car there our entire stay.
Happy with our $136 per night rate. Hotel is no frills but nice clean room. Irish Pub has reasonable food and prices.

Walk to Natural History Museum (crowded) and spend a couple hours there.

Early evening tour Washington, and Lincoln monuments.

Back to hotel for dinner (Chinese carry-out) and early bed time.

Day 2:

8AM Walk to old post office bldg and take tour of tower. Least crowded site in DC while we were there.

9:30 National Archives. Line is HUGE!
Thank god I had an email from them allowing us to enter thru special events entrance. No line too wait in!
Tour for about 2 hours.

11:30 National Space Museum. (HUGE CROWDS) tour most of afternoon and see one of the IMAX shows.
the crowds make this a hectic visit.

Tour other memorials we missed (WWII, Vietnam, Korean)

Walk back to National Portrait Gallery and spend an hour touring presidents portraits. Really tired at this point so back
to hotel and dinner.

Day 3:

9AM Walking tour of Capitol Hill to arrive at congress woman's office for tour of . Halls are connected to Capitol
via underground walk ways. Stand in line 1.5 hours before we can get thru security. Tour is nice but also very crowded.

Quick lunch then off to American Indian Museum. I choose to stay out in the sun and listen to the Cleveland Indians game
on my XM radio.

Take Circulator down to Holocaust Museum.
I have seen some of the holocaust camps in Europe and feel very depressed afterwards so I lets others attend (with pre purchased tickets) while I go over to Washington Monument and watch a thunder storm come thru while sitting on a covered stage near the monument.

Early evening walk back past spy museum and it sold out till 1PM the next day.


Day 4

Up at 9 to walk to Ford's theater. At 9:30am the line is already 3 blocks long for a 10AM opening.
Pass on this and pack car and hit Roosevelt memorial on the way back home. This is where some of the cherry blossoms still
remain.

Observations:

Overall would not recommend an April (Easter break) trip to DC. Just to many people. Love to see it at another
time of the year. I think late Sept. early Oct. would be a good bet.

Loved the National Mall area. Could sit there all afternoon.

Old Post office bldg was an uncrowded gem.

The site of the Capitol from various locations.

Limit Museums to one a day.

Take Circulator buses. Best bargain in DC.



Thanks for all who helped me plan......


Sam

Thanks for the report! You are correct-cherry blossom time plus spring break equals way too many tourists here in DC, especially for people who hate lines.

Fall is a gorgeous time to visit- smaller crowds, blue skies, nice fall colors, etc. As a local, I do my museum visiting in the winter, when crowds are even smaller (they are always here at the major attractions, even in the snow.)

Anyone thinking of coming to DC on Spring Break is well advised to contact their Congressman for reservations well in advance.

From March-June DC is chock full of school kids on trips. I'm a licensed guide and do these school tours, so I do know about this. If you are not a school kid on an organized tour, come in the fall. In the fall, there are very few school groups (as they are all raising money for their spring trips).

DC is a lot of walking. Wear comfortable shoes.

Wow,you guys did a lot in 4 days.
Nice report.

By the way, to get into the Archives during the crush of the spring season, line up at 6:00pm. The Archives is open til 7:00pm. You will get in but, of course, will not have two hours there to view the special exhibits. There is sufficient time to view the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

One of the guards who warns the kids about taking flash photos is a real hoot. I hope you get to hear his speech. He really cracks me up.