DC Trip Report & Thank You
 

Thank you to all the Fodorites who helped make our recent DC trip a success.

All of our planning paid off; we only had a few glitches'and one of those was the weather! We were in DC Friday through Wednesday morning; Sunday and Monday were freezing!!!

We arrived at our Dupont Circle area hotel, the Radisson Barcelo on Friday afternoon. We had two rooms, and one was huge. It had two queens so our sons claimed that one. It had a sitting area with a couch (which could be made into a bed), chair, coffee table, and desk. We've stayed in more upscale hotels, but for the location, price, and room size we were very satisfied with our choice. We took a walk around the neighborhood and later that night had dinner at Café Odeon.

On Saturday my son and husband attended an information session at Georgetown U. My younger son and I joined them for the campus tour. What an inviting campus! I'd like to go back to college... We had lunch at the Tombs and window shopped along M Street and checked out the C & O Canal. We went back to Georgetown U. to see an exciting, close lacrosse game against Hobart. (GU won.) Following an early dinner at Johnny's Half Shell we went on a nighttime tour of the White House and the Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln, Vietnam, Korean War and Iwo Jima Memorials. We ran into an unfortunate situation: a group on our tour was drinking rather more than socially. Members of their group were late getting back to the bus at just about every stop causing the rest of us to spend about an hour just waiting. I suppose it was a good lesson for our kids...if I'm forced to think of an upside.

On Sunday we had tickets at 9:30 to see the Washington Monument. We still had to wait over 45 minutes to get on the elevator and, boy, was it windy and cold outside. We then went to the National Cathedral and attended a service. Our cab driver from the Cathedral to Union Station was the only person we met in DC who was born, raised and still living in "retirement" there. We ate lunch at America and browsed a little before heading to the Ford Theater. Unfortunately, play rehearsals were being held so we could not go in the actual theater, but did tour the small museum downstairs. We crossed the street to visit the Peterson House where Lincoln died. We took a coffee break at a Starbucks on the edge of Chinatown before heading to the International Spy Museum. We were there for two hours, but easily could have spent more time. We had a delicious dinner nearby at Jaleo's.

On Monday, we spent the morning at the Air and Space Museum. We headed over to the National Gallery of Art for lunch at the Cascade Café. We toured the American collection before my 13-year old started protesting too vigorously. We headed over to the National Archives and waited about 45 minutes to see the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. My kids did think that destination was worth the wait. We still had a couple hours before the Smithsonians closed so we spent about an hour each in the Natural History and American History Museums. We definitely could have spent hours more at both, but we got an overview and were all satisfied and ready to get off our feet for awhile. We walked over to DC Coast for dinner.

Our last day began at the Supreme Court Building. I thought that by waiting in the so-called "three-minute" line that we would get a quick glimpse of the court in action and be done within an hour or so. My kids' least favorite part of the trip was waiting in line for 2 1/2 hours to see an attorney give about 5 minutes of argument in an ERISA case. But my husband and I found it exciting just to be in the courtroom and see the judges. We didn't know it would take that long, but once you've waited over an hour you think, "I can't get out of line now!" We hurried through the Library of Congress (could have spent way more time at the Churchill exhibit) and had lunch at the cafeteria in the Madison Building. We made it to the Capitol exactly at 2 PM for our staff tour and found we had to wait for the other family scheduled at the same time. They were delayed because of their wait at the Washington Monument! Our tour guide was an intern for our Congressman and she did a great job. We were, however, late for our ticket time at the Holocaust Museum. That's another place to return to... Fortunately, the weather was improving and we walked past the Reflecting Pool (no water) back to the Vietnam Memorial. It was worth it to spend a little extra time there. It was also eerie and sad for my 17-year old son who found the name of a deceased soldier with his same (first, middle and last) name. We had the very, very best meal of our trip that night just a block from our hotel at Obelisk.

This was a fast-paced but very satisfying sampling of DC for our family. I can't believe it took me almost fifty years to get there; I'll certainly return.

I didn't realise that you could still tour the White House. Does this have to be pre-booked or can one turn up on the day?
It was very interesting to read about your trip as we are going in three weeks time. I am so looking forward to doing many of the things that you have mentioned.

It appears that the WH tours are back on. This is from their page at www.whitehouse.gov


White House Tours
Tours of the White House have been expanded to include parties of 10 or more people, regardless of age or type of group, through one?s Member of Congress. Tour requests must be submitted through one?s Member of Congress and will be accepted up to six months in advance. These self-guided group tours will be scheduled approximately one month before the requested date, from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday

M MARTIN: Did you bring your coats? I was thinking of you Friday afternoon, knowing you were landing in that intense wind. It was so cold and windy in D.C. when you got there last Friday. This time of year can be so unpredictable around here. But it sounds like you braved the weather and had a great time, and you got to alot of great places. You picked some great places to eat too. Your planning paid off. I hope you will return to D.C. when you have more time now that you are a little familiar w/the city. Maybe your son will end up at Georgetown U. and you can use that as a reason to come back too.
I have not been to Obelisk, thanks for the recommendation- I will try it. I learn alot about D.C. from posts like yours, even though I work here.

M-Martin,
Thank for a most enjoyable and thoughtful post. GU is indeed pretty.
emd1,
Call now if you are interested in Obelisk - their very small size combined wth their excellent food absolutely requires you reserve well in advance.

Leaving for D.C. in 10 days, and would love to know what you thought of the Radisson Barcelo. We are traveling with our 4 children and trying to decide between the Barcelo and the Hilton Garden Inn in Arlington, (worked out good deals for both). Only in D.C. for a day and a half, so convenience and safety are key. Hilton is half block from a metro stop, but Radisson has larger rooms and closer to downtown. Any feedback would be appreciated! TIA

adams41, Our evening tour included a stop at the White House to look at the exterior only. I tried to arrange a White House tour through both my senator's and congressman's offices, but we needed to book that at least six weeks ahead of time (and we hadn't decided to go to DC then).

emd, We did take coats, but not heavy ones. Glad I had my fleece muffler and gloves!

bardo, Thank YOU.

darboy, The Radisson Barcelo worked out great for us. There was a small grocery across the street from the Radisson where we were able to purchase snack items and beverages. There were quite a few restaurants within walking distance, and the area felt safe enough.

As I mentioned, the one room with two queens and a pull-out sofa was very large. Our other room (one queen-size bed) was not nearly as big. The Radisson is not brand new or luxurious, but we felt comfortable there.

It was a short walk to the metro; but since there were just four of us, we always took cabs. I can't comment on the length of time it would take you to ride the metro from either location to the Mall area or other destinations, and that might be a consideration for you. I'm pretty sure you would have to change from the red metro line to another line to get to the Smithsonian stop from Dupont Circle.

If you have more specific questions, I'll be happy to try to answer them.

Great report, thanks for posting.

I'm glad you were pleased with the Radisson Barcelo. I stayed there a couple of years back and have continued to recommend it as somewhere if people want a decent hotel in a great location that's not too expensive. The room I stayed in was huge too, I've heard the Barcelo has the biggest hotel rooms in DC.

M_Martin-sounds like a great trip. I am glad you enjoyed Jaleo - it is one of my favorite casual/fun restaurants. I go there every time I go to a hockey game at the MCI Center.

Zola's, in the International Spy Museum, is also excellent if anyone is down that way on their future trips.

Karen

M_Martin, glad you had a good time in DC. Who was the operator of the nighttime tour of the White House and memorials? That'll be a must next time I'm in DC.

designmr: We took the nighttime tour with Zohery Tours. We picked up their brochure at our hotel and decided to go with them because they provided transportation to and from our hotel. We were originally going to do a similar tour with Old Town Trolley Tours, but the pick up and drop off was at Union Station...not nearly as convenient for us. See www.zohery.com.

Thanks! I hadn't heard of that operator.