From Midwest and need help with trip to Washington DC next week
 

We are traveling to Washington DC to visit our congressmen for a Day on the Hill to raise awareness and funds for Mitocondrial Disease next Wednesday. The symposium we are attending is at a hotel in Vienna, Virginia. We are flying into Balimore and have rented a van to take us to the hotel. We have bus transportation from the hotel to the Mall for most of the time however our small group of six is lucky enough to get a personal tour of the White House. Our White House tour begins at 7:30 am on Friday.

Question 1 What is our best bet to make it to our tour on time at this busy time of the morning? We have been to Washington before and know of the great public transportation system but being from the midwest it is somewhat foreign. If we choose to drive our van from Virginia into Washington DC is there any place closer to the Mall that we could park and then get on public transport or should we try to get on a train in Virginia. Any idea how early we should get started during this peak time of the day. We must be at the White House at 7:30 or we miss our tour.

Question 2 We do not want to travel all the way from the Mall back to the hotel after our meetings. We would like to spend our afternoons doing what tourist do. Are lockers available at Union Station or somewhere that we could store our walking shoes and shorts to change ?

Thanks for any help on the logistics of this trip, it is very much appreciated.

Does your hotel in Vienna have a shuttle to the Vienna metro station? If so, I would do that. Or, you could drive and park at the Vienna metro station. With respect to time, I would probably want to be at the metro station in Vienna around 6 am just to be safe. If you have extra time before the tour, you could grab breakfast and coffee near the White House.

Can't answer about lockers at Union Station.

I think there are lockers at Union Station. Check the station's website or Google

There was a thread on the subject of lockers at Union Station recently which I just topped for you (I used to know how to link, but since the re-design .....)

Question 1. Take Metro. The train ride from Vienna to Farragut West is 30 minutes, plus you'll need time to walk from the station. I think 6:00 is wise, too.

On a related note, and the rules may be different for personal tours, but there is a long list of restricted items for the regular WH tours that you might want to familiarize yourself with.

Prohibited Items (From the WH website)

Prohibited items include, but are not limited to, the following: handbags, book bags, backpacks, purses, food and beverages of any kind, strollers, cameras, video recorders or any type of recording device, tobacco products, personal grooming items (make-up, hair brush or comb, lip or hand lotions, etc.), any pointed objects (pens, knitting needles, etc.), aerosol containers, guns, ammunition, fireworks, electric stun guns, mace, martial arts weapons/devices, or knives of any size. The U.S. Secret Service reserves the right to prohibit any other personal items. Umbrellas, wallets, cell phones and car keys are permitted.

Please note that no storage facilities are available on or around the complex. Individuals who arrive with prohibited items will not be permitted to enter the White House.

I used the luggage storage at Union station a couple of months ago.
It's adjacent to "A" platform and very user friendly. There's an attendant and the fees are quite reasonable.

Thanks so much for all the help. It seems it is the little things that can cause such confusion. I would be so upset if we got stuck and did not make it to the White House on time! Thanks for the restriction list. I was told about it but thought that surely they had storage if I wasn't allowed to take my purse in. I will have to make other arrangements.

Is anyone aware of an air museum that is not on the mall. My memory is not serving me very well. I seem to remember on our last trip we contemplated going to a museum with aircraft and maybe a shuttle but it was away from the Mall and we ran out of time. Did I dream this??

What about Mt Vernon. It is top on my list after the White House but I fear I am the only one in our party that has it rated so high. Would they change their minds if I convinced them to travel there. I am traveling with men who favor space, air and to history and architecture. What about the Spy Museum?

The Air Museum you are referring to is Udvar Hazy near Dulles Airport

The Smithsonian's Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum is about a 45 minute drive from D.C. and 25 minutes from Vienna. There used to be a shuttle between the Air and Space Museum on the Mall and the Udvar Hazy Museum, but it was discontinued a number of years ago. Admission to the museum is free, but parking is $15 per vehicle. See their website for more details on visiting: http://www.nasm.si.edu/udvarhazy/
The Spy Museum is extremely popular and, therefore, extremely crowded. You must purchase timed tickets ($18 for adults) to visit and it is generally recommended that they be purchased in advance as they sell out during busy times.

Well, I think Mt. Vernon is a must see, but if your traveling companions aren't interested, I wouldn't force them. Grumpy companions will spoil it for you.

So much help - so thankful!

I enjoyed a trip to Mt Vernon very much, also, it is a nice setting, also. It is really for history, it's not any great architectural example. If they are not intersted in history, they obviously will not care about Mt Vernon, there is no reason to go there if you aren't.

Don't try driving in from Vienna, for sure; I second all the comments about being at the Vienna metro by 6.

Make sure you have enough $$ on your Metro farecards (you'll already have them from your previous days, I assume), so you don't have to figure it all out on the morning when you're stressed and the station manager may not have time to help you.

While yes, there is parking at the Vienna Metro, I'd recommend not fooling with it. Get a shuttle or taxi there & back.

If you do get to the White House early, there's a low-key place for coffee and breakfast on the corner of Penn & 17th, right across the street from the Old Executive Office Building (which is part of the White House complex, right next door to the WH).

I definitely recommend the Spy Museum... it does get crowded but so does everything else in DC depending on the time of year so don't let that discourage you. It is such a unique museum that is very different from the others in DC. When I last visited, I was able to purchase tickets in advance for a specific entry time that helped save time. Regarding transportation, I agree with the others that taking the Metro in from Vienna is the best method. It really is a simple system after you get used to it.

Essentially you need to enter the White House with just your wallet - and hopefully have a pocket to put it in. Everything else you need/want for the day will have to be checked somewhere.

And I agree that Mount Vernon is fascinating - but then I'm a history buff - and love to see not just the places themselves but how people actually lived at the time. If no one else is interested I would just go yourself and meet them later.