Leaving soon for DC - any last minute advice?
 

We will be leaving soon for DC, so I figured I'd check to see if anybody has any last minute advice. Our group has shrunk considerably in the last week due to an illness, a manipulative family member, and a jerk of a boss who decided someone couldn't take vacation this week. Our group of 6 is now 3 - my husband and I and my uncle. Oh well. We will have fun and the upside is that a 3 person group is easier to manage than 6.

Day 1: Arrive DC in the evening, check into hotel - The Hamilton Crowne Plaza on 14th.

Day 2: 11am tour of Capitol - the information says we should be there by 10 for security, so I thought we'd get breakfast and head over, and wander around until it is time. Afternoon - visit 1 or 2 of the Smithsonian museums on the Mall. Definitely Air and Space.

Day 3: 8:30 tour of the Library of Congress. More Smithsonian museums on the Mall. The National Gallery, Sculpture Garden, and National History Museum are on the list. Evenning - see the monuments on and around the Mall at night.

Day 4: We head out to Chincoteague, VA for a week

Day 11: My husband and I return to DC in the late afternoon (my uncle will have gone home, so it will just be us). Staying at the Dupont Hotel at Dupont Circle. Wander around the neighborhood, have dinner and drinks.

Day 12: In DC - no real plan, but some ideas. We will have spent basically 2 days in the Mall area already, so I would like to see some other sites. Thinking of The Phillips Collection, Mount Vernon, a boat tour on the river, a bike tour (if the weather isn't too sticky), National Building Museum. We will probably see what the weather is like and then decide.

Day 13: Flight home in the late afternoon, so we will have the morning and lunch in DC.

Dont miss the FDR memorial -- really nice at night. Check out the Newseum -- great musuem and fabulous views of DC from the building. The Phillips is a great museum - u can see the Boating Party there. The Cocoran sometimes has some good exhibits, not sure what is on there now. The Dupont Circle area has some nice small galleries. Also on Sundays, there is a good, but crowded Farmer's market in Dupont Circle. I'm not so fond of the boat trips down the Potomac, but they seem popular, so lots of people must like them.
Restaurant Week is August 16 - 22-u might be able to catch a good deal on a good restaurant if you're here then.
http://washington.org/restaurantwk/
Enjoy DC!

If either of you are into Airplan history, the National Air and Space musuim is well woth the trip out there. We spend a whole day there!

http://www.nasm.si.edu/udvarhazy/

Thanks for the advice.

I hadn't thought about the FDR Memorial - I will put that on the list.

The Boating Party is my motivation for going to the Phillips :)

Good tip about the Farmer's market - we return to DC on a Saturday, which means Sunday is a full day in DC. If the weather is nice, we might see about picking up some things for a picnic lunch.

The Air and Space Museum is 1st on our list of Smithsonian museums to see. I missed that one when I was in DC before because my travelling companions wanted to see other things.

So much to see, so little time...

You have a lot of art excursions on your list (I would too) but the Smithsonian's American Art and Portrait Gallery are fabulous and are located near the National Building Museum.

I'm another who is not fond of the boat excursions but it is a popular way to visit Mount Vernon. If you do choose MV and don't go by boat you could combine that with some time in Alexandria.

I would second the choice of the Newseum.

Hope you have a super trip!

I highly recommend visitng the Pentagon and the 9/11 Memorial dedicated to those that lost their lives.
You will not regret or forget the experience.

The Arlington National cemetary is nearby and both are ealily accessible via Metro stop at Pentagon City Mall, a nice MALL.

I would add to the list of recommendations for the Newseum. Also, the Holocaust Museum if not already seen. Mt. Vernon is good, too, and you can get there by boat from Alexandria. Makes a pleasant trip.

There are two Air and Space Museiums . . one is on the Mall, but the larger one is out by Dulles Airport . . it will take a whole day. You could see that on the way back from the eastern shore

Yes, as Rich mentioned, there are two Air and Space Museums and the link he provided was for the large Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum near Dulles airport. You really do need a car to get there since public transportation is problematic. This museum has a lot of the big stuff--e.g. space shuttle. Note that the museum is free, but parking there is around $15, I believe.
If you still have your car after your trip to Chincoteague, then you might want to drive out to Mount Vernon rather than take the boat. I took the boat many, many years ago on my first visit to D.C. but now that I live here, we either drive or bike to Mt. Vernon. I actually enjoyed the boat trip, but it does limit the amount of time that you can spend there. I can't imagine spending fewer than 4 hours at Mt. Vernon. (If you want to combine biking and Mt. Vernon, I believe that Bike and Roll offers bike rentals from Alexandria and you can ride to Mt. Vernon and then return to Alexandria by boat.)
Also, here's another shout-out for the Newseum. I got "dragged" there by visiting relatives and I was amazed at how good it is! The tickets are good for 2 consecutive days and I ended up spending about 8 hours over 2 days there.

Theteven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles International Airport is definitiely not on the way back from Chincoteague.

I would recommend Mt. Vernon. Go on your own so you can spend plenty of time for house, grounds and shopping. We went with a bus tour and had to rush thru the grounds, out buildings and gift shops. If we ever get to DC again, Mt. Vernon will be a must see again.

MY

Second (or third!)the idea to visit both the Newseum and the National Portrait Gallery -- not only the presidential portraits, but the other exhibits. It's a great place. So's the Dupont Circle farmer's market mentioned by yestravel -- outstanding!

First things first: a few ideas of where to eat/drink in a "slightly" challenging area.


The Hamilton Crown Plaza on K st. is in an "office building" area. While there are a few places right next to your hotel, you will be The Hamilton Crown Plaza location is more lively on weekdays during the day due to all the office workers, so breakfasts and lunches are abundant. The Dupont Hotel is, of course, in a restaurant haven 24/7. That said...

http://www.churchkeydc.com/ 4 blocks due north from Crown Plaza - definitely outside the "office zone". Don't miss this!

http://www.beckdc.com/ 3 blocks due east from the Crown Plaza. Hmmm - Don't miss this either!

WALK over to Easter Market on Day 2. Explore, shop, eat and then take the METRO from Eastern Market back to the Smithsonian stop. But before you do, walk down 8th between Penn. Ave and G st. SE in case you want to eat, that stretch of 8th SE is one of DC's "restaurant rows". Ted's has the best diner type food in DC. http://tedsbulletin.com/

Day 3, consider walking east again to Capitol Hill towards Eastern Market (via a different route) after visiting the LOC and again taking the Metro to Smithsonian. Just a chance to see more of this nice neighborhood.

Day 11-13, You're now in a very restaurant friendly area.

Some places on P st. between 20th & 22nd (another "restaurant row"):
http://www.pescedc.com/
http://www.altiramisu.com/
http://www.eatyourpizza.com/
Obelisk 2029 P St. 202-872-118 (no website)

A little north of the Dupont Circle:
http://www.bistrotducoin.com/

And finally, if you are in the vicinity of the NAt'l Gallery of Art, The Newseum, or the NAt'l Archives - head to my all time favorite place (3 blocks north of the Mall):

<b>http://www.jaleo.com/</b>

"Theteven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles International Airport is definitiely not on the way back from Chincoteague."

Aaaak . . brain fart . . you are right, it's on the other side of DC . .

And one of my favroite restaurants right down the street from Jaleo's is Oyamel, also owned by Jose Andres
http://www.oyamel.com/ And in the P st area I love the pizza at Pizza Paradiso.

There are exhibits at the Capitol Visitor Center so you will have something to do if you arrive early before your scheduled tour.
http://www.visitthecapitol.gov/Exhibitions/

Thanks everybody. I really appreciate it!

After visiting the National Portrait Gallery, walk across the street to Zaytinya for a Pear Martini!

((H))