Stay-at-home Vacation
 

My hubby and I live in the suburbs of DC and due to all the mass hysteria involving air travel and the costs of some of the popular vacation packages, we've decided to board the dog and stay home and vacation in the area. Do you have any ideas of things or places we should go that would be exciting (or restaurant choices? We considered a drive to Midway to gamble for a day, possibly a day trip to nearby beach, etc. We want to have an activity planned for each day in addition to dining at some great restaurants. Sorry this message is so long but we want some good ideas on how to make the best of a vacation at home. Thanks.

Since you live in the DC 'burbs, I'd suggest checking out the Washingtonpost.com's travel section - many archived articles on places to go nearby including Virgina, W. Virginia, the Eastern Shore, etc., etc. I'd also recommend looking at Tom Sietsma's chats for restaurant recommendations, also accessible on the washingtonpost.com website.

BTW, what "mass hysteria"? I've flown into BWI, National, and Dulles often in the past two years and have never encountered "hysteria."

In additon, have you ever done the touristy things in your own backyard - Baltimore Orioles, Smithsonian Museums (free), National Arboretum (free), Spy Museum, etc.?

Atlantic City !
I am affraid to say Philadelphia (I mean I am sure you've been here already)

I hope you read the "things to do" insert in todays Washimgton Post.

To get that "beachy" feeling without going all the way to the Eastern Shore, consider a day trip to North Beach, MD. It's a quaint little bayside town, and has a nice long pier where you can can crab or fish, or just take a walk and watch the crabbers and fishermen. I can't recommend restaurants because for some reason we've never dined there. We usually bring a picnic lunch.

DH and I live in Gaithersburg, but we try to get to North Beach a couple times a year. We love it and are actually thinking of retiring there someday! Here's a link for more info:
http://www.nbeachmd.com/dining.html

Enjoy your "at home" vacation!