First, let me say thank you to all of you for helping me plan our trip to Washington and for answering my endless questions. As promised since you all helped us so much I am writing my review which may help others. Sorry if it's a little wordy but I wanted to include everything.
We arrived on Friday mid day and took a taxi to our hotel (Fairmont Washington). We checked in and we were happy to see we got a corner room with a balcony. The room itself was very clean and since it was away from the other rooms it was extremely quiet. After dropping off our luggage we headed to the metro (Foggy Bottom) to go downtown. The metro station is only a about a 7-10 min. walk and was quite pleasant since the weather was nice. We had some lunch at a nice deli in a plaza across from the National Archives and then we went to stand in line. After viewing the National Archives (total time waiting and viewing about two hours) we headed over to Ford's Theatre and Peterson's House which had no wait. After that we walked to the Museum of Natural History. We spent the rest of the day checking out the Gem's. When the museum closed we walked over to Old Ebbitt's Grill and had a nice dinner. I had made reservations on the net prior to going otherwise the wait time is long. Afterwards we took a taxi back to our hotel as we were very tired since we had been up since 5am.
Saturday we had booked two tours. An all day city, Arlington Cemetry and Mount Vernon plus an evening monument tour. We got picked up from our hotel in the morning and we got to see a lot since the tour lasted nine hours (including a stop for lunch). We saw all the main sights in town like the Capital, White House, Supreme Court, FBI Bldg. etc.... Embassy Row, Georgetown, toured all over Mount Vernon (Washington's House and grounds) and at Arlington saw the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier plus the eternal light by Kennedy's Grave. Upon our return we had dinner at the restaurant America at Union Station. The food was ok but the service was terrible. We then headed back to the bus area for our evening tour of the monuments. I won't get into it now but I don't suggest anyone use Greyline/Martz for their evening tours. They are extremely disorganized and we had some problems. I noticed from reading some different threads that other people also had some problems. We ended up seeing all the major monuments, Lincoln, FDR, Korean, Vietnam, WWII, Iwo Jima, and the Reflecting Pool. Only half of the Lincoln Monument was lit and the Washington Monument wasn't lit at all since it is under construction. I noticed during our visit that they weren't letting anyone go to the top either. The monuments are really something special to see especially at night.
Sunday and Monday we started our day with breakfast at Bread and Chocolate, a real nice cafe right by our hotel. Then we took the metro to tour the Air and Space Museum where we also took in an Imax film and the planetarium, Museum of American History, the Old Post Office Pavillion where we took the elevator to the top of the tower and took pictures, Postal Museum, walked around Union Station and Georgetown where we had dinner at Pizzeria Paradiso and another night at Uno's which both happen to be very good. We also had lunch at the Elephant Castle (right near postal pavillion) and Capital City Brewing(right by Union Station), both were really good choices.
Tuesday we were up real early as we had a scheduled tour of the Capital Bldg. at 8am. We had some breakfast at the cafeteria in the bldg. right across the street. The food was good and the prices very reasonable since it's for their employees. The Capital Tour was amazing, then we toured the Library of Congress which also was impressive. From there we headed over to see the Hirschhorn Art Museum and Sculpture Garden. We had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and then since we were in a rush took a taxi to the State Dept. for our scheduled tour. Afterwards, we walked back to our hotel to relax until dinner. We took the metro to Metro Center and had dinner at ESPN since we wanted to watch the Miami Heat Game. Dinner was good but it would have been better if we'd have won!! By now we were all exhausted so we headed back to our hotel to finish packing as we had a mid day flight the following day.
We really got to see a lot including the Memorial Day parade and Rolling Thunder. We all enjoyed our trip to DC and we met some really friendly people. We felt safe walking all over even at night. The metro is clean, easy to use and very convenient. We bought the farecard and just added money on it during our stay. The weather cooperated and it was really pleasant. I hope I haven't bored you with this long review and I'd be happy to answer any questions. For those with upcoming trips you're in store for a great time. Enjoy!

We were in DC in March. Boy!! You guys are marathon site-seers!! I know we had to come home so we could get some rest. Nice report and glad you had a nice vacation.

M

SGF,

Thanks for the helpful report - all the details.

You saw quite an impressive amount of places in just a few days. You must be quite young and athletic.

Glad you had a great time.

Yes, we did manage to get in a lot especially on a busy Memorial Day Weekend. I was well organized thanks to all who answered my questions prior to leaving. These boards are great and so helpful. We didn't feel it while touring but once home it took about a day for us to get back to a regular routine and catch up on our sleep.

Your review was very informative. I am planning a trip to DC in July for 5 days (plus 2 days for travel) for my family of 4. I haven't scheduled any tours yet (except through my congressman for Capitol Bldg) I am considering the all day tour which includes Mount Vernon, Arl. cemetary etc.
What tour company did you use? DC Tours? I haven't really researched much yet into price etc. Were you happy with yours? Would you have done something differently if you had the info that you do now?

Anyway, I really enjoyed your post. It will help me to schedule my days to fit the most sightseeing in.

Dear Martha:

My husband, daughter and I took the 1/2day trip to Mt. Vernon in March. It was not enough time. They drove us thru Alexandria first, arriving at MV at about 9 or 9:30. There was a fast moving line to get in. But we only had about 2 hrs. to look everything over. When we left about 11:30, no line at all because the other tour busses were already gone. You also need time to shop at the great little gift shop near the slave quarters.

I know you can take the metro to the end of the line then take a bus to MV. That way you can set you own time table.

Have a good trip.

Michelle

Thanks for the info Michelle.
What tour was the 1/2 day to MV with? DCTours?
The Tourmobile website states that their MV tour is not available this year, so I don't know any other option except DC Tours.
Taking the Metro to the end of line sounds like it might work, but what bus is it that you suggest taking?
And I'm assuming a Metro pass would work all the way to the end of line and then back again.
Thanks again for your input.
Kathy (Martha's is the name of my retail store. I will answer to it tho!)

marthashealth:

The day tour we took was with Greyline/Martz. It was for nine hours and we were at Mount Vernon I'd say about two hours and we had plenty time to check out the house and the grounds plus shop at the gift store. I guess it all depends on how many tours are there that day. The line to view the house is long when you first see it but it moves very fast as you can not linger inside and must keep walking. I think we only waited about 10 mins. We were happy with our day tour through that company but I'd definitely find another company if you plan to do an evening tour of the monuments. There was total confusion at Union Station to pick up their evening tour plus their representatives weren't too attentive especially when we had a problem. A lot of people were unhappy with how the evening tour was organized. We got picked up at our hotel for the day tour so I guess that had a lot to do with things going a lot smoother. I don't know if I'd do Mount Vernon on my own and take the metro and a bus. The metro in DC is great but when I asked a security officer at one of the bldgs. downtown which bus to take as our feet were getting tired from walking he said to stay away from using the buses. Maybe others on the board have had experience using the buses and can help you more. I would do Arlington by myself if you don't wish to take a tour. It's easy to get to by metro and the stop is right outside the gate. Once inside you can purchase trolley tour tickets to take you around the grounds. Definitely find time to take a tour of the Library of Congress, you won't be sorry. It's free and tours if I remember correctly are given every half hour. Also, the monuments in the evening when lit are really something to see. Enjoy your upcoming trip.

SGF,

Thanks for your help. I'll check into the Greyline/Martz possibility. There is so much to see that I want to be as organized as possible so we can fit it all in!

Kathy

Yes, having a plan and being organized is a must. I doubt we would have viewed as much if we didn't have some type of itinerary or schedule, especially since it was a busy holiday weekend and several places were closed on Monday. We did alter several things during the course of our visit as nothing was etched in stone but by doing my homework ahead we knew what bldgs. were near each other and what times the tours were so that helped. If one had a long line we just hopped over to another nearby. Enjoy the time planning your trip as that's half the fun as the weeks go by fast and before you know it you're already home.....like us!

SGF,

I have printed out everyone's itineraries that have been posted after they returned home. Then scrutinized them to see how they match with what we want to do and if the itineraries worked for them. So far I seem to be getting my days filled up quickly!
We decided to do the Gray Line All Day Combo Tour. Thought it seemed simpler than trying to figure it all out myself. Also, wouldn't have to hope the TourMobile doesn't fill up and spend our holiday waiting for a bus to stop. We will do the TM Wash. by Night tour though. It seems that everyone has so enjoyed that kind of a tour that i didn't want to miss it.

You mentioned the Peterson House and I can't find any mention as to what this is. So far, my day in that area consists of Am Hist, Nat Hist, Old PO, Ford Th and Archives, with lunch and dinner thrown in the mix too. But I would still like to know if I should find a time to schedule it in.
When I get my itin more complete I'll post it on a new thread so I can get feedback from others too. I am still waiting to hear from the Congressman. I have a Cap. bldg tour sched. but nothing else yet.
QUESTION:
Did the cost of the GrayLine Tour include the cost of entry to Mount Vernon? How about the cost of the TourMo at Arl Cem?

I'm assuming that neither is included in the tour cost, but just had to ask.

Thanks for reading my long post and for all your help.
Kathy

Oops........just found Petersen's House in the info from the Congressman.

Anyway, was it worth the stop for you?