Going in June with other adults and children aged 10 to 15. Staying in Watergate area. Where would be interesting places to eat? Plan to visit White House & Smithsonian. Would appreciate any suggestions on how to keep this diverse crew happy. Thanks.

We went to DC two years ago. A couple of suggestions of things we did that made the trip more enjoyable for our children: contact your Congressional representatives ASAP to get passes into the Senate and House. Visitors can watch Congress in action. The gallery (you) must remain quiet. We were lucky enough to have a roll call in the Senate so EVERY Senator had to come into the chamber to cast a vote. It was really exciting to see them all together up close. If you don't have White House Tour tickets, ask for those also. Tours are being limited and you won't want to stand in line for several hours to get tickets that they might not honor. Another thing to do is use the TOURMOBILE facilities. There is a cost per person. It cost us $42.00 for a family of five. If you buy your tickets (there are kiosks all around DC) after 2pm, your tickets are good the remainder of the day and the entire next day. You can't beat that deal. The Tourmobile makes stops at about 18 attractions in DC including Arlington Nat'l Cemetary ,Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington Memorials, Capitol Building, all the Smithsonians. It is really worth the price of the tickets because you can get on and off as many times as you wish. Some of the memorials and monuments are close together like Lincoln and Vietnam/Korea, but Arlington is across the river. Be sure to see Arlington not only for Kennedy's grave, but the many other graves and memorials you probably don't know are there like the Challenger memorial and Thurgood Marshall's grave. Go to the Visitor's Center and get a walking tour map. There is so much to see and do in DC that you want to be sure you don't overtax the children walking. Also, if you want to do the FBI tour, you have to make arrangements ahead of time because it is so popular. The FBI building is in a triangle with Ford's Theatre and the house where Lincoln died. You can walk to the National Archives, etc. that houses the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. After dragging the children to all the historical places, reward them by taking the Tourmobile to Union Station. It is the train station that has been turned into a modern shopping area and food court. There are a couple dozen choices for food so the children should find something appetizing. There are also gourmet food shops so the adults can splurge a little.
If you want more information (we spent several days there) e-mail me and I'd be happy to help.

Contact your member of Congress immediately to obtain White House tickets. Each congressional office gets a certain amount each month to give to constituents. The congressional tour is better in that it is a guided tour. The public tours are self-guided. If you can't get the congressional tickets, go to the White House Vistor's Center on 15th Street first thing in the morning on the day you want to go to get tickets. All tickets given out will be honored. Whoever is on line by the time the tours end (1 or 2:00pm) will get in. I wouldn't waste my time or money on the tourmobile unless you are going to Arlington Cemetary. The easiest way to see the monuments and museums is to take the metro to the Smithsonian metro stop. Everything, including the Capitol, is in walking distance. And it's all free! Incidentally, if you are going to be at the Capitol on a Friday, you probably will not see Congress in session. If Congress is not in session, you won't need tickets to get into the galleries. I hope this information helps. I work in DC right up the block from Union Station and am a volunteer docent at the Air and Space Museum. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at any time. Have a great time!

To:Ilisa, Thank you. Would the Grayline Tours be worth it? If so, could you suggest any certain area to visit on a bus tour? I read the Air and Space Museum is having a special exhibit on Stars Wars. Is that available in June? Does this reqire special tickets & when is the best time to visit? Could you also render an opioion on the Consitution Gardens and Natl Shrine of the Immaculate Conception? What restaurants do you prefer?

US Holocaust Memorial Museum? Is it approiate for children aged 10 to 15?

To Jenny: Frankly, I wouldn't utilize any bus tours unless you are going out to Arlington Cemetary. Then, you may want to use the tourmobile, because the cemetary is sprawling. The city is so easy to get around, and there is so much information out there on it, that you can pretty much to it on your own. Air and Space does have the Star Wars exhibit. It will be on display until the end of October. Special tickets are needed. They are given out at the museum on a first come, first served basis. The museum opens at 10:00am. However, you will want to be on line way before that. Tickets are timed. Once you get your ticket, you will be assigned a time to see the exhibit. Once the tickets for the morning viewings are given out, the line closes down until about 2:00pm. AT that time, it is opened up again, and the tickets for the afternoon are distributed. Each person is alloted up to 4 tickets. You can get advance tickets by calling Protix (the number escapes me - when I get it, I will post it). You can order up to 6 tickets for a small service charge. Constitution Gardens are lovely, and a definite respite to the craziness of the city. There is a memorial there to the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The Holocaust museum, I believe is appropriate for ages 10 and 15. You just may want to prepare the 10 year old in advance. I couldn't even begin to recommend a restaurant, there are so many to choose from. Georgetown and Adams-Morgan have such a diverse seletion. My personal favorite is Amazonia Grille on Wisconsin Ave. It is out of the way (Tenleytown metro stop on the red line), but delicious Brazilian food.

Don't invest in a Greyline or other such tour unless you are going as far out as Mount Vernon...and in that case, it would be cheaper to drive. The Tourmobile is wonderful (as others have said) and I would recommend it. Most of the attractions are along the mall, but the mall is very long and the buildings are large and what at first appears to be a very short walk, suddenly becomes quite a hike on a hot, humid summer day with 2 youngsters in tow. The tourmobile is definitely the way to get to Arlington Cemetery. Once there, a good choice is to purchase the tour. You will get dialog about the surroundings and transportation to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (children & adults will enjoy watching the changing of the guard) and the Kennedy gravesites. Don't overlook the National Cathedral in the Georgetown area for the beauty of its gothic architecture and its magnificent view of the city (from the towers). The guided tour (nominal fee) is worthwhile. The children might enjoy the metro stop at the zoo...sorry, I can't remember the name of that stop right now. I think it is Woodley Gardens. That stop has an incredibally LLOOOONNNNNNGGG escalator...at one time it was the second longest in the world. If the weather & temperature are nice, try a day at the zoo. On your first trip to the mall, take the Metro & exit at the Smithsonian exit. You will go up the escalator from the tunnel area which is somewhat dark. Catch your breath as you enter "daylight" and stand & look all around you...front, back, left & right. Try to keep your mouth closed. It is awesome. That first view is always breathtaking to me. Other than that...just enjoy! You will find plenty to do. Email me directly if I can help you further.

That zoo metro stop is Woodley Park/Zoo. Some good places to eat are Planet Hollywood (close to Ford's Theatre), South Buffet Room in the Dirksen Senate Office Bldg. (lunch buffet at a very reasonable price, and take the subway underneath the Capitol Bldg.- fun!). The Commerce Bldg. has a nice cafeteria that's open to the public Mon. - Fri. Since you're staying by the Watergate, take the elevator to the roof of the Kennedy Center and see a beautiful view of the city and the Potomac. There's a good little restaurant called Mick's at the corner of 24th and Pennsylvania Ave. - a short walk.
There's also a Bob's Big Boy in the Howard Johnson Hotel across from the Watergate. Have been to D.C. 5 summers in a row - trip #6 is coming up in 4 weeks. Can't wait! Oh, and the Shrine was really nice. Mass was beautiful and very old-fashioned (lots of incense!)

Jenny, you're getting some excellent advise from the above posts, and I'm not certain there's too much to add here. Regarding the Star Wars exhibit: we took out-of-town guests to see the exhibit this past weekend; lined up with about 150 other same-day ticket-seekers at 9:25 a.m on the south side of the Air and Space Museum. Tickets were handed out starting at 9:45 a.m., and our group got 10:45 a.m. tickets. Talking with people in line, we learned that first-come-first-served sites such as the FBI tour are mobbed, with all tickets being gone if someone isn't in line at 7:15 a.m. The hot draw at the National Gallery this summer is "Degas at the Races," which consists of app. 200 of Degas' painting and sculpture of racing and horses. The exhibit is excellent (we saw it right after the "Star Wars" exhibit -- talk about culture shock). No tickets are required, but the crowd gets pretty dense. As to restaurants: Les Halles (Pennsylvania & 13th) is a wonderful French brassierie and suitable for a family with children; if you want something completely different and have ever had a hankering for Ethopian (!) food, there's an excellent and inexpensive place called Zed's in Georgetown (M St. and 34th), which serves very good food. M St., by the way, is fairly stiff with interesting and relatively inexpensive restaurants. Hope your trip turns out well.