i see, i guess i should drop the idea of the beach this time. thanks nyer.

"the scene in the movie forest gump, where tom hanks and the lady crosses a water body, it is also in DC right?"

Yes, that is the newly refilled Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial which you will be near as you walk through the Monuments.

Just a suggestion for Day 2 would be to re-arrange it to go
Arlington Cemetery (Id get there 1st thing in the morning)
National Archives (probably around lunchtime or you could even do this first thing Day 4 morning then leave)
Then another Museum

Take a look at the Newseum webpage. Its a journalism museum that has some amazing exhibits and is worth an all day visit

The Mt. Vernon calendar. http://www.mountvernon.org/calendar
See if anything appeals to you. There is plenty to see in DC without driving out to Mt. Vernon.

I found Mt Vernon fascinating, but I agree with tomfuller. There is so much to see and do in DC, unless something specific appeals to you about Mt Vernon, there's no need to do any more driving than you're already doing.

tchoiniere~is the Reflecting Pool finally filled? The last 2 times I was there, it was empty.........

Yes, it was filled at the end of August or so. Was there the 3rd week of September and it was full. Its too bad we cannot post pics here as I got some great pictures of it from each end.

Yay!! It was very disappointing when it was empty..........

thanks for the "reflecting pool" name, for a long time I wanted to see it.

Last night we were discussing about newseum, and doesnt seem my parents are too keen on seeing it. I am still not sure what to see on day 3, now that i have scratched out mt vernon and going to a beach.

thanks for your suggestion of re-arranging day 2, i will follow your advice.

No worries on finding something to do, sam..........there are several museums in the Smithsonian complex~Air & Space, Natural History, the Portrait Gallery, American History (my personal favorite)..............there's also the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Holocaust Museum, the National Law Enforcement Memorial, the Library of Congress, the Botanical Gardens, the National Geographic Museum........check the schedule for the Kennedy Center for performances.

There is no shortage of things to see and do!

Just go to more of the great museums in DC. As I posted earlier, my favorites are Air & Space, American History and the Portrait Gallery / Art Museum.

You could also go to the Holocaust Museum (get timed tickets). This is a completely different type of museum and you will need a break afterwords to reflect / wind down.

ok.. so i guess my day 3 has been figured out as well.
i m leaving statue of liberty for day 5.
day 4 morning we will be driving to NYC. so we should have the entire evening for roaming around. my dad wants to see ground zero, times square and central park. is that doable in one evening? and how do i go around these places, i mean should i take my car or opt for public transportation?

i have pretty much decided on americana hotel for our dc stay, any recommendations on hotels in nyc?

you guys are extremely helpful and i thank each one of you for the excellent answers and helps. i m truly grateful to all of u.

You do NOT want to drive in Manhattan -- public transportation or taxi is the only way to go!

What do you mean by evening? Central Park isn't really a place you visit at night.

i meant we will be leaving dc around 8 am, so should reach nyc by 2-3 pm. after that we should have time to roam around. from 3 pm onwards till whatever time in the evening/night it is safe/reasonable to roam around, in that time is it doable to see central park, ground zero and times square? r they far from eachother?

They are far from each other -- but it's doable if you take the subway. Go up to Central Park in daylight, take the subway down to the WTC site, then take the subway back up to Times Square after dark (Times Square is much BETTER after dark). It is safe to roam around everywhere except in the park itself after dark.