Leaving in am with daughter and son-in-law to take our baby granddaughter for testing at Johns Hopkins. We are going three days early to try to have some fun in a year of mostly hospital visits. Staying in Baltimore but would like to see what we can in Washington DC on Tues. and Wed. Would like to do it all (never been to east coast we are from the midwest) but little time and infant in tow. Any itinerary suggestions to be efficient. Air and Space museum a must. What is a must see in Baltimore?

Where are you staying in B'more? You will want to spend some time in the B'more Inner Harbor and a visit to the National Aqauarium there is quite worthwhile. Will you have a car or do you plan to take the train to DC? I would recommend the train. If you haven't seen them, the national monuments are a must and the FDR monument is unique. Have lunch at the new Smithsonian American Indian Museum. It features native foods from all of the AI regions and for my money is the best food in the Mall area.

thank you so much for your reply. We are staying in dtn Baltimore near Johns Hopkins. We do not plan to rent a car. We are novices with public transprotation but are going to give it a try. Found some web site with bus tours in DC. Is the mall something we can easily walk or should we consider tours. Any suggestions?

Maggie,

The easiest plan is:

1) Take a 10 minute taxi ride from from the Johns Hopkins area to Penn Station (train station) in the morning (but not before 8:30).

2) Go to the AMTRAK ticket counter and get round trip tickets for the next train to DC (they leave every 15-20 minutes). The trip is about 45 minutes.

3) The train station in downtown DC (Union Station) is just a few blocks from the National Mall.

4) Also located at Union Station is a Tourmobile or the Circulator. The Tourmobile is a narrated "hop on-hop off" tourist trolley. The Circulator (MUCH cheaper than Tourmobile) is a series of busses (not narrated) that circulate through downtown DC. One of the Circulator routes (the purple loop) simply loops the National Mall.

5) Plan to be back at Union Station 10-15 minutes before your return train. If you want more flexibility - just buy one-way train tickets both ways and return to Union Station whenever you feel like it.

6) Take a 10 minute taxi back from Penn Station in Baltimore back to your hotel.

There are other plans that will be a little cheaper (but not much). But the above is simple, simple, simple and stress free.

http://www.tourmobile.com/

http://www.dccirculator.com/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...l_visitorguide

http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgr...hington_dc@167

Maggie - if you are staying at one of the hotels that JH lists that give discounts and have shuttles to the hospital, then you are practically at the Inner Harbor. Bardo1 gave you some excellent advice. I am assuming though that you will be going to the JH main hospital campus and not the Bayview campus which is not near downtown. The Mall that I referred to is in DC. It is where the major Smithsonian museums are. From Union station you can take the metro to the Smithsonian station or even walk to see the museums. The options that Bardo mentioned from Union station are also fine choices for touring.