Spending a few days in DC with kids, local insider info wanted

[kpitcher]

A great uncle is being interred at Arlington early April so taking the family to DC to pay our respects. While there we thought we'd spend a number of days to see a few of the sites. This will be the first trip the kids have to the capital (9 + 12).

While there are plenty of guide books on places to see I thought I'd ask people that know the area what I should be sure not to overlook.

Any suggestions?

[mad cow]

You might have timed it perfectly for the cherry blossoms around the tidal basin.

You could spend several days on the National Mall hitting all the monuments and the different Smithsonian Museums.
Kids that age,I wouldn't miss Air and Space or Natural history or American History.There is a ton of stuff within easy,very pretty walking distance there and a Metro stop (subway) right there so you don't need a car.Plenty of places to eat,inside and out.

If you have a smartphone,I believe there are apps that will tell you where you're at,what's where in what direction and so on.

They would probably like the National Zoo too.

All the museums are free,go on weekdays if you can.It is really nice,enjoy it,you paid for it.

[tangent4ronpaul]

second the suggestion on the Smithsonian, but it's going to take at least a week to see all of them. air and space has a second location in VA. You might consider the NRA firearms museum. There are a number of others. The original Constitution/BoR should be on display at one of the national archives locations. I think the downtown dc location, but they have been known to move it around.

Yeah - cherry blossoms FTW!

The metro system is excellent! Hotels in MD/VA are less expensive than the ones in DC. You can probably find a hotel near the end of a metro route.

BWI is the cheapest airport in the area to fly into or out of. There is a train from there into DC.

Spacing on the name right now, but there is a organization that trains (conservative) activists down there and has regular classes. You might want to track them down and check out their calendar.

-t

[Danke]

Also, head up to Gettysburg.

[Suzanimal]

The Smithsonian (Air & Space - Natural History) and the monuments, that fills up several days right there. Are you staying in DC? We stayed in VA at this hotel and I highly recommend it
http://embassysuites3.hilton.com/en/hotels/virginia/embassy-suites-tysons-corner-WASTSES/dining/index.html and instead of trying to drive around DC we picked up Metro passes http://www.wmata.com/fares/purchase/passes.cfm#rail. Driving and especially parking around DC is a royal pain in the ass and very expensive.

The hotel is pretty awesome, eating out in DC is quite expensive and the hotel had free breakfast (it was fabulous, made to order omelettes, everything). Seriously, I wouldn't have felt bad at all paying $15.00 a person for that breakfast. We ate a small lunch off a street cart (half smokes) and once we went to Ben's Chili Bowl http://benschilibowl.com/ just because my kids saw it on Man Vs Food and quite a few Presidents have eaten there but it was a pain in the butt to get to and not that cool. For dinner we just ate at the hotel, they had a FREE happy hour (5-7 if I remember correctly but the staff let us stay a little longer -cocktails, beer and non alcoholic for the kids) and a little buffet (nachos, fries, basically junk food) but it filled us up....oh and at breakfast we smuggled some fruit up to our room to snack on. The indoor pool/hot tub was great and after a long day walking (you will do a lot of walking).

The room at the hotel was also really nice, it had a private master bedroom and a fold out sofa for the kids in the living area. It was nice to have some privacy;) on vacation for once. They also offer complimentary shuttle to the Metro and right around the hotel, so if you want to go out to eat and have a few drinks, no biggie. The shuttle service was fantastic and prompt.

They are very strict about backpacks/bags in the museums, we just carried a couple of disposable water bottles we refilled at water fountains, that way if we had to throw them away, no big deal.

There was also a cool little White House Museum like one block from the White House, it was free and my kids actually spent their souvenir money there. They had these neat 10" tall plush of the Presidents, they were like $12 and they're actually really nice. If they want a t-shirt there are tons of street vendors around the White House that sell all kinds of neat stuff for $5-$10.

Make sure you wear very comfortable shoes!!! You will do a lot of walking and your feet will thank you. Have fun, we're going back in the fall.

[tod evans]

Put a flower on Miriam Carey's murder location....