Had a great time in D.C. !

digi-shots · #1 10-25-2009, 09:13 PM

Just got back Friday from a trip to Washington, D.C. with my sister and niece. It was our "annual girl's getaway". We live in different parts of the country and try to pick a city with a museum and lots of fun stuff to do.

We took in the local sites... the Smithsonian, the memorials, the monuments, various art museums and even the Zoo ! It's the first time I'd ever seen a Panda bear!

For those of you who haven't been to D.C., it is well worth the visit. Just about all of the sites are free and open to the public. It would take a good week to ten days to see everything and I'm not even sure that would be possible.

The Smithsonian is so huge, you need to pick and choose what you want to see. We spent quite a bit of time in the Smithsonian's American Art Museum and also the D.C. National Gallery of Art.

The original "Star Spangled Banner" flag is on permanent display at the Smithsonian and is a must see.

I would be hard pressed to say what my favorite was, but they were all "special". We did a night tour by bus of the various monuments & memorials... the Lincoln Memorial and the Iwo Jima Memorial are spectacular at night. The FDR Memorial is very inspiring.

We came back during the day and did a walking tour of the war memorials.. the Vietnam Wall, the Korean War Memorial and the WWII Memorial. While at the WWII Memorial there were quite a few WWII vets who were very well received and were applauded by the crowd as they entered the memorial.

We finished the week up with a Segway street tour of the Washington Monument, the White House, the Capitol, the Library of Congress... I did OK on the Segway and only managed to run over my foot once. They are a lot of fun!

Believe it or not, but I intentionally left my camera at home. I usually get too involved taking pictures and not enjoying the sights. Here's a couple of pics my sister or niece took. We had a very good time and couldn't have asked for better weather!

Bullseye 2620 · #2 10-25-2009, 09:32 PM

Thanks for these Linda. They bring back a lot of memories of the many years I lived in downtown DC within walking distance of the Mall. Was the merry-go-round still in operation behind the Smithsonian "Castle?" It used to offer pure joy for 25 cents a ride -- best deal I ever got from the government!

Thanks again!

Bullseye

BLACKHAWKNJ · #3 10-25-2009, 09:42 PM

I was stationed at the now vanished South Post of Fort Myer for language school, 1969-1970. Yes, it is worth seeing, especially the Jefferson Memorial in Spring when the Cherry Blossoms bloom.

ladder13 · #4 10-25-2009, 10:15 PM

Visited DC many times, love the history. The Smithsonian, the Mint, Wash monument, SCOTUS, the Capital, and on and on.
Visiting the war memorials are very moving. Nice to see they gave the Korean and WW2 vets their memorials. The Nam memorial is special, have a friend on the granite, young 19 year old Marine. I think of him often.

BarbC · #5 10-26-2009, 06:38 AM

It sounds great! And the weather does look perfect!

Another "best thing" to do is attend the Evening Parade at the Marine Corps Barracks.

Forester · #6 10-26-2009, 08:11 AM

Sounds like a great trip Linda. Thanks for sharing.

Bassamatic · #7 10-26-2009, 08:43 AM

We are thinking of doing a similar trip maybe next year. If everything is free it sounds like the major expenses are hotels and food.

Nice pics.

cowboy117 · #8 10-26-2009, 08:45 AM

Great pics,weather and scenery!Glad you-all had fun.Thanks for sharing.

digi-shots · #9 10-27-2009, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bullseye 2620

Thanks for these Linda. They bring back a lot of memories of the many years I lived in downtown DC within walking distance of the Mall. Was the merry-go-round still in operation behind the Smithsonian "Castle?" It used to offer pure joy for 25 cents a ride -- best deal I ever got from the government!

Thanks again!

Bullseye

Bullseye,

Yes, it's till there! For some reason it was not open but I did see a sign... think it was $2.25 for a ride!! We even commented that the price seemed pretty high for such a little merry-go-round.

The Big D · #10 10-27-2009, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bassamatic

We are thinking of doing a similar trip maybe next year. If everything is free it sounds like the major expenses are hotels and food.

Nice pics.

There are very reasonably priced hotels just outside DC proper. Many are convenient to Metro (subway) which IS the way you will want to travel to town.

For example, Hampton Inn-College Park, two Choice Hotel properties in CP, and Holiday Inn-College Park can usually be found under $100./night and are a short Metro ride to DC.

There are many low priced (even cheap!) places to eat in the city. Heck, pack a lunch and picnic as do many visitors and workers.

Anyone may feel free to PM me for any DC related info.

Be safe.

jj2am44 · #11 10-27-2009, 06:36 PM

You can stay in Gaithersburg and get the Metro into DC, which is what we did abour 15 years ago. Not bad.