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Old 04-01-2010, 07:30 AM
 
32 posts, read 84,313 times
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Great Thread! We recently moved here and these are some great ideas for newcomers as well. My mother is coming to visit the end of April and she has never been to DC. Unfortunately she can't walk for extended periods of time, so I think we will do one of the bus tours where we can get on and off at some of the monuments and I know she will want to go to Arlington.
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Old 04-01-2010, 07:37 AM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,948,929 times
Reputation: 19090
Quote:
Originally Posted by That4car View Post
Great Thread! We recently moved here and these are some great ideas for newcomers as well. My mother is coming to visit the end of April and she has never been to DC. Unfortunately she can't walk for extended periods of time, so I think we will do one of the bus tours where we can get on and off at some of the monuments and I know she will want to go to Arlington.
If she has difficulty walking, be aware that Arlington is hilly. Check ahead, they probably have a bus or some sort of way to help people get around.
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Old 04-01-2010, 07:38 AM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,948,929 times
Reputation: 19090
Quote:
Originally Posted by That4car View Post
Great Thread! We recently moved here and these are some great ideas for newcomers as well.
So you ended up moving here--Welcome! I remember when you were checking it out and noting how the photo tours showed a lot of people with dogs. Glad you decided to move here, hope it's going well for you.
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Old 04-01-2010, 09:28 AM
 
Location: Fairfax County, VA
77 posts, read 292,249 times
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I am having visitors this weekend.. and need to plan something.. looks like DC will not work for us. We have kids and metro is not a good option for us.

Is there a cave around Springfield area? Someone told me they went to cave but they don't remember name or city.

Thank You!
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Old 04-01-2010, 10:36 AM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,948,929 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DCNY View Post
I am having visitors this weekend.. and need to plan something.. looks like DC will not work for us. We have kids and metro is not a good option for us.

Is there a cave around Springfield area? Someone told me they went to cave but they don't remember name or city.

Thank You!
I don't recall any caves near Springfield, although I don't know that area very well. Luray Caverns and Endless Caverns are about a 2-hour drive, and kids seem to enjoy them. It's a pretty weekend for a drive, too.

By the way, the Loudoun Farm Tour is coming up. That's a lot of fun for kids.
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Old 04-01-2010, 10:39 AM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,948,929 times
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Originally Posted by DCNY View Post
I am having visitors this weekend.. and need to plan something.. looks like DC will not work for us. We have kids and metro is not a good option for us.
If your visitors want to see cherry blossoms, most of the local gardens have cherry trees and much smaller crowds.
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Old 04-01-2010, 10:45 AM
 
Location: Washington, DC & New York
10,914 posts, read 31,400,832 times
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The nearest caves are going to be out in the Shenandoah Valley. Skyline Caverns in Front Royal, and Crystal Caverns in Strasburg are the closest, at a little over an hour from Fairfax County. Luray Caverns is one of the more widely known, and it's the largest such formation in the eastern US. Luray is about an hour and a half away, if you take I-66 to Front Royal, and then 340 to Luray. Near New Market, Shenandoah Caverns and Endless Caverns are two others that you might consider, and Shenandoah is the only one with an elevator and level walkways. Luray has a chair lift, but a wheelchair user would need to be assisted, and there are some grades in the caverns.

Skyline Caverns

Crystal Caverns

Luray Caverns

Shenandoah Caverns

Endless Caverns (http://www.morganrvresorts.com/pages/endlesscaverns_homepage - broken link)

Bring a warm jacket/sweater, since it can get chilly in the caverns, even in the summer. I have gone with people to Luray, and they scoffed at the idea of bringing a sweater/jacket, until they got into the caverns and needed them.
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Old 04-01-2010, 11:48 AM
 
Location: Arlington, VA
593 posts, read 2,440,004 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DCNY View Post
We have kids and metro is not a good option for us.
FWIW, most kids are absolutely fascinated with riding the Metro -- especially if it is not something that they normally do.

I regularly see families on the Metro on weekends, and the kids usually look like they're having a blast...last weekend I saw two boys who were pleading with their parents to let them stay on the train...they didn't want to get off at their stop
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Old 04-01-2010, 12:19 PM
 
Location: Northern Virginia
4,489 posts, read 10,946,208 times
Reputation: 3699
Quote:
Originally Posted by That4car View Post
Great Thread! We recently moved here and these are some great ideas for newcomers as well. My mother is coming to visit the end of April and she has never been to DC. Unfortunately she can't walk for extended periods of time, so I think we will do one of the bus tours where we can get on and off at some of the monuments and I know she will want to go to Arlington.
My mom and her friend had a great experience riding one of those buses around town last week. They got on at Union Station, and then rode it all over--the mall, the national cathedral, embassy row, georgetown, and who knows where else.

They're great walkers, but they said that it gave them a really nice overview of the whole city and let them concentrate on spending more time in a few places they saw on the tour that were really interesting. Sooo...thumbs up from my visitors!
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Old 04-02-2010, 09:54 AM
 
1 posts, read 1,432 times
Reputation: 10
When my relatives come in from Germany and the UK they always want to go to the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets to shop and TARGET! In fact they always bring extra suitcases.

Some other places to visit while they are here:

Check out Official Visitor Website for Loudoun County, Virginia for info on Civil War, DC's Wine Country, great shopping, restaurants, etc. Virginia Horse and Wine Country.

In DC the museums are great, they also have Madam Tussauds Wax Museum, Smithsonian, monuments etc.

At Dulles the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum is really good - IMAX screen showing interesting movie, Space Shuttle in the Space Hangar, Air France Concorde, Enola Gay World War II bomber, The Blackbird, various other interesting planes.

The Shenandoah Valley is very interesting with Luray Caverns, Skyline Drive, Front Royal, Massanutten Resort (fabulous indoor water park) near Harrisonburg worth a daytrip, Charlottesville, etc.

The civil war battlefields of Antietem, Gettybsburg, etc. are not too far away.

Baltimore has a great aquarium.

Williamsburg, Jamestown and Virginia Beach are also great tourist locations.

Check out Virginia.org for interesting places and events for Virginia.

Check out DestinationDC.org for info on touristy things to do in DC.

Also check out The Journey Through Hallowed Growd JTHG - Home for more information from Monticello to Gettysburg.

For families - Great Country Farms in Bluemont, Loudoun County, is worth a daytrip. Bluemont Vineyard is located across the road from the farm, so you can also do wine-tasting while there. The winery is also very child-friendly with coloring books, etc.
Welcome to Great Country Farms
Bluemont Vineyard - Elevate your Expectations, Foggy Bottom Road, Bluemont, Virginia, Tasting Room, Antique Shop, Antiques, Wine Tour, Weddings, Parties, Corporate Events
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