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Bummed is an understatement. I was in tears from the moment the elevator doors opened. I do highly recommend it but it took us a couple of hours and a stroll around the Tidal Basin in bright sunshine, to shake it off.
I think I held it together pretty well until seeing 4 photos of this poor guy in an ice water bath taken 15 minutes apart
Holocaust Memorial. Painful, but a must - for the adults. Ask your congressman's office if a staffer could accompany you to lunch in the basement of the Canon Building. Not for the food so much, although the red cabbage was excellent in the '80s, but to see for yourself an area few visitors see. Maybe a ride on the subway over to the senate side.
I was fortunate to work in dozens, if not hundreds of the feds' buildings over 27 years. One that stands out in my mind was the old Pension Building at 4th and F NW. I think it's a museum now. Back then, to my knowledge no one had it on their list. The interior architecture was amazing to a non-artsy guy like me.
I'd stay close to my hotel in August. Hope it's in the city. Maybe one day trip. I've seen lots of crying children and feuding parents who were clearly exhausted trying to complete their laundry list created in the comfort of their living rooms.
The hottest & most humid time of the year there, plan for rest stops & hydration, wear comfortable clothes. I can't believe that no one has mentioned the Capitol, unless it is closed for business for summer then. You can call your congressman's office & get a better tour through them if open.
The National Gallery of Art on the Mall is a welcome cool refuge in summer - it was one of the first museums to be air-conditioned, so my mother and I spent lots of time there during the oppressive D.C. summers of my childhood, as our suburban Maryland apartment was not air-conditioned. It also has a spectacular collection, a neat gift shop, and a reasonably priced cafeteria in the basement - good place to rest tired feet after all those marble floors.
Actually, Mt. Vernon and the Bureau of Printing and Engraving are great choices for kids. If you have time, take the boat down the Potomac to Mt Vernon for a cool change of pace (cool in both senses). The tour of the mansion will include info about George Washington's step grandchildren, who lived with their grandparents at Mt. Vernon when they were young teens. The gardens are quite spectacular, too.
Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens are near a dicey area of Anacostia, but include spectacular water lilies and other aquatic plants, including some lotuses grown from seeds found in ancient Egyptian tombs! Go very early in the morning for the best views and temperatures.
Another day could include the presidential monuments, then the Museum of American History, a lunch break, then the Museum of Natural History. I'd advise you to decide what you really want to see in the museums ahead of time and focus on that - if there's additional time, check out additional exhibits. Natural History is huge and can absorb a lot of well-spent time.
Oh, and if it gets really hot, consider a run over to Chesapeake Beach for a quick dip in the bay. You could visit nearby Annapolis and see the Naval Academy and the Tomb of John Paul Jones, which made a huge impression on me and a visiting friend when we were about 13.
There are food trucks all along the Mall - I ate my first ice cream sandwich (Neopolitan ice cream on chocolate crackers/cookies, yum!) near the Mall as a preschooler and never forgot it. Not a bad idea for a D.C. treat still!
The hottest & most humid time of the year there, plan for rest stops & hydration, wear comfortable clothes. I can't believe that no one has mentioned the Capitol, unless it is closed for business for summer then. You can call your congressman's office & get a better tour through them if open.
The OP mentioned in a later post that they have a reservation for a Capitol tour, but they may skip it.
I think your list is ambitious even for 7 days but nothing wrong with having lots of options. Engraving and printing, Bull Run, Mt. Vernon estate could be sort of boring for a 12 and 15 year old . Were these all your ideas based on your own personal interests or did anyone else have some input? I would ask each of the kids what their "must do" is and be sure to DO IT. How about the Newseum? Madame Tussauds? Spy Museum is a good idea. The Holocaust museum is a definite must see if you're into WWII history but it will definitely suck up an entire morning and leave you feeling a bit bummed.
You mentioned seeing two zoos. Do you not have a zoo close to where you live or is that something you'd all just really want to check out? Just curious
I would suggest breaking up the trip a bit with a shopping visit to Georgetown or Dupont Circle. (Both of those places appeal to teens) Maybe the National Cathedral afterward. Chinatown isn't terribly authentic but worth a look around, especially if haven't been to one before. You can find some yummy pho, dim sum, or duck.
Keep in mind that you'll probably be looking at a sizzling temperatures. Checking out the area around the national mall and tidal basin will be a suffocating and miserable affair for everyone as peak temperatures boil over. You will be quite a ways away from shelter with air conditioning, bathrooms, and cold drinks. One oasis, however, is the Lincoln memorial. If your legs need a break you can go inside, walk over to the wall on the right, and sit down (with your back against the wall) facing Lincoln. The wall will be somewhat cool to the touch but not ice cold. Union station is also a bit of an oasis and good place to go if it's raining.
Someone also mentioned the Marine Corps Memorial (Iwo Jima memorial) around sunset which I second. Amazing at night too.
With as hot as it will be outside I would skip the Tidal Basin unless you really want to see the MLK memorial. It will just require a ton of walking in direct sun.
The Luray Rescue Zoo is really great.. If you've never been and happen to be out in the area.. I recommend it. It's certainly not flashy, nor is it free.. But, the owners are totally hands on and are usually out there and happy to talk to the kids and do the alligator feedings daily. It's worth the $12 for adults because you can see exactly where your money is going there. https://www.lurayzoo.com/
I was out there in.. Maybe 2000 or 2001.. Right around that time, and I apparently missed Steve Irwin by a day. He was filming "Snakes of the Shenendoah Valley" or something like that.. They couldn't find any snakes, so they 'borrowed' some for him to 'find' for filming.
I'm from SC.. Lived in Fairfax and Manassas for 9 years..(James W Robinson and Stonewall Jackson High) The kids and their parents live in Alabama. Pretty sure the heat and humidity won't be anything unexpected. I've been up there on 95 and 100 degree days, and find it not bad, because at least on the mall, there's usually a good number of shade trees and benches where you can grab a drink and sit and relax for a few minutes. The bad part will be the Zoo.. I had never been to the Zoo by metro the last time I went and I got off at the Zoo stop.. Apparently you go to that one LEAVING the zoo, because if you go to it GOING to the zoo, it's all uphill. That last part I CAN confirm.
I've heard bad things about the Newseum, now, whether they're true or not, I don't know.. The Spy Museum is a definite possibility. Back in the day, we did a tour of the FBI museum.. But that's apparently been shut down/rolled into the Spy Museum. Or a crime museum or something.
Iwo Jima we'll visit on the 'Monuments by Moonlight' tour. that and the Jefferson memorial, because those two are just a PITA to get to otherwise. I'd love, if it was easier to get to and I had the time to explore Teddy Roosevelt island a bit.
Normally, my trips up there.. I'd hit the Smithsonians in the morning, visiting the Natural History last, and once those closed, walk to the Washington Monument, then down past the reflecting pool to the Vietnam and Lincoln memorials. The bad part of that.. ending there.. No metro anywhere nearby.
Quote:
Originally Posted by engineman
A lot of years ago we took a ride on a canal barge up the historic canal that parallels the Potomac. It was a warm summer day and it was very relaxing after many sights in town. It is probably the thing I enjoyed the most about DC.
I've done that before.. It is nice. Not out of the question. Actually considering the boat ride from DC to Mount Vernon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cekkk
Holocaust Memorial. Painful, but a must - for the adults. Ask your congressman's office if a staffer could accompany you to lunch in the basement of the Canon Building. Not for the food so much, although the red cabbage was excellent in the '80s, but to see for yourself an area few visitors see. Maybe a ride on the subway over to the senate side.
I was fortunate to work in dozens, if not hundreds of the feds' buildings over 27 years. One that stands out in my mind was the old Pension Building at 4th and F NW. I think it's a museum now. Back then, to my knowledge no one had it on their list. The interior architecture was amazing to a non-artsy guy like me.
I'd stay close to my hotel in August. Hope it's in the city. Maybe one day trip. I've seen lots of crying children and feuding parents who were clearly exhausted trying to complete their laundry list created in the comfort of their living rooms.
I'm.. I had actually rejected the Holocaust museum because of the kids.. But. The more I think about it, I think it's important they see it. So, yeah.. Thanks for mentioning that.. I'm going to reconsider and think on that some more.
My Dad retired as a full Colonel. During summers I used to ride the metro from Fairfax to the Pentagon and have lunch with him. Most people don't know that at the center of the Pentagon is a lunch area, or at least, used to be (No idea if it still is).. He lived in BOQ at Ft Myer (Which is now billeting, I've been told).. I stayed there a little some summers and would walk down to the cemetery and wander. One summer I bumped into the Secret Service as Bush was there to dedicate a Challenger memorial or for a 5 year anniversary or something. I don't really remember.. I was whisked away rather abruptly. I learned alot about Ft Myer, which is the base alongside Arlington.. Lots about the Old Guard, and the fact that one of the Wright brothers killed an officer in a plane crash on base. Tragedy at Fort Myer
Hell, I didn't even get a drivers license until I went to college because the public transportation was so good up there. of course, I started college at 17, so.. That's not saying a WHOLE lot.
Going to school in the area.. We went into DC all the time.. I took a journalism class in high school and we did a field trip to the Washington Post, where the bus driver hit a cop car.
We're not staying in a hotel. I rented a house in Centerville. So, plan is that getting into DC, we'll go out to Vienna and ride the metro in. What I need to figure out is whether to buy a weekly pass or not.
What I need to figure out.. I plan to leave SC between 8 and 9am.. I'm considering going up via I-81, because leaving at that time, it'll probably put us into town right during rush hour. Probably easier heading into Fairfax (well, Centerville) from the west at that time of day.
The Luray Rescue Zoo is really great.. If you've never been and happen to be out in the area.. I recommend it. It's certainly not flashy, nor is it free.. But, the owners are totally hands on and are usually out there and happy to talk to the kids and do the alligator feedings daily. It's worth the $12 for adults because you can see exactly where your money is going there. https://www.lurayzoo.com/
I was out there in.. Maybe 2000 or 2001.. Right around that time, and I apparently missed Steve Irwin by a day. He was filming "Snakes of the Shenendoah Valley" or something like that.. They couldn't find any snakes, so they 'borrowed' some for him to 'find' for filming.
I'm from SC.. Lived in Fairfax and Manassas for 9 years..(James W Robinson and Stonewall Jackson High) The kids and their parents live in Alabama. Pretty sure the heat and humidity won't be anything unexpected. I've been up there on 95 and 100 degree days, and find it not bad, because at least on the mall, there's usually a good number of shade trees and benches where you can grab a drink and sit and relax for a few minutes. The bad part will be the Zoo.. I had never been to the Zoo by metro the last time I went and I got off at the Zoo stop.. Apparently you go to that one LEAVING the zoo, because if you go to it GOING to the zoo, it's all uphill. That last part I CAN confirm.
I've heard bad things about the Newseum, now, whether they're true or not, I don't know.. The Spy Museum is a definite possibility. Back in the day, we did a tour of the FBI museum.. But that's apparently been shut down/rolled into the Spy Museum. Or a crime museum or something.
Iwo Jima we'll visit on the 'Monuments by Moonlight' tour. that and the Jefferson memorial, because those two are just a PITA to get to otherwise. I'd love, if it was easier to get to and I had the time to explore Teddy Roosevelt island a bit.
Normally, my trips up there.. I'd hit the Smithsonians in the morning, visiting the Natural History last, and once those closed, walk to the Washington Monument, then down past the reflecting pool to the Vietnam and Lincoln memorials. The bad part of that.. ending there.. No metro anywhere nearby.
I've done that before.. It is nice. Not out of the question. Actually considering the boat ride from DC to Mount Vernon.
I'm.. I had actually rejected the Holocaust museum because of the kids.. But. The more I think about it, I think it's important they see it. So, yeah.. Thanks for mentioning that.. I'm going to reconsider and think on that some more.
My Dad retired as a full Colonel. During summers I used to ride the metro from Fairfax to the Pentagon and have lunch with him. Most people don't know that at the center of the Pentagon is a lunch area, or at least, used to be (No idea if it still is).. He lived in BOQ at Ft Myer (Which is now billeting, I've been told).. I stayed there a little some summers and would walk down to the cemetery and wander. One summer I bumped into the Secret Service as Bush was there to dedicate a Challenger memorial or for a 5 year anniversary or something. I don't really remember.. I was whisked away rather abruptly. I learned alot about Ft Myer, which is the base alongside Arlington.. Lots about the Old Guard, and the fact that one of the Wright brothers killed an officer in a plane crash on base. Tragedy at Fort Myer
Hell, I didn't even get a drivers license until I went to college because the public transportation was so good up there. of course, I started college at 17, so.. That's not saying a WHOLE lot.
Going to school in the area.. We went into DC all the time.. I took a journalism class in high school and we did a field trip to the Washington Post, where the bus driver hit a cop car.
We're not staying in a hotel. I rented a house in Centerville. So, plan is that getting into DC, we'll go out to Vienna and ride the metro in. What I need to figure out is whether to buy a weekly pass or not.
What I need to figure out.. I plan to leave SC between 8 and 9am.. I'm considering going up via I-81, because leaving at that time, it'll probably put us into town right during rush hour. Probably easier heading into Fairfax (well, Centerville) from the west at that time of day.
I also need to check if the Nats are in town.
Another route suggestion is taking 85 N to 29 and taking 29 all the way up. It's a nice drive without all the tractor trailers. We're from the DC area and live in the Charlotte area. That's they way we prefer to instead of 81.
You could also go to the Metro stop in Reston. The Centerville to Vienna wouldn't be fun unless you did it after rush hour (so 10am).
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I was in tears from the moment the elevator doors opened. I do highly recommend it but it took us a couple of hours and a stroll around the Tidal Basin in bright sunshine, to shake it off.
