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Planning a Trip to Washington
04-20-2013, 12:30 AM
Right,
To cut a long story short, I'm planning a trip to Washington DC. Will be 29th of October to 2nd of November. (Or possible 8th to 13th), which gives about 3 full days in the city to actually do stuff.
Only I'm not quite sure what.
Obviously the Air and Space Museum is on the list (This was the whole point and origin of the trip) - and probably the Smithsonian too. But that still leaves 1-2 days to fill, and I'm not quite sure what to fill them with. We don't have enough time to do 'everything', and there might be some unique things going on worth catching.
Has anyone ever been?
Can anyone offer any suggestions for unique things to do or see? Or interesting places to eat?
In return, I promise to post trip pictures from the museum when I get back.
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If you're there on November 11, you'll get to see how DC celebrates Veterans' Day...
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At this stage, departure date's going to be decided by someone elses calander. I'm not going alone, and they need to see what days they can get off work before pulling the trigger and actually booking it.
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Well, you could always eat at the Filomena Ristorante in Georgetown, 1063 Wisconsin Avenue to be precise. They and their 'pasta mamas' were on Food Paradise's "Pasta Paradise" in 2010. Looked pretty good.
Also, what with the recent popularity of Lincoln in the media, check out Ford's Theatre. You can grab some lunch literally right next door is the fifty-five-years-old Ben's Chili Bowl, which Adam Richman made a point to visit TWICE - once in two different shows.
Both restaurants have Wikipedia articles. You should check 'em out.
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May I suggest that with Richmond being so close by that you stop by there? Just shopping in The Fan isworth it alone... Hell, just seeing The Byrd Theater is worth it. And lunch or dinner at the Galaxy Diner is never to be passed up. (For artery-clogging American diner goodness, I highly recommend the Toxic Waste Burger.)
Also, you coming to the US? .... I really have to see if I can make it up there.
If you don't mind a bit of a drive, Williamsburg is pretty interesting.
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I'd suggest if you are going to the Air and Space museum visiting the Udvar Hazy Center in Chantily (Near Dulles airport) which has the exhibits they could not fit in the museum in D.C. (Space Shuttle Discovery, Enola Gay, Concorde, Gemini VII, among other things). I've been there twice and it is the type of place that will take you a while to go fully through.
Another place I'd suggest visiting is the Library of Congress.
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If we're able to get out and about in Virginia we can get Richmond and Williamsburg in a day, especially since one's on the way to the other. Wouldn't mind having a go at driving in the US myself, but I'm not going alone and it is a two and half hour drive (According to google). It's tentative anyway for now, but I've added it to my own list. Especially be nice if we can find other places to get to on the day with the car.
Someone also suggested Mount Vernon to me.
Ford's theatre has been added to the list, along with the Udvar Hazy Centre.
It's going to be a matter of comparing everyone's lists and finding out what can and can't be achieved. Promises to be an interesting trip though.
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I have nothing to add to the discussion, really, never having been to DC myself, but as a resident of Washington State, I'd just like to take this moment to express my mild irritation:
Hey. We're here too, y'know.
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If it's any consolation, I'd much rather visit Washington State than DC.
... Okay, that's not exactly a high bar to clear. But people have told me I'd like the weather there.
-Morgan.
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The best GM I know moved to Seattle about two years ago or so, so it wouldn't be entirely out of the question sometime in the future.
And I'm almost certain I'm going on the 29th October.
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I'll see if I can't be in the DC-Metro area at around the same time, Dartz. With six months to prepare, I might be able to manage it. 
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That could be fun.
Downside is, I'm going with family. But I can hide from them for a few hours at least.
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Well, I see that the Air and Space Museum's annex has been suggested, so no point in repeating that one. So instead, I suggest going to the National Cryptologic Museum. If you were considering going to the Spy Museum in downtown DC, and/or are the least bit interested in cryptology, go here instead. The place is run by the NSA, and has some amazing exhibits, including an Enigma machine that visitors are allowed to use, if things are the same as when I was there. Plus, the place is barely advertised at all, especially compared to the museums downtown, so it is nowhere near as crowded. My family only discovered it because we happened to drive past it going elsewhere. It is a great way to spend an afternoon.
You can find it here, for ease of GPSing.
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Re: the subject line
It's DC or The District. Only tourists call it Washington 
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At least pass through the lobby of the Willard hotel. Its the birthplace of the term lobbiest
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Well. It's officially happening. Aer Lingus just sent me the booking confirmation.
29th October to 4th November
Still a few things to sort out. But it's happening. They've billed me a vast chunk of my bank account balance. Just need a few final details to send on. And three hours in JFK arsing around waiting for my suitcase to be lost
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I will be in Fredricksburg next week. People had recommended Ebeanezer's coffee shop if I was in the D.C. area. Also there are a lot of Civil War battle sites you might want to visit. Northern Virginia was a battleground during the Civil War.
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Well, I was going to propose we rent a car for a day or two and get out into Virginia proper.... in part because of the above recommendations for Richmond and Williamsburg. One thing I'd personally like to do is go shooting somewhere - but nobody else is really enthusiastic for it and time's limited. Ford's theatre will happen. Along with a few other things. Had a look at some of the recommended restaurants online a while back - I'm amazed at how cheap the food is considering the reputation.
I still have to find a Hotel in budget, which took a beating from the airfare. Then there's the API and ESTA junk. You think with PRISM and all that they'd be able to fill that in themselves at this stage.
Unfortunately, we wont have enough time in New York to do much more than look out the window of the airport lounge and not see anything with the winter weather.
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Quote:NifT wrote:
Re: the subject line
It's DC or The District. Only tourists call it Washington
I'll have to remember that. I plan to transfer over there in 2015-2016. See how sausages are made.
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Go to see the Lincoln Memorial, it won't take much time. It's probably the closest place we have in the U.S. to a national shrine. Sort of like our temple to Apollo, but more secular and about national identity.
Air and Space was great. I hear the Museum of American History is also great, but it was closed both times I was in D.C. The National Art Museum was kinda meh to me -- I'm a bit spoiled to have the Norton Simon and Huntington be a day trip away, and their collections are better. The National Museum of the American Indian is okay but it's not even the main branch (which is in New York), and I've seen much better collections in Denver and Cody, Wyoming.
I don't really have suggestions about Virginia. I was in DC on student lobbying trips, so I spent most of my time around the Mall. Incidentally, you can go into the congressional offices, and try to speak to your representative -- or at least a staffer. They should be in session. Not sure if you care about such things, but if you take the time to bring up an issue with them there, it carries a bit more weight than at home because heck, you're giving up some of your vacation to do so. If you're well-dressed, security is definitely less invasive than at the airport, lol.
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Umm.... Dartz is Irish. I really dont think he'd have a congressional representative.
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Yeah.... coming in from across the pond. Then again, there're a few weirdos in this country working to change that fact.
Security is one of the things that does worry me. There're so many finnicky little things that could result in an expensive fiasco, either at the airport or in DC. Travel to the States is a real risk of things getting Griswold. Either on the way there, or the way home.
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Check what's in your pockets and your carry-on luggage before you leave, and make sure you're carrying nothing that you would mind losing.
If you have the Boy Scout mentality (Be Prepared), leave your pocket-knife at home. I've forgotten that one on occasion.
Be polite to the people who are doing their jobs in thankless circumstances. Especially don't argue with them.
Give yourself at least 25% more time than you think you'll need.
That should be enough to get you through security...
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them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
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More advice for TSA checkpoints:
Wear shoes that are easy to slip on and off.
If you don't need a belt, don't wear one.
Carry as little on your person as you possibly can -- you will have to take it all out of your pockets before you go through the scanner. Watches, too, have to come off, but not (some) jewelry -- Peg and I didn't have to take off our wedding rings (or our glasses).
Similarly, carry as little carryon luggage as you can. If you're bringing a laptop, netbook or tablet on with you, it needs to go through the xray machine separately from your other carryon items (and laid flat/open for those that close like books).
Pay attention to lines marked on the floor, particularly ones that you have to stand behind until called.
TSA employees are harried, overworked, paid to be paranoid -- and have law enforcement powers. Do not make their day worse, because they will return the favor tenfold.
Good news: if nothing untoward happens, the TSA lines can be very fast. I think that was the biggest surprise I got during our California trip this spring -- I was expecting a half hour or more in line, and both times it was more like minutes.
-- Bob
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Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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