Washington DC Suggestions

[leatherneck]

In my 2 trips tp DC I enjoyed everything I visited. There is one place I might recommend because not everyone knows of it. The Marine Barracks at 8th and I, named for the 2 streets that it borders.

Every Friday night the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps and the Marine Silent Drill Team performs.

 

The Evening Parade, held at the 8th and I barracks, is fantastic and a must see. Please note however that the parade is only on Friday evenings during the months of May, June, July and August. If you are going to be in DC during those months, one should work it into the schedule. Advance tickets are recommended and can be obtained on line. No charge for the tickets.

[HT721]

Holocaust Museum is a must, get there early early one morning like 6a.m. to be sure you get passes to the upstairs for that day. The FDR memorial is also my favorite of all the Presidential monuments, it's very unique and beautiful.

 

If your children are really young I might skip the holocaust museum but if they are 10 or up it would be a valuable experience.

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

I have the good fortune to have quite a bit of family that lives in DC, so I've been many times over. I think if this is a first time and/or potentially a one-time deal, your must-see items would have to be the Washington Monument & Lincoln Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery (you have to stop to watch the changing of the guards at the Tomb Of The Unknowns) the Vietnam Wall, the Korean War Memorial, the WWII Memorial, and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. My visit to the Holocaust Museum was genuinely life-changing.

 

Other spots well worth visiting if you have the chance are The White House, The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, The Capitol Building, Washington National Cathedral/The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Library of Congress. Jefferson Memorial, FDR Memorial, National Archives, Ford's Theater, any of the other museums on the Mall, and Chinatown if you have a little bit of extra time...

[20/20Hindsight]

We had the opportunity to visit the Pentagon and the White House (both visits that you have to set up many months in advance through your state reps).

 

I second the Pentagon recommendation. I had the chance to see that with a school trip I planned for a Jr. High group last spring. It was an awesome tour! Plus, I think your kids (and you!) will get a kick out of the fact that your tour guide will successfully walk backwards the entire time.

[True blue (and gold)]

I am taking a group of 45 high school juniors and seniors to DC today. We are leaving this evening at 8:00. We will be going to Arlington, several of the Smithsonian museums, Union Station, have a tour of the Capitol with Rep. Geoff Davis, and will tour the monuments along the National Mall.

[mcpapa]

I am taking a group of 45 high school juniors and seniors to DC today. We are leaving this evening at 8:00. We will be going to Arlington, several of the Smithsonian museums, Union Station, have a tour of the Capitol with Rep. Geoff Davis, and will tour the monuments along the National Mall.

 

Have a great trip!

[GaViking]

Watusi, I would not drive in downtown DC - parking is not great. Be prepared to walk alot. Walking around the block of the White House was great, and the Vietnam Memorial was very touching and emotional. If you decide to travel to Baltimore, I think your children would enjoy the aquarium and Inner Harbor. There is also a boat ride you can take past Fort McHenry. Also, Arlington National Cemetary was a moving experience. We did not get to tour the Smithsonian Museums because our kids were too young to walk that long. Hope your family has a great time.

[Pancake]

United States Holocaust Museum

 

A very powerful experience. Out of all the things in DC this is the one I will never forget.

 

Same here! I spent an hour and half on each of the top 2 floors. Shoes and the train car will be something I will never forget. Awesome experience.

[Pancake]

I second the Pentagon recommendation. I had the chance to see that with a school trip I planned for a Jr. High group last spring. It was an awesome tour! Plus, I think your kids (and you!) will get a kick out of the fact that your tour guide will successfully walk backwards the entire time.

 

We had an Airforce guy do the whole tour walking backwards. Up and down steps.

[Voice of Reason]

I have the good fortune to have quite a bit of family that lives in DC, so I've been many times over. I think if this is a first time and/or potentially a one-time deal, your must-see items would have to be the Washington Monument & Lincoln Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery (you have to stop to watch the changing of the guards at the Tomb Of The Unknowns) the Vietnam Wall, the Korean War Memorial, the WWII Memorial, and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. My visit to the Holocaust Museum was genuinely life-changing.

 

Other spots well worth visiting if you have the chance are The White House, The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, The Capitol Building, Washington National Cathedral/The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Library of Congress. Jefferson Memorial, FDR Memorial, National Archives, Ford's Theater, any of the other museums on the Mall, and Chinatown if you have a little bit of extra time...

 

And you didn't even list the Smithsonian museums! Washington is a great place to visit and one of the few places where you can go multiple times and still not see it all. I would agree with those recommending the Holocaust Museum. Arlington is up there. I think the memorials along the Mall are a must see. The Korean War memorial is a good one with the statues of a platoon of soldiers. I enjoy the Capitol Buidling seeing Congress and the Supreme Court. Really, it is all great. You need a whole week to have a chance to get in all that is good and then you can still have some left for your next visit.

[True blue (and gold)]

Ok. I just returned with my school group at 6 am. WHAT A FANTASTIC TRIP!

 

We visited the Smithsonian Museums on the first morning. I chose the Natural History (Hope Diamond, wow!) and the Air and Space (being a space nut, I was in love), but several of our kids went to the American History museum and enjoyed it. We had a group try to get into the National Archives, but the wait was too long.

 

In the afternoon, we visited Arlington. Most of the kids walked it, but a few (including my dad and I) paid for the tourmobile. It was money well spent, as the tour guide points out many of the lesser known sections of the cemetary and people buried there. The tourmobile makes the stops and you can stay at each stop as long as you want and just wait for the next one to pick you up. JFK's grave and eternal flame were touching (my ex-military father cried here) and I appreciated Bobby and Teddy's graves nearby, for their simplicity. The changing of the guard is really something that you want to see. There just are no words to describe the variety of emotions that you go through watching it.

 

We went to Union Station that night for supper and shopping. It was a nice way to unwind. At dusk, we arrived at the gates of the White House. This is a must see sight! Also, let me strongly recommend that you go see some of the monuments at night. We saw the Lincoln Memorial...Lincoln appears to glow at night. Then, turn 180 degrees and see the Washington monument...fantastic.

 

The next morning, we met Congressman Geoff Davis at the Capitol for a personal tour. It was pretty phenomenal to sit in the House chamber and hear him talk. I appreciated his non-partisan comments (mostly) and his willingness to talk about some difficult moments in his life, including the influences that made him choose the military and, later, politics. He chose one of our students to walk up to the podium that the president speaks from...that made that young lady's day as she said, "My fellow Americans." Congressman Davis gave us a personal tour of the Rotunda, the "Crypt" and even a staircase that the British rode horses up when they tried to burn down DC. We then took the "official" tour guided tour, which was good, as we couldn't have our cameras the first time around, since we would be in the House Chamber and they are outlawed there. The tour guide did go into a lot more detail. The paintings, frescos and statues are marvelous.

 

We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch, which happens to be a few doors down from Ford's Theatre and the Pederson House (which is currently being remodeled, so you won't see it for a while...and word to the wise...don't go into Lincoln's Waffle Shop and ask them if they are the Pederson House, unless you need to be laughed at.)

 

We went back to tour the monuments after lunch. We met up with a WWII veteran from our town that had made his first trip to the memorial. This was certainly a highlight for me and many of my students. We took photos with our veteran and did see and talk with one other WWII vet that day. The WWII memorial is soooo beautiful and perfectly designed, IMO. Another reason to make this a MUST is that the population of WWII veterans are elderly now and if you want to have the opportunity to walk up to one and say "Thank you for your service" while he is at the memorial, your chance is getting less every day.

 

The FDR memorial was a surprise to me, as it hadn't been "played up" like some of the others. The Jefferson memorial is very nice, and located in such a lovely spot. The Korean War memorial is very interesting. There are about 50 individual statues of soldiers in action and a wall with etchings of faces from the Korean War. You could almost imagine that you were transported back in time and place and that you were amongst those soldiers.

 

The Vietnam Memorial was tough. My dad is a Vietnam vet and this was his first time in DC, so he had never seen "The Wall." We walked together while dad read names. Eventually, he came across one that he knew. He walked up to the wall, traced the letters of the name with his fingertips, tears rolling down his cheeks (mine, too, along with many of my students) and closed his eyes and said a prayer. Once we continued to walk again, I told Dad that we could circle back around and look up some names and find their sections and go back through again. We made our way up to the book, but just before it was our turn, Dad broke down again and shook his head. I think that he just had too many names to look up and it was too overwhelming. We stopped at the statue dedicated to the nurses. This was a brighter moment for him, as he made the comment that he had friends that were saved because of those nurses.

 

We ended at the Lincoln Memorial. The history of those steps was really poignant to me and the statue of Lincoln is magnificent day or night. Make sure to walk around the back side of it, too.

 

What I want to see/do next time:

1) The Library of Congress. I am told that it might have the most beautiful architecture in DC.

2) The Holocaust Museum. We tried to get tickets ever since October, but they were sold out.

3) Tour Ford's Theatre

4) Pentagon tour

5) Take an open top bus tour around DC. Some friends did that and loved it.

[Watusi]

Wow, thank you for that recap, that was awesome TB&G. I shed a tear just reading it.

 

Sounds like an amazing and moving trip. Your students are lucky to have you take them.

[HT721]

I almost think the state should mandate every student be taken there once if the parents will approve them to go. It's something every child should see, and being in Kentucky the cost wouldn't be so extraordinary it couldn't happen. My high school sends a group every year and the money was always able to be found. I think the total cost for me to go was something like $600 bucks, but $300 of that was souvenir money from my parents.

[True blue (and gold)]

Wow, thank you for that recap, that was awesome TB&G. I shed a tear just reading it.

 

Sounds like an amazing and moving trip. Your students are lucky to have you take them.

 

Thanks. I loved it and it was made so much more special for me having my dad there. My kids appreciated it, too.

[True blue (and gold)]

I almost think the state should mandate every student be taken there once if the parents will approve them to go. It's something every child should see, and being in Kentucky the cost wouldn't be so extraordinary it couldn't happen. My high school sends a group every year and the money was always able to be found. I think the total cost for me to go was something like $600 bucks, but $300 of that was souvenir money from my parents.

 

My dad said the same thing and I agree. We hope to have started a tradition at our school. Hopefully, we can get another group of teachers to take the trip next year and then our group of four teachers go again the following year.

 

The cost for our kids was $225. That included the bus, hotel (one night, the bus was our "hotel" on the way down one night and on the way back one night), parking, tolls, tips for our drivers, our own continental breakfast at the hotel (we had to leave at 6 am in order to meet Congressman Davis, before the hotel breakfast started), some snacks and their meal at the Hard Rock Cafe. They had to purchase four of separate meals and, of course, their souvenirs.