BeckyFL Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 The plans are coming together for next weekend in Washington (Sat pm and Sunday)! I have my Monuments by Moonlight tour booked and we are planning to roam around some Smithsonians on Sunday. I have just a couple more questions. We are going to try our best to get there as soon as we can (can't leave from Fla until 4 pm). We're going to drive 9 hrs, stay the night in Lumberton, NC, then we have another 6 hours or so. I'm thinking about just getting 6 hours of sleep or so and trying to get there to see a little more. I paid $1.50 each and booked the timed entry of the Natl Archives for 3:30 pm. Now I'm wondering if we might be able to squeeze in the Library of Congress before that (saw it on TV today and it looked amazing). Or should it be the Capitol? Are the Achives important? My question is... with limited time what should the priority be? Would you rank in order what you think is best? I chose these because they are all open Saturday. (Is there something else all together that I'm not thinking of?) Maybe we can do all 3 but if we can't we'll know which ones are best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 Wow!! The Smithsonian itself is huge! I could spend all day in the West Wing of the Art Gallery. Dh could spend all weekend in the Air and Space. The only (unhelpful) advice I could offer would be to just pick something of interest and go that direction..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlovebaker Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 (edited) I think it is cool to check out the Magna Carta (from 1250!), Dec of Indep and Const .... we've been a few times because the docs are so amazing. Haven't been to the Library of Congress. Capitol is ok - I wasn't that big on the required tour and movie. You probably should see it though as it is our Capitol! Monuments at night is a good pick - wise use of the nighttime hours and they are very pretty lit up. My personal favorites at the Smithsonians are the Hope Diamond (but even better are the rest of the gems - but we are rockhounds), Star Spangled Banner flag at Am History Mus and the Space Race/Apollo stuff at the Air and Space. And for art lovers - the only Leoardo Da Vinci painting in America is hanging in the Nat Art Gallery. Gotta love that one! Edited February 27, 2011 by jlovebaker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photo Ninja Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 I suggest you go to the National Archives since you have a timed entry. You don't need to spend hours there. Depending on the line, you can see the Magna Carta and other founding documents in an hour. It is worth seeing! I encourage you to take the Capitol tour. The docents are knowledgeable and the artwork is amazing. I think it is worth seeing. Again, it won't take all day. I don't remember the tour being longer than an hour. Did you consider the Spy Museum? We all loved it. You can get a timed entry for it. It displays the history of espionage and has lots of hands on displays. We would not miss that one. You could do Library of Congress before the National Archives. Just give yourself enough time to get from one place to the next. Personally, I would pick the Capitol tour over the Library of Congress. There is way to much to see to fit it into one day, or even into five days. Don't schedule so much that you cAn't enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*lifeoftheparty* Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Is this for Saturday only? What time will you be arriving on Saturday? Library of Congress is beautiful! There isn't a whooollle lot to see, but the building is beautiful and Thomas Jefferson's book collection is neat :) So, I guess if you got there early enough then yes, you could squeeze in LOC before 3:30. It just really depends on when you arrive on Saturday. Be advised (didn't you say you couldn't do too much walking?) that LOC is a 1.2 walk from the National Archives, it will take atleast 20-30 minutes to walk at a decent rate. You could catch a taxi, which still might take a while. (Wait for taxi, catch a taxi, one way streets, traffic, etc.) SO, just make sure that if you try it, you give yourself enough time :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyFL Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 Is this for Saturday only? What time will you be arriving on Saturday? Library of Congress is beautiful! There isn't a whooollle lot to see, but the building is beautiful and Thomas Jefferson's book collection is neat :) So, I guess if you got there early enough then yes, you could squeeze in LOC before 3:30. It just really depends on when you arrive on Saturday. Be advised (didn't you say you couldn't do too much walking?) that LOC is a 1.2 walk from the National Archives, it will take atleast 20-30 minutes to walk at a decent rate. You could catch a taxi, which still might take a while. (Wait for taxi, catch a taxi, one way streets, traffic, etc.) SO, just make sure that if you try it, you give yourself enough time :) You are right, we can't walk it. I pictured a quick jump on, jump off taxi ride. Good thing I asked. It depends how early we can get going. I was hoping to arrive by 1:30 or 2. I may just be way too ambitious. I just want to see so much!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyFL Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 (edited) I suggest you go to the National Archives since you have a timed entry. You don't need to spend hours there. Depending on the line, you can see the Magna Carta and other founding documents in an hour. It is worth seeing! I encourage you to take the Capitol tour. The docents are knowledgeable and the artwork is amazing. I think it is worth seeing. Again, it won't take all day. I don't remember the tour being longer than an hour. Did you consider the Spy Museum? We all loved it. You can get a timed entry for it. It displays the history of espionage and has lots of hands on displays. We would not miss that one. You could do Library of Congress before the National Archives. Just give yourself enough time to get from one place to the next. Personally, I would pick the Capitol tour over the Library of Congress. There is way to much to see to fit it into one day, or even into five days. Don't schedule so much that you cAn't enjoy it. I think that's my key... Don't schedule so much that you can't enjoy it. I need to repeat this a few times. lol Now... what about Ford's Theater and the National Cathedral? Blah! I need so much more time or overnight hours or something! Edited February 28, 2011 by BeckyFL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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