Heather in Neverland Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 OK, I have been looking online and researching and what-not and here is our very tentative DC-sight-seeing plan. Tell me if you think it is realistic at all (keeping in mind that I know a person could spend entire days at most of these places but I have a 2yo and an 8yo with the attention span of a gnat!). July 2nd- arrive at Mariann's early afternoon (YEAH!!!!), go on "monuments by moonlight" tour from 7:30-10pm (apparently we pick this up at union station?) July 3rd- National Archives in the morning, lunch, then the Capitol Bldg in the afternoon (maybe stopping by Library of Congress if there is time) July 4th- Mount Vernon during the day then heading over to the Mall for the fireworks July 5th- Air and Space Museum in the morning, lunch, Spy Museum in the afternoon July 6th- American History Museum in the morning, lunch, Natural History Museum in the Afternoon July 7th- Depart early in the morning Any tips on using the metro? pssst... Mariann, I PM'd you! . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 this looks reasonable to me. I believe in the earlier thread we discussed the Folklife Festival. I don't have the dates in front of me, but it likely be going on on the days surrounding the 4th. So, I'd expect the museums to be crowded then too. However, you have only planned 2 major things a day, so that gives you good breathing room. If you have extra time and energy you can always hit another museum (everything is reasonably close) or bounce through the folklife festival. If you have extra time, but not energy you may want to know where the theaters in each of the museums are and print out show times (not everything is IMAX and some shows are as short as 45 minutes, which can be just right for decompressing/reenergizing). The Folklife website will have a list of show times for live music and dance, but that's outside and if you are spent an air conditioned theater may be the ticket you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 OK, I have been looking online and researching and what-not and here is our very tentative DC-sight-seeing plan. Tell me if you think it is realistic at all (keeping in mind that I know a person could spend entire days at most of these places but I have a 2yo and an 8yo with the attention span of a gnat!). July 2nd- arrive at Mariann's early afternoon (YEAH!!!!), go on "monuments by moonlight" tour from 7:30-10pm (apparently we pick this up at union station?) July 3rd- National Archives in the morning, lunch, then the Capitol Bldg in the afternoon (maybe stopping by Library of Congress if there is time) July 4th- Mount Vernon during the day then heading over to the Mall for the fireworks July 5th- Air and Space Museum in the morning, lunch, Spy Museum in the afternoon July 6th- American History Museum in the morning, lunch, Natural History Museum in the Afternoon July 7th- Depart early in the morning Any tips on using the metro? pssst... Mariann, I PM'd you! . The metro is easy to use. We always make the kids get on the train first just in case it's soooo busy that the doors close ahead of us. We make sure the kids understand the destination and to wait when they get off. There is security they could go stand with and the trains run usually every 15 minutes or so which means we wouldn't be far behind them. You can pay for a ticket with cash or with a credit card. The ticket is fed into a slot similar to an ATM slot and this is located at the turnstiles. It pops out of a slot just past the turnstile so you can grab it when you walk through. Don't lose those tickets or you'll be buying new ones. There are plenty of workers around to help if you have a ticket reader that is stubborn and not working. They'll just look at the date on your ticket and if that is fine, use their "master" and let you walk through. Every where we went the metro people were very helpful. Each station has maps of each line and all of the stops so you can figure out where you are, what line you are picking up, and what connection you need to make. If you happen to be coming in on the Vienna/Fairfax station from Manassas/Vienna/Fairfax, you'll be on the orange line and that's a straight shot to where you are going. There is a Smithsonian stop which drops you about three blocks from the Air and Space. Capitol South is approximately two blocks from the Library of Congress which is across the street from the Capitol Building and four blocks from the Russell Building and it's sister building if you'd like to visit your Senators' offices. Beyond that, I am of no help. We've always managed to stay in Alexandria or Manassas and have hooked up to the orange line which has taken us everywhere we've wanted to go. But, the metro is easy to use or at least we think so. Hey, 41 teams and their chaperones - all of whom were from out-of-town - used it quite efficiently to get to the Capitol Building by 8:00 a.m. There is only one caveat that I can think of and that's parking at the station. Rush hour traffic in the D.C. area begins aroun 5:00 a.m. and in some areas, 4:30. If you need to leave a car at the station ($4.50 or 5.00 per day parking if memory serves), there is always the possibility that you won't find a parking space. Sundays are not too bad...we decided to get to the station an hour sooner than we actually needed to be in order to make sure we could get a spot. We were easily able to find a parking spot, however, a couple of teams that waited until much closer to their necessary "must be on this train now" time, ended up having to leave a chaperone behind to go back to the hotel with their van because of a lack of parking. Have a lovely trip! Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimtaxi234 Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 July 3rd- National Archives in the morning, lunch, then the Capitol Bldg in the afternoon (maybe stopping by Library of Congress if there is time) *** There will be very long lines for the NA and Capitol tours, so have something to do for the children. July 4th- Mount Vernon during the day then heading over to the Mall for the fireworks - *** MV will be super crowded on the 4th. What are your plans to get back to the Mall? If you are going to park and ride the Metro into DC, be prepared to add 2-3 hours to get back to your car after the fireworks. July 5th- Air and Space Museum in the morning, lunch, Spy Museum in the afternoon *** The Spy Museum used to have a 10 and over age recommendation, so you might need to check into that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athena1277 Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 If you will be parking at the Vienna/Fairfax Metro, you may have problems. By 9am (if not sooner) parking starts to run out. If you wait and get there right at 10am, you can park in the reserved spaces (for commuters in the AM, but everyone after 10). If the 2yo is in a stroller (I highly recommend), always use the handicapped turnstile-thing at the metro stations, even if it says it's for the opposite direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 We did July 4th in DC a few years ago. Dh had been there before, but it was the first and only time for me and dc. We hate crowds, but it was our only chance to meet up with friends who were then living overseas. It was SO fun! The only thing I would caution you about is that we had to wait in line for quite a while to enter the Air & Space Museum. It may make a difference that July 4th fell on the weekend, and that we were waiting in line just after lunch. While (most of) the museums are free, food and drink on the Mall is outrageously expensive. Make sure you bring water; I don't think we had to throw it out before entering A&S. Mount Vernon may be quite crowded particularly on July 4th, but I have no experience with that. As long as you allow for the possibility of having to wait, based on what we experienced, your plan sounds realistic, doable, and enjoyable! While I really, really wanted to go to the Mall for the fireworks, we didn't. For us, it turned out even better, as it ended up raining and we had a terrific view of them from our hotel across the Potomac. The Metro was a bit daunting. I think I follow directions well but didn't understand their posted instructions! We were amazed by the helpfulness of people who were regulars; they were far more friendly than what we've experienced living in a big city. We were only there overnight, but it was such a fun (and fast!) trip. We still eagerly look forward to doing it again! What a special time you've planned to go, Heather. To experience July 4th in the Capitol makes both even more special! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Expect the Mall to be blanket-to-blanket by the time you get there. Don't ever try to force Metro doors to stay open--they are NOT like elevator doors and will not reopen if you are in the way. Make sure you have a plan if you get separated. Getting back on the Metro after the fireworks is stressful. Dd was almost trampled, so keep littles up, not in strollers or walking beside you. (Just my advice, others may disagree, but it was pretty frightening for us.) Mt. V is very interesting. Plan on spending the bulk of your time in the museum. The mansion is cool, but it's basically a big, almost-empty seeming house with bright colors on the walls...Bring $ for the gift shop--it's in two parts; one is the china and decorative things for adults, the other is the more kid-oriented shop--right across the hall from each other. Look for the display on Pohick Church--that's our church! :D Give M a hug for me--though we've never met, I know she's a dear and you'll have a wonderful time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cera Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Check the hours for the museums each day. Some of them have late hours on certain days (for example, we were there two weeks ago and Natural History was open until 7:30) which would be good for the afternoon visits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Expect the Mall to be blanket-to-blanket by the time you get there. Don't ever try to force Metro doors to stay open--they are NOT like elevator doors and will not reopen if you are in the way. Make sure you have a plan if you get separated. Getting back on the Metro after the fireworks is stressful. Dd was almost trampled, so keep littles up, not in strollers or walking beside you. (Just my advice, others may disagree, but it was pretty frightening for us.) Mt. V is very interesting. Plan on spending the bulk of your time in the museum. The mansion is cool, but it's basically a big, almost-empty seeming house with bright colors on the walls...Bring $ for the gift shop--it's in two parts; one is the china and decorative things for adults, the other is the more kid-oriented shop--right across the hall from each other. Look for the display on Pohick Church--that's our church! :D Give M a hug for me--though we've never met, I know she's a dear and you'll have a wonderful time! In red, thank you! But there are probably some who will agree but others who would debate you on that! :lol::lol::lol: Heather: I will sit later and read this more carefully - I did get the PM, you are NOT cleaning anything! Hear me?! :toetap05: Heavens, if you didn't have such a short time here, I would take an entire afternoon for you and me to go to Sugar House Spa in Old Town (which is fun and cool - something to keep in mind). All I can comment on intelligently right now is that we are barely a mile from Mount Vernon so being first in line on July 4th should be a piece of cake! And, :iagree: with everything else Chris said about it. And if it happens to be 100+ degrees that day (the way it typically is on 4th of july) you can always spend an hour at the pool - tons of fun stuff planned. I will defer to everyone else on sightseeing as I am the WORST sightsee-er in the world. For years, when I worked in lower Manhattan, my older dds thought that one could only see/experience the Statue of Liberty from my secretary's office window. More later. So excited about your visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 In red, thank you! But there are probably some who will agree but others who would debate you on that! :lol::lol::lol: Heather: I will sit later and read this more carefully - I did get the PM, you are NOT cleaning anything! Hear me?! :toetap05: Heavens, if you didn't have such a short time here, I would take an entire afternoon for you and me to go to Sugar House Spa in Old Town (which is fun and cool - something to keep in mind). All I can comment on intelligently right now is that we are barely a mile from Mount Vernon so being first in line on July 4th should be a piece of cake! And, :iagree: with everything else Chris said about it. And if it happens to be 100+ degrees that day (the way it typically is on 4th of july) you can always spend an hour at the pool - tons of fun stuff planned. I will defer to everyone else on sightseeing as I am the WORST sightsee-er in the world. For years, when I worked in lower Manhattan, my older dds thought that one could only see/experience the Statue of Liberty from my secretary's office window. More later. So excited about your visit. Oh my goodness... We are so excited we can barely stand it! We get on a plane in only 4 more days!!!!!!! . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooRho Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 I found the metro easy to deal with. You can refill the tickets with more money too. I got online and looked at the exact route I wanted to take the night before so that I was clear on what to do and exact times for things. I also had good experiences with asking people on the metro for advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 I also had good experiences with asking people on the metro for advice. Absolutely this! :iagree: DC is such a cosmopolitan place. It's as if EVERYONE is there originating from somewhere else! I don't think I met a single person who was born and raised in DC or it's immediate vacinity. So the net effect is that everybody seems to remember being new to the region and overwhelmed by getting around. We met sooooo many helpful people. We did not meet a single unfriendly or rude soul. I saw many individuals help moms with young ones on and off the metro, gave directions, picked up things that were dropped, take a child by the hand and help them off the train, everyone was helpful! Don't be afraid to ask! I loved that about D.C. It is one of the main reasons I adored Manhatten as we had that same experience with New Yorkers. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaz Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Looks like a great plan! It sounds like you know to plan for large crowds. We had a wonderful time in DC in the fall. Enjoy! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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