Touring Williamsburg, Jamestown, DC, PA, and NYC.....suggestions from people who've been there, done that?

[ChristusG]

In 2-3 years, we're planning on taking a big 2 week vacation to the area of Williamsburg and Jamestown, VA. Then head to DC. From there we'll hit PA and on to NYC. I'm in need of some serious guidance from people who've been there....either on vacation or lived in the areas.

 

Ideally, we'll travel to the Williamsburg area and spend the first 2 nights at Great Wolf Lodge. My kids will be around the ages of 4, 9, and 12 at that time. We don't have a GWL anywhere near us and I think my kids would love it. While there, we'd see colonial Williamsburg, as well as Jamestown. What's the best things to hit in this area? Any neat tours or sights that would appeal to my kids ages at the time, as well as my husband and I?

 

From there, we'll head to DC early one morning and have about 2.5 days in DC. What's the best things to do here? I know there's lots of free things, but I'm not sure exactly what. I know we want to see the White House, but probably not tour it (if they even still do that). I've heard that it is best to walk DC....is that correct?

 

From DC we'll head to PA. I'd like to make a stop in Lancaster to visit Amish Country. And take the kids to Hershey Park. Is it worth visiting? What's there to do in Amish country?

 

From PA, we'll drive to NYC. Or right outside of it....I've heard that's the best place to stay. Are we really at the mercy of public transportation in NYC? Seriously, the thought of that makes me want to reconsider a trip to the city. What are the must sees there? I know we definitely want to do the big things like see Central Park, Times Square, and the Statue of Liberty. How far apart are those things? Is there a lot of travel time in between? I'd love to see a filming of the Today Show but I know you have to get there really early....and I'm not sure that's possible LOL.

 

Are there other stops along 95 between Florida and NYC that we should consider seeing? I'm open to anything! We've never made a trip like this before and I know there is SO much to do and see. I know that 2 days in DC and 3 in NYC is probably not nearly enough time.....but I don't think we could extend the trip out any longer than 2 weeks. And I know that this trip is still a couple of years away but I'm a big planner.....and I'll have to know what all we're saving up for.

 

Thanks for any tips, suggestions, and hints that anyone can give me about any great areas between FL and NYC!

[JFSinIL]

When we did Hershey , we managed to only tour the chocolate factory, and the kids never knew there was a theme park (evil parents!). We also did Gettysburg, but your two youngest might not be ready to appreciate that.

 

There are two Jamestowns, one areinactment place, the other the original site. We only did the original, which was way cool.....but then again, our kids were a bit older than yours.

 

While House you can linger outside the fence and take photos,a beware protesters across street may or may not have child-friendly displays depending on what they are protesting. Smithsonian museums a must! Do the natural history and the one with displays of muppets, etc from American history/culture. Plus walk and do the major monuments, Lincoln is huge and cool for kids.

 

My kids also liked feeding ducks in the long reflecting pool.

 

Contact your representative and get a tour of Capital. Also way cool! Library of congress also a beautiful building to tour if time. But your kids may like museums better. Oh, gosh, how'd I almost forget Air and Space! Priority!

 

Ps pardon typos one fingered iPad typing is a pain

[Ellie]

In 2-3 years, we're planning on taking a big 2 week vacation to the area of Williamsburg and Jamestown, VA. Then head to DC. From there we'll hit PA and on to NYC. I'm in need of some serious guidance from people who've been there....either on vacation or lived in the areas.

 

Ideally, we'll travel to the Williamsburg area and spend the first 2 nights at Great Wolf Lodge. My kids will be around the ages of 4, 9, and 12 at that time. We don't have a GWL anywhere near us and I think my kids would love it. While there, we'd see colonial Williamsburg, as well as Jamestown. What's the best things to hit in this area? Any neat tours or sights that would appeal to my kids ages at the time, as well as my husband and I?

 

From there, we'll head to DC early one morning and have about 2.5 days in DC. What's the best things to do here? I know there's lots of free things, but I'm not sure exactly what. I know we want to see the White House, but probably not tour it (if they even still do that). I've heard that it is best to walk DC....is that correct?

 

From DC we'll head to PA. I'd like to make a stop in Lancaster to visit Amish Country. And take the kids to Hershey Park. Is it worth visiting? What's there to do in Amish country?

 

From PA, we'll drive to NYC. Or right outside of it....I've heard that's the best place to stay. Are we really at the mercy of public transportation in NYC? Seriously, the thought of that makes me want to reconsider a trip to the city. What are the must sees there? I know we definitely want to do the big things like see Central Park, Times Square, and the Statue of Liberty. How far apart are those things? Is there a lot of travel time in between? I'd love to see a filming of the Today Show but I know you have to get there really early....and I'm not sure that's possible LOL.

 

Are there other stops along 95 between Florida and NYC that we should consider seeing? I'm open to anything! We've never made a trip like this before and I know there is SO much to do and see. I know that 2 days in DC and 3 in NYC is probably not nearly enough time.....but I don't think we could extend the trip out any longer than 2 weeks. And I know that this trip is still a couple of years away but I'm a big planner.....and I'll have to know what all we're saving up for.

 

Thanks for any tips, suggestions, and hints that anyone can give me about any great areas between FL and NYC!

 

You need a minimum of two days for Williamsburg. This is because your visit should be slow and casual. Buy a pass (whatever they are called when you get there, lol), start at the beginning and just stroll from place to place, taking as much time as you want (or as little). The Governor's Palace is extra; you must have it. ;-) And you must also watch the movie at the visitors' center. It's kind of cheesy, but it's part of the experience. :-) I love Bruton Parish Church; when I sit in the pews, besides the history that weighs me down (in a good way), I also think of Maria in the Little White Horse, sitting in her pew in Moonacre Valley. :-)

 

We like to have one meal at the Old Chickahominy House; it only serves breakfast and lunch, and we prefer breakfast.

 

The Yankee Candle Factory flagship store is in Williamsburg. You should go there. :-)

 

In Washington, D.C., you'll want to be sure to see all of the monuments, and to take your dc's pictures in front of each one. Every time one of those shows up in a movie or on TV or in the news, your dc will remember that they were actually there, and when y'all study history, those monuments will be big bookmarks in their memories.

 

[J-rap]

We did that exact trip some years ago, and it was wonderful!  I don't have time to give too much advice right now, but I just wanted to say that we stayed right in NYC and loved that experience.  If you can find a good hotel deal, I'd recommend it.  You can keep your eye on Hotels.com for starters;  sometimes they have specials.  We found it very safe and could walk everywhere.  It felt easy to navigate (by foot, or by subway).

 

Also we stayed at this fun motel in the Lancaster area of Pennsylvania:

 

http://www.redcaboosemotel.com/

 

Have fun planning!

[Alice]

Williamsburg/Jamestown: 

Great Wolf Lodge is very fun. Anticipate that if you stay there your kids will want to spend at least a good portion of a day at the water park. You don't have to but if you're paying to stay there you will want to maximize your time there. That might eat into the time in Wburg and Jamestown. GWL has homeschool deals. They used to have certain homeschool weeks, it has now changed to where you can just type in "home" as the discount code and if they have rooms available you can get them at a reduced rate. It used to be that there was one very low price for even the big suites, but I just looked at it and they may have changed that. It's still reduced but the bigger nicer suites are more. You get to use the water park from something like 11am the day of check-in until 

4 pm the day of check-out even if you have checked out of your room. I know people who will go, check-in, use the waterpark, then check out the next day and use the water park some more before moving to another cheaper hotel nearby for that second night. :) 

 

Williamsburg has homeschool weeks where they offer a lot of extra stuff and big discounts, you might want to try and plan your trip to coincide with one of those. When we went we found that our kids were a bit too young (ages 2, 5, and 8). I knew the 2 year old would be too young but I was surprised that the 5 year old and 8 year old weren't more interested. I found that the interpreters we saw tended to be so intent on staying in "character" that they weren't always child-friendly. As an example, my son had a question at one place and he asked it but the interpreter treated it like was kind of a dumb question (since in the historical period it would have been an obvious question). That was just our experience and your kids will be older so it might be better. Jamestown on the other hand was a huge hit for everyone, the reenactment part, which I believe is fairly newly redone.

 

Washington DC:

We live outside DC. There are oodles of threads here about what to see. For a short time, I'd stay downtown and plan on walking most places. You can walk most everywhere on the Mall and around the major sites. The Metro is easy to use also. The Monuments are all free and I'd say must-sees. The Washington Monument has recently re-opened if you want to go up it, you have to have tickets in advance but I think the fee is nominal. All the Smithsonian museums are free. Which ones to go to depend on your interests. My kids always love Natural History. A lot of people love Air and Space. American History has a lot of the big iconic cultural items (ruby slippers, Muppets, Julia Child's kitchen). I personally love the National Gallery of Art. The Museum of the American Indian has a great restaurant and a stunning building but I think the exhibits are just ok personally. 

 

The Zoo is free as are some other museums slightly more off the Mall (Renwick, American Art, Portrait Gallery) but for a short time I'd concentrate on the Monuments and museums along the mall. That will easily fill 2 days. 

 

NYC: 

We go to NYC about once a year. For a short time, I'd look for a place to stay in the city, it makes it much easier to cut down on travel time. It is pricier but you can get deals on places like Hotwire. We've gotten very good deals in the city in nice hotels. For a recent wedding we stayed at a Holiday Inn in Fort Lee, New Jersey which is right over the GW bridge.http://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/fort-lee/ftlee/hoteldetail I believe they had a shuttle into the city but we ended up driving and parking. 

You will need to rely on public transportation but it is fairly easy to figure out. We also enjoy doing a lot of walking, just walking the streets is sight-seeing in a way. 

 

NYC is huge and you could probably make a huge list of "must-sees". My husband has a method of trip-planning where he picks one major thing to see in an morning, and one in an afternoon. Then we look for other things nearby that might be good to see or places to shop or eat. We've never actually done the Statue of Liberty (you see it just getting to the city) because it is so separate from the rest of the city. It will require probably an good chunk of time/a whole afternoon for example. We looked into doing a Circle Line tour which takes you around the city but haven't done that either for the same reason. 

 

Central Park is also huge, if you choose to go to some of the big museums (Natural History and Metropolitan Museum of Art are both fantastic) you will visit the park. There is a small but very nice zoo in the park. If you like zoos, we loved the Bronx Zoo, which was probably the best we've ever been to. 

 

If you go to Times Square, go to the Toys R Us. It's an experience in itself. 

 

 

[Susan in TN]

We did something similar - 2 weeks in Historic Philly, DC, and Jamestown/Williamsburg. Here' same basic run-down of what we did (I'll put a * by our favorites):

Day 1

*Valley Forge - so awesome but only spent a couple hours there because Hurricane Irene was heading inland. Park rangers there are so helpful!

Day 2

Day in Hotel and nearby King of Prussia Mall due to flooding.

Day 3

*****Historic Philadelphia - only spent one day due to hurricane, but was so incredible I wish we'd had another day or two!

Day 4

Gettysburg - spent a couple hours in the museum (free part) and cemetery on the way to DC. Did not do the whole driving tour.

Day 5

DC - White House tour, *Capitol Building tour, Supreme Court, *Library of Congress, *Moonlight Monuments Tour - worth the $!

Day 6

DC - *Old Post Office Pavillion - great views of DC (the Washington Monument was closed, as was the National Cathedral due to the recent earthquake damage), *picnic on the National Mall, American History museum, *Holocaust Memorial (older kids), carousel ride

Day 7

DC - Chinatown, International Spy Museum (fun but $), National Archives, *****National Gallery of Art (plus cool concert in the sculpture garden by the US Naval Academy Jazz Band

Day 8

DC - *Arlington, Korean, WWII, *Vietnam monuments, Air and Space

Day 9

Mount Vernon on the way to Jamestown.

Day 10

*Jamestown Settlement, Glasshouse

Day 11

*Historic Jamestowne archaeological site, Yorktown Victory Center, Yorktown Battlefield

Day 12

Spent the day at our rental home swimming in the nearby James River, bonfire, and relaxing

Day 13

*Colonial Williamsburg (definitely could have spent another day or two there!)

Day 14

Spent the day at Virginia Beach

Day 15 - drive home

 

In the Philly area we had a hotel, but in DC and Jamestown we had rentals from VBRO (needed space for 10 people - grandma and grandpa, dh and I, and kids aged 16, 13, 8, 6, 5, 2). To save money on food, most of our meals away from our lodgings were simple picnics of water, fruit, hardboiled eggs, string cheese, and crackers or bread rolls, etc. We splurged on a couple of special meals here and there. Our picnics in DC on the National Mall and around the Capitol Building are some of my favorite memories. The museums and parks generally close by 5 or 6pm, so keep that in mind while you plan your days.

 

Parking garages in Philly generally do not accommodate tall vehicles (like a 12 passenger van) so keep that in mind if you need to find parking there and have a large vehicle.

 

In DC we rented a beautiful townhouse near Howard University and most days walked about 6 blocks to the Metro Station to get where we needed to go. The metro station employees and general DC population were incredibly friendly and helpful in getting us where we needed to go. On the day we toured the White House and Capitol Bldg we drove our van and parked in Union Station so we could leave our stuff in the van and go pick it up after the tours.

 

Last Christmas we were in NY visiting my in-laws and wanted to do something uber cheap with the kids in the city. So we drove to Staten Island and took the (free) ferry to Manhattan which goes by the Statue of Liberty, and walked to Trinity Church and the 9-11 Memorial (did not go in as the kids were getting tired of being in the pouring rain). It was fun anyway and since we didn't have to pay for lodging, entirely free except for food and $5 parking. I hope some day we can take the kids to visit the NYC public library main building and Central Park. You can google free things to do in NYC and find lots of great info.

 

Well, this is very long, but I hope you find something useful.

 

P.S. A great deal of my trip planning success was due to board member Lori D.'s incredible information and advice, so she might also be a good resource.

[KungFuPanda]

That's a LOT to do in two weeks. Make sure you have some rest time built in when you get home so nobody has to go to work the day after that vacation. I've never been to Williamsburg, but they offer homeschool days tickets that tempt me every year, so it's worth keeping any eye out for those. Great Wolf Lodge seems a destination unto itself. Will you be annoyed if the kids prefer not to leave the hotel or don't want to rest in the evening because it's too exciting? There is also a GWL in PA about 30 off the road you would take from Hershey to NYC.

 

I'm much more familiar with DC. It's easy to get around on the metro. It's very simple to understand. They kids could help navigate. I never take my car into DC because you walk so much that the nearest metro stop is always much closer than hiking back to wherever you parked. Be sure you plan your White House tour waaay in advance. It can take six months to be cleared for it. Honestly, my kids were not impressed with the White House because EVERYTHING else in D.C. Was more interesting to them. The dinosaurs are closed now, so don't count on them for another 5 years.

 

With everything so close in DC, you CAN plan it, or you can just meander down the mall and go in and out of museums at your leisure. It really depends upon the personalities and how much everyone likes museums. Your kids will probably like the zoo, Natural History Museum, Air and Space (if anyone is into that). We like the American Indian museum. It's so tranquil and the food is good. ALL of the food is overpriced, so if that's upsetting to you just pack a lunch and picnic outside. If you have any gardeners, budding botanists, if you are nature journal people, or if you just need a break from the concrete and metal, check out the botanical gardens in the city or drive to the Arboretum (free and free parking). If anyone in your family has a specific interest, there is probably a museum exhibit for them. We once took my son down for a video game exhibit. My Venon is awesome, but you could asily spend a whole day there.

 

Baltimore is in your path. If you don't have a decent Science Center or Aquarium near you, but you have a kid that's into either of those things, you may want to work it in. (I understand how unhelpful this is)

 

Hershey is great for families because they put the little kid rides near the big rides. This means that one parent isn't banished to the baby area of the park with the little kid while the other does roller coasters th the older ones. You can put DH on a roller coaster with older kids, hit 2-3 kiddy ridesin the same area, meet back up, and trade off easily. They also have an animal/zoo area and a water park. I think it's worth spending a day. With your itinerary, I'd b tempted to skip GWL in Williamsburg and keep it as a back-up in case my Hershey day got rained out.

 

My daughter day tripped to NYC with some teen homeschooling friends a few years ago. I thought they put together a nice itinerary. They did this:

 

Bus arrives around 11:10am in NYC

Walk to Rockefeller Center

We have 12:00pm - 12:15pm tickets for Top of the Rock, while we wait we can explore Rockefeller Center, including the Nintendo Store!

We should be no more then half an hour to 45 min at Top of the Rock.

Head to Times Square for lunch and exploring

Between 2:15 and 2:30pm, either walk or take a bus to the Circle Line Cruise. The walk is about a mile so if people are tired from the morning of walking we can take a bus. We will have to pop into a subway station to get Metrocards though, unless you have exact change in quarters.

Board the Circle Line at 3:30pm, we should be there about 45 min before departure for ticketing and boarding.

Come back at 5:30pm

Walk back to the Bus Terminal, eat dinner. There are lots of restaurants at the Port Authority Terminal.

Board the 6:31 bus to Baltimore.

Get in around 10:10pm, possibly later since I think we are going to hit outbound NYC rush hour.

 

They had no trouble getting all of this done and they started their day in MD. Starting just outside the city would be even easier.

 

I hope this helps :-)

[ThisIsTheDay]

Our personal experiences, and my commentary here were the overall consensus of our whole family, or me and my kids if my husband didn't come.

 

Williamsburg -- so boring, such a disappointment.

Jamestown -- terrific one day visit, we enjoyed very much!

 

I think the best museum we've ever been to is the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, VA, 30 mins. away from Williamsburg.  Before visiting, we read about the USS Monitor and learned some basics about naval battles from the Civil War.  Fascinating history that we'd never heard anything about! I would recommend this museum to anyone.

 

On to DC.  Yes, you'll want to walk or take the Metro. Everything is pretty centrally located along the National Mall. It wouldn't be worth driving from place to place.  All of the Smithsonians are free (right?).  Food along the Mall is expensive.  We've done the Air & Space Museum (pretty good), Natural History Museum (pretty boring, would never go back!), American History Museum (very good!), National Gallery of Art (loved, want to go back). The memorials down at the Lincoln end were cool; we stopped short of the Washington Memorial.  I've heard great things about the Spy Museum, but it's not free.

 

I have always found great tips on different attractions at tripadvisor.com.

 

:) Fun to be planning ahead!

 

 

[Karen A]

We were in Williamsburg/DC over spring break for 6 days.  Admittedly we like history.  Spent 2 days strolling the town, going to activities (courthouse, manners class, dance class, code breaking class, etc.  Half a day doing the kid's as revolultionary spies activity (called RevQuest-- watched movie, needed smart phone), and a half day in Jamestown.  We would have needed another entire day if we included water park activities!

 

Spent 1/2 day at Mt. Vernon--did not leave enough time for the museum, which looked fantastic.

 

Didn't have time to see much of what DC had to offer but did several smithsonians and got tix online for the Capitol tour.  We were there on a weekend, and many other govt buildings weren't open.

 

Last week we were in Philly--did the 1 day historic walking tour we found on TripAdvisor.  We could NOT fit it all in, and skipped the Constitution museum, which sounded neat--but we only had an hour left.

 

Kids are 6 and 10.

 

Have a great time planning and travelling!

[redsquirrel]

NYC is much bigger than you think and getting anywhere is work. We just got back from a 2.5 day trip and we managed the Museum of Natural history and a tiny slice of central park and that was about it.

 

No NOT go to the top of the Empire State building, not with kids and not if you want to do anything else that day. Not worth it, too much $$ and waaaaaaay too long to get to the top. and the entire wait is super boring and they monitor you to make sure you are not eating or drinking in line etc. Imagine the most hellacious trip through airport security in existence and then double that. and make the line 5 hours long.  You can buy packages that promise a faster trip to the top but they were out of our price range. It might not be out of yours. You should look online and see if works for you because it might be worth it.  It doesn't make it fast, mind you, just not as long. I still wouldn't bother.

 

With NY with kids, pick one thing for the day and base it on your  location.  Keep it all together. I cannot stress that enough. For example, We didn't get to the zoo in central park because that is on the east side of the park and we were on the west side of the city. You don't just stroll across central park, you take a taxi. I mean you could stroll if that was your plan for the day, but don't forget you have to get back. So, we saw Strawberry Fields and then just walked a bit around the lake and saw the castle etc. We stayed on the West Side. My younger son had fun running around on the rocks. My 14 year old pretended not to know us.

 

Duane Reed is your friend. They are everywhere and have lots of stuff, including sandwiches and drinks. The food from the trucks in front of the museums must be made of solid gold. That is the only reasonable explanation for the cost. They don't let you bring food or drinks into the museums but they will sell you a 15$ sandwich.

 

Central Park has an iphone app and it was sort of helpful. Natural History museum has an iphone app and it was useless. If you go to a museum they don't tell you but the big ones have a sliding scale. Only tourists pay full price. You can pay 2 or 5$ per person and they are fine with that. You just have to speak up and tell them what you want to pay. It could be nothing and they will say ok. I say don't take kids to the Met museum but that is because I have seen so many young kids having meltdowns there. The Cloisters Museum (has the unicorn tapestry featured in a MTH book  ) was one of the most non-kid friendly places we have ever been. The staff there treated everyone, adults and kids alike, like a potential vandal. It got laughable. But we are never going back.

[Susan in TN]

Forgot to mention the cost of bridges and tunnels into and out of NYC - I think the most expensive was $17 to get off Staten Island. Bring plenty of cash and change. As many times as we have driven through Manhattan, I still forget how expensive some of them are.

[edithcrawley]

We got back from a trip to DC/Williamsburg about a month ago. As far as W-burg goes---I think you'd have a better time if you stayed on site. We stayed at the Governor's Inn and it was less than $90 a night. It is only about a 10-15 min walk from Colonial Williamsburg, and about a 20-25 min. drive to Jamestown. I'd recommend getting the Triangle Ticket (you can buy it online before you get there), as it gets you into W-burg, both Jamestown sites (historic and recreated village), and both Yorktown sites (Battlefield and a museum). It was about $80 for each of us (adults), but it allowed access into any of them for an entire week. You may want to run the numbers to see if it is worth it for you or if you're better off getting a different package.

 

Must dos for Williamsburg:

-The movie at the visitor's center---it is from the 50s and definitely cheesy, but adds to the experience.

-Governor's Mansion tour--this one does have a bit of a line, but it moves fairly fast.

-Eat at one of the historic taverns (a bit pricy, but quite interesting---lunch is much cheaper than dinner)

-Capitol building tour 

-Coffee House building. They give you a quick history of the building, then you go into a dining room type place and get a free sample of either coffee, tea, or hot cocoa while some interpreters talk about what is going on in town etc. 

-The bookbinder and printing shops were also quite interesting. 

-There is a brickmaker where you can take off your shoes and socks and help stomp in the clay---this might be something your kids would like

 

 

Jamestown must dos:

-Recreated village section:

   -Definitely see the sailing ships! You can go into them and they have interpreters explaining about different parts of the ships---we saw lots of kids there who were so happy during this section

Jamestown Archaeological site: ---you can actually see archaeologists working on various portions of the site, they were very friendly and very open to being asked lots of questions about what they were doing. 

 

Across the street from Colonial Williamsburg is a little shopping area called the Williamsburg Marketplace. There is a really good (and reasonably priced) pizza/subs place called Stephano's. We ate there nearly every night we were at Williamsburg

 

 

As far as DC goes---the Metro is really easy to navigate, though it can be a bit expensive, especially if you are traveling during rush hour. We did the White House tour---it was ok, but wasn't worth the time we spent getting over there and the hassle of not being able to have any bags or cameras with us for the entire day (since getting to the hotel and back would have eaten up too much time). With the ages of your kids, I'd definitely recommend the Air and Space Museum, the American History Museum, and the Natural History Museum. The Mall is a lot bigger than it looks on the maps---make sure you have very comfortable shoes. The food courts at the museums are very expensive, so be prepared. 

 

 

 

[Alicia64]

Just fyi: my boys, 11, LOVE Great Wolf Lodge. Give your kids at least a day or two there. Otherwise dragging them out to see Colonial Williamsburg could get ugly.

 

You might even stay at a CW property -- there's a reasonably priced one -- and see CW first and then go to Great Wolf. Great Wolf will be the big winner for the kids. Do CW first before they even see Great Wolf.

 

The CW hotel that is reasonable and very nice for a bunch of reasons -- good proximity to park, breakfast for free etc. -- is called the Williamsburg Woodlands. Their site makes it look super upscale. It's a nice, safe, 3-star type property with washer/dryers, BBQ pits, a fun pool for the kids. etc.

 

I'd highly recommend staying here, seeing CW -- then hitting Great Wolf.

 

If you need a really cool DC hotel that's close(ish) to the National mall w/ a real "resort" feel: the Omni in DC. I'm not saying it's a super cheap hotel, but it would be a really fun place to stay. It has a nice pool set up.

 

Keep in mind that the DC Metro is AWESOME and will take you anywhere you need to go.

 

Also, the Marriott's Residence Inn are fantastic for families because of the kitchens.

 

Alley                Edited to add: The best site for family travel ideas: FamilyVacationCritic.com. Highly recommend.

[ChristusG]

Thanks so much for everyone's tips and suggestions! I'm going to be so indecisive about what to do! There's so much stuff but we can't possibly extend it to three weeks. I'll be hotting all of this down.

 

And I didn't include GWL in with our Williamsburg/Jamestown time....I'm allotting 1.5 days just for GWL and Williamsburg/Jamestown has their own days devoted to touring. We'll probably move to a hopefully cheaper hotel than GWL though.

[Terabith]

We just did Jamestown and Williamsburg.  You need a minimum of two days there.  We enjoyed Yorktown, but the kids LOVED the Jamestown re-enactment.  We spent five hours there.  We skipped the original one to save money, on the recommendation of friends, largely because of price.  My kids enjoyed Colonial Williamsburg, but it didn't compare to Jamestown.  In Williamsburg, you can see and hear people talk about interesting things, but in Jamestown you can DO them.  My kids spent an hour watching someone start a fire with flint and steel and bake bread.  Jamestown had the most engaging blacksmith I've ever seen, as well.  He had Latin sayings graffiti in his workshop!  They loved grinding corn in the Indian village. 

 

If you want to eat in a Williamsburg tavern (and I suggest you do), make reservations in advance. 

 

We also found the coolest playground I've ever seen in the world in Williamsburg.  It's at 3793 Ironbound Road and has a zipline and a pirate ship.  My kids were 9 and 10 and loved it.  There is also a Duck Donuts around the corner.  I suggest the cinnamon sugar.  We needed that break to play and relax.  

 

Williamsburg and Jamestown is very pricey.  We got homeschooler discounts at Jamestown and Yorktown by showing our homeschool letter of intent.  In Colonial Williamsburg, we went to the educator's desk and got homeschool tickets for the kids and teacher tickets for us from the regular admission desk.  It brought it down from crazy expensive to just very expensive. 

 

I suggest a stroller for the 4 yr old in DC.  The last time we were there, my kids were 4 and 6, and we wound up carrying the 4 year old a good bit.  It's a lot of walking, but you definitely want to do the walking and metro.  The metro was one of the coolest things. 

 

I know the Zoo is always suggested, but we've been to many zoos in the past, and that's not where I would spend my limited time.  We loved going to a service in the National Cathedral and exploring it.  They liked the Mall and reflecting pool at night, and being able to run.  The monuments and memorials were awesome.   The Bureau of Printing and Engraving was surprisingly cool.  The kids really liked seeing how money was made.  They found the Archives and Library of Congress deadly boring, and frankly, I agreed with them.  I know I *should* appreciate seeing original documents, but I find myself thinking that I get better views of things on tv.  Smithsonian Natural History, Air and Space, and American History are definite dos.  You can get tickets to tour the White House from your congressman if you arrange it in advance.  The Capitol tour is interesting.  The Spy Museum is a definite thing to do, as well.

 

We stopped by Hershey on a whim once and toured the factory.  It was cool, and only took a couple of hours.  I wouldn't drive out of my way to do it, however.  I feel weird about Amish Country, since I don't think it's right to do tourism of actual people, but it's really, really neat, and I would do it anyway. 

 

You might want to pack snacks (and definitely drinks) for Williamsburg and DC.  The prices for food court stuff is horrible. 

[Lieutenant Stranger]

We're doing DC next year. I've been several times and my parents were going almost every year for awhile there.

 

Personally, Mount Vernon (DC area) and Monticello (Charlottesville) are my must-do stops. I've been to both and really enjoyed them. So much history. You can tour both the Capitol and White House, but you need to go through your Congressperson to do so. The Smithsonian is interesting. So is the Holocaust Museum, though your youngest would probably be too young still. My oldest will be 11 (wah) at the time and while our family has relatives who died in the Holocaust, I don't know if I'd still bring her there to see. It is a lot to take in. 

 

We did Gettysburg on the way to Amish Country once and I really enjoyed it. We also went on a tour of the area with a Mennonite and he brought us to an Amish farm. I was 20 at the time and found it really fun.

 

Looking at I95-- perhaps a stop in Savannah, Georgia on the way?

[Lieutenant Stranger]

Oh! And Arlington Cemetery. Of course, the kids won't be able to understand it all, but you can show them JFK's grave, the eternal flame, etc. And, really, it is quite a sight to see with your own eyes. 

[Corbster98]

We were in the Lancaster area last summer. If you really want to experience the "Amish" part of the area... I would highly recommend this location for lodging .....

 

Verdant View Farm Bed and Breakfast  www.verdantview.com

 

The Mennonite family that owns the dairy farm is fantastic and they treat you like family. They live across the road from some friends of theirs that are Amish and employ Amish to work in their home helping with breakfast chores, etc... it was so neat to be on the farm and watch the horse/buggies drive by. We also loved helping the family with the farm chores and joining them for a fresh breakfast every morning in the main house.  Just a really neat experience :)