Washington DC

[ohiocamper]

Planning on going to Washington DC 1st week of April. Any suggestions on nice places to stay that offer transportation into town. Plan on going to The arlington cemetery to some of the museums and to Mount Vernon am I missing anything we may regret? Taking my wife and 10 year old daughter.

[TheFordes]

Other is a campground in College Park, MD. Called Cherry Hill. Great campground. A bus will take you to the metro from the campground. We decided just to drive sine it was only like 5 miles from the campground. With hardly any traffic. That was also July 4 week. Also nice grocery store right up the road

[F.R.O.G.]

FROG has a trip to DC the first week of April for the Cherry Blossom Festival. Have you looked at that? We still have about five spots left. It includes five nights of full hookup camping at Cherry Hill Park in College Park, MD; seven meals; two full days and one evening of tours; scheduled times (no long lines) for the Capitol, National Archives, Ford's Theater, and Arlington National Cemetery; and more.

You can get information on it at www.forestriverfrog.com/Rally/#cherryblossom

[ohiocamper]

That looks great and we were looking at that campground only problem is I have to be back on the 5th for work.

[F.R.O.G.]

Originally Posted by ohiocamper

That looks great and we were looking at that campground only problem is I have to be back on the 5th for work.

The dreaded "W" word rears its ugly head again! If you stay at Cherry Hill, I hope you'll stop by to meet other members and maybe join us for breakfast one morning.

[rockwood06]

If you have time and you go to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in DC, check with them and see if they still have a free shuttle that runs from the museum downtown to the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center in Chantilly VA, it is almost 1,000,000 Sq Ft, it the newest of the two museums, this is where the Space Shuttle Discovery now lives. I started working there one year before the museum open and left there 7 months ago right after the Discovery was delievered and set up and before I left I was permitted to get inside of the Discovery and take pictures. I am happy to say that I was honored to work there for 9 years. They open Phase II about three years ago this is the Restoration Hanger and it moved from Suitland MD.....The Best thing to do is go on line to all of the places you would like to see, the Hazy center has alot of events coming up in the spring, like Become "A Pilots Day" You shuld read up on this....Enjoy your trip and be safe.

[rockwood06]

One other thing, when I first started at the Hazy Center they had plan on making an RV park in the back of the museum off of Rt 50 but when they started the Restoration hanger they put it on hold????

[ohiocamper]

Ok Ive talked to the wife and we might be able to get around the work schedule. Is the frog trip still available or has it filled up?

[F.R.O.G.]

Originally Posted by ohiocamper

Ok Ive talked to the wife and we might be able to get around the work schedule. Is the frog trip still available or has it filled up?

I know that we're not full. I think there are about three spots left.

[ohiocamper]

Alright paperwork sent please let me know if we make it

[PapaSmurf]

By all means plan a trip to the Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center. It is the best of the Smithsonian museums. It is an easy drive, if you cannot find a tour or shuttle from downtown. It is on the grounds of Dulles airport. The exit is clearly marked off of I-66.

[ohiocamper]

I noticed on the FROG website that this trip is full. How and when will we find out if we are included in the trip?

[Sirsea]

X2 on Cherry Hill Park, great place to stay while visiting the capitol. Check out the "D.C. by Night" tour, leaves right from the park about 6:00 PM. You can see a lot of the sights with very little walking and no driving/parking. The park also has daily sessions on how to use the public transportation system and sells train tickets. That was our first experience with Metro bus/train and it was actually very easy to use. Highly recommend the Air & Space, American History and Natural History museums. A visit to Baltimore's Inner Harbor is an easy short drive, with ample parking available.

[Mr. B]

Although I can't speak to what's a good campground to stay at, I have been taking groups of kids (11-14 years old) to Washington DC for 20 years. Yes, I'm one of those teachers who brings the class trip to our nations capital every April vacation. Don't worry though, our trip is from the 16th to the 20th so you wont have to contend with us.

Seeing as you're taking your daughter, I thought I let you know what we take our students to because over the years, we've gone to just about everything in DC. Here's a list of the sites the kids tell us they enjoyed (or endured but were thankful that we took them to it anyway):

• U.S. Capitol Building (exterior)
• Air and Space Museum
• Museum of Natural History
• American History Museum
• Arlington National Cemetery (Tomb of the unknowns, changing of the guards, Kennedy burial sites)
• Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center – the Air and Space Museum “Hanger”
• 3-hour Dinner cruise and dance on the Potomac River
• “Daniel’s Story” – Holocaust Museum
• Washington Monument
• World War Two Monument
• White House (exterior)
• Baseball game (National or Orioles, whichever team is in town )
• Ford’s Theater
• National Archives
• National Zoo
• Jefferson Memorial
• FDR Memorial
• MLK Memorial
• Lincoln Memorial
• Korean War Memorial
• Vietnam War Memorial
• Iwo Jima Memorial
• Six Flag’s America

Since you will be a small party, (Our group averages about 120 people per year.) you might want to consider taking a Segway tour of DC. They look like fun and they take you to most of the places I listed above. If you want to tour things like the capitol or the Washington Monument, make sure you check out their websites. You need to make arraignments ahead of time to get tickets but you can also check to see if they will be giving tours. I believe the Washington Monument is still closed due to the earthquake back in 2011.

I also agree that Baltimore's Inner Harbor is a great place to visit and Fort McHenry is not too far from there, too.

Whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll have a fun family adventure.

[F.R.O.G.]

Originally Posted by ohiocamper

Alright paperwork sent please let me know if we make it

We just got your registration on Thursday, a day or two after we posted the closing. I have calls in to see if I can get a few more tickets for Ford's Theater, National Archives, and the Capitol and House Gallery. I'll give you a call in a day or two to let you know what I find out.

[ohiocamper]

OK great I appreciate it. If we dont make it still need to try and make reservations someplace.