Washington DC

CreativeEdge · 05-05-2023, 09:05 AM

The family and I will be staying at Cherry Hill RV Park for 7 days so we can explore DC. My sons are 16 and 13 and they love to explore new places.
There are so many things to see in DC, what are the places you guys consider as must see.
We will be there July 7, looking for any suggestions.
Thanks in advance,
Michael

NMWildcat · 05-05-2023, 09:36 AM

Everything around the National Mall. Many walking tours that might be worth looking into.
Most powerful memorials for us are the Korean, Holocaust, and Vietnam. Favorite Smithsonian is Air and Space.
I enjoy Library of Congress, others in my group do not

A surprise was how much we enjoyed Planet Word....

BehindBars · 05-05-2023, 09:46 AM

Agree as above that there is plenty to see around the National Mall. If the National Air and Space Museum is of interest, there are two locations. Not far away in Chantilly, VA is the big one - lots to see, including the space shuttle Discovery.

Most everything is free, but some popular attractions may require timed entry passes which might require some planning.

CreativeEdge · 05-08-2023, 06:05 AM

thanks for the replies..

DougW · 05-08-2023, 07:25 AM

As said, everything around the Mall. The National Zoo. The second location of the air and space is for sure the better one, it is near the airport and called Udvar-Hazy. Don’t miss Arlington - take the tour shuttle and be sure to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Memorial. You could also spend a day at the Bull Run Battlefields in VA.

ppine · 05-08-2023, 09:33 AM

I grew up in Maryland. We used to go to the Smithsonian for a 50 cent bus ride. Good responses so far. I miss the memorials and the museums. There are some new ones I have never seen.

Consider a trip to Great Falls, the Chesapeake Bay, or a boat ride on the Potomac River. I like the Memorial Parkway, Rock Creek Park and the National Zoo.

MillMitch · 05-08-2023, 10:06 AM

Man this discussion brings back memories. My now-wife and I were engaged in college and drove down to Washington DC to see the sites. We were trying to catch a tour bus but couldn't find anywhere to park. The tour guy looked at us and said 'you from out of town? Park over there, if you get a ticket consider it a souvenir'. Good times. We're both 63 now and still married. Sorry to hijack the post - enjoy your trip.

Falcon900Guy · 05-08-2023, 12:41 PM

For sure see Arlington National Cemetery and a MUST see is the changing of the guard.

Make are you read up on the history and countless heroes buried there.

Well worth the time and super opportunity to show your young ones some history of where we are and why.

5picker · 05-08-2023, 01:18 PM

Is there a way to see a lot of this with someone who has issues walking a lot?
Note: no way to ride Segways either.

IPcamper · 05-08-2023, 01:27 PM

Lots to see in the region. Just south of DC is Mount Vernon, Washington's home. On the Maryland side is Fort Washington. To the North is Baltimore, I recommend Fort McHenry, and the B & O railroad museum. You can always go to to a ball game with either the Nationals in DC or the Orioles in Baltimore. If you want some Nature, then Great Falls and the C & O canal is a good spot.

5er_tom · 05-08-2023, 02:56 PM

Not sure if it is still open to the public, but there is/was the Smithsonian restoration facility in Suitland, MD. They stored lots of aircraft there that had been or was waiting to go on display in the museum. That is also where they restore all the old aircraft. They did guided tours that were fascinating.

DougW · 05-08-2023, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5picker

Is there a way to see a lot of this with someone who has issues walking a lot?
Note: no way to ride Segways either.

Partly that depends on your definition of “walking a lot”. It is about a mile from one end of the mall to the other which is a lot further than i could walk these days. There are tour services that will take you from one attraction to the next, there is still a lot of walking to see the attractions such as the various Smithsonian museums. Lots of walking to the memorials on the mall as well. A mobility chair would probably be a good idea.

5er_tom · 05-08-2023, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5er_tom

Not sure if it is still open to the public, but there is/was the Smithsonian restoration facility in Suitland, MD. They stored lots of aircraft there that had been or was waiting to go on display in the museum. That is also where they restore all the old aircraft. They did guided tours that were fascinating.

Sorry, it is no longer there. It is still used for storage but restoration is done elsewhere and not open to the public.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul...rage_Facility#

5picker · 05-08-2023, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougW

Partly that depends on your definition of “walking a lot”. It is about a mile from one end of the mall to the other which is a lot further than i could walk these days. There are tour services that will take you from one attraction to the next, there is still a lot of walking to see the attractions such as the various Smithsonian museums. Lots of walking to the memorials on the mall as well. A mobility chair would probably be a good idea.

Thanks. That's what we are starting to realize for the DW and her back issues.

yetavon · 05-08-2023, 03:33 PM

We took the guided night bus tour from the campground... Wife reserved it, and I wasn't happy about that... BUT.... If we go back I would make sure to take it again... it was awesome.
We also got the Metro cards passes whatever and was great to hop the bus at the campground, dropped at the Metro and spend the day wandering around.

CreativeEdge · 05-10-2023, 10:43 AM

to everyone that has responded, you have been a great help.. thank you

CreativeEdge · 05-11-2023, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yetavon

We took the guided night bus tour from the campground... Wife reserved it, and I wasn't happy about that... BUT.... If we go back I would make sure to take it again... it was awesome.
We also got the Metro cards passes whatever and was great to hop the bus at the campground, dropped at the Metro and spend the day wandering around.

thanks for the tip and one last question.
We are making our itinerary and so far here are some of the places.
How much time would you say each of these take, give or take.

Air and Space
Congress
Holocaust Museum
Zoo
Arlington
Zoo
The Mall

thanks again

Semperfi24 · 05-11-2023, 07:36 AM

If you are able, I would recommend one of the "parades" at Marine Barracks Washington (8th and I). They are every Friday night in the summer. Advance tickets recommended but no one is turned away. There is also a "sunset parade" at Iwo on (I think, I never participated in those) on Tues night. The friday night parades was one of my favorite things when I was stationed there. (Never participated in the parade, I was part of the security forces working the gates and the overall security around the barracks)

https://www.barracks.marines.mil/Par...e-Reservation/

DougW · 05-11-2023, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CreativeEdge

thanks for the tip and one last question.
We are making our itinerary and so far here are some of the places.
How much time would you say each of these take, give or take.

Air and Space
Congress
Holocaust Museum
Zoo
Arlington
Zoo
The Mall

thanks again

It has been about 10 years since I was there so some things may have changed.

A couple of hours for each of the museums. My favorites were the Air and Space, Natural History, and Native American. We had lunch in the Native American which is a cafeteria of foods that were Native American dishes from different parts of the country and was a pretty good meal.

The Mall is about a mile long and would take a full day to just walk around and spend a few minutes at each memorial, plan to split that up over a few days and mix in stopping at some of the museums along the way.

We spent half a day at Arlington and was sufficient for what we wanted to see.

The Zoo is one of the things you need to see once in your life. I was actually a bit disappointed with the animals they had there. They make big thing out of the Pandas, elephants and orangutans, but we didn’t see many animals that can be found in the USA, no wolves, pronghorn, mountain lions, bison, nor many other animals I thought the National Zoo should have.

I think it was already mentioned to go out near the airport to the Udvar-Hazy center of the air and space, they have a LOT more aircraft on display and one of the Space Shuttles in there also.

CreativeEdge · 05-17-2023, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Semperfi24

If you are able, I would recommend one of the "parades" at Marine Barracks Washington (8th and I). They are every Friday night in the summer. Advance tickets recommended but no one is turned away. There is also a "sunset parade" at Iwo on (I think, I never participated in those) on Tues night. The friday night parades was one of my favorite things when I was stationed there. (Never participated in the parade, I was part of the security forces working the gates and the overall security around the barracks)

https://www.barracks.marines.mil/Par...e-Reservation/

Semperfi,
thank you for your service and we have added the parade to our itinerary.
Greatly appreciate all of the comments and suggestions.
Michael

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