Washington DC

[Greenheadless]

How long will you be there? If only a couple days, make a list of priorities you want to see for sure. Also, Smithsonian has much more Air/Space exhibits out next to Dulles than what they have on the national mall.

Spent three days there, toured the mall and all the sites in and around (that is a day in itself). 1/2 day at Arlington (must catch changing of guard). Smithsonian and Holocaust (both a rush thru) rush thru was another day. National archives (Consitution, Declarations, Magna Carta) etc., and misc. was another day.

We would stay in Virginia close to the subway and ride it in everyday.

[Greenheadless]

Oh, and summer in DC is like Houston hot. Take lots of Gold Bond.

[asu-indian]

DC is an amazing place. The Tomb is humbling. #1 imo.

[ThisLadyHunts]

David ain't an anything buff. Unless it quacks or swims.

I'd have to see the holocaust museum

Go. And take your kid. It is unlike anything else you will ever experience and you will walk away with an even better understanding of true evil and the circumstances that led to its incredible rise to power.

[Greenheadless]

There is a really good one in Houston as well, if never been. Nothing like the one in DC though. If you didn’t right, it would take an entire day to go thru the one in DC.

[Bill]

I used to go to the seafood restaurants on Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis to eat soft-shelled crabs. Soft-shell crabs are blue crabs harvested throughout the Chesapeake Bay when they are in their molted state. The season generally begins in late spring as water temperatures warm, often marked by the first full moon in May.

Wherever you can find them, try it. The view across the Chesapeake Bay is great.

[js4242]

I used to go to the seafood restaurants on Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis to eat soft-shelled crabs. Soft-shell crabs are blue crabs harvested throughout the Chesapeake Bay when they are in their molted state. The season generally begins in late spring as water temperatures warm, often marked by the first full moon in May.

Wherever you can find them, try it. The view across the Chesapeake Bay is great.

I grew up in that area. My old man is a crab connoisseur. I will get some spots from him if you're interested. He's been to all of them. He is a firm believer the crabs out of the Chesapeake are better tasting than anywhere else you can get them. His mind will not be changed.

Every American should be required to see the changing of the guard.

IMO this was very cool to see - https://americanhistory.si.edu/explo...pangled-banner

I heard the spy museum is pretty good, but that was after my time.

Depending on long you are up there, you might want to consider either a day trip or 2 days away from DC and road trip to either Monticello (Charlottesville is a great college town), a battle field tour, Plantation tours south of Richmond and along the James. All of these are about 2.5hrs away from DC and you could possibly create a loop - DC-CVille-Richmond-DC.

One funny story from the Reflecting Pool - My Dad was eating lunch on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial one Spring day. Its always crowded with sight seers and folks jogging on their lunch break. There is a heavy layer of pollen on the reflecting pool and the wind just happened to blow it to a corner to concentrate it. All of sudden my Dad hears a large splash. He thought it was a big bass (they were in there and probably still are) busting the surface, only to look up and see a dude emerging from the reflecting pool spitting out water. A jogger not really paying attention, decides during his runner high, the pollen is indeed grass and cut the corner not realizing he green was pollen. My Dad said the reflecting pool crowd thought it was one of the funniest things they ever saw.

[Nate Riley]

My kids really enjoyed the International Spy Museum. Its pretty fun.

Its a bit of a hike, but the NRA Museum is in Fairfax. Plus do everything everyone else said! LOL

[bboswell]

If you were to find yourself going to Washington DC this summer for vacation what are some must do things you would do. Capital, Lincoln memorial, Tomb of the unknow solider and Smithsonian are for sure on list, but is there anything off the beaten path you would recommend.

I made that trip in high school and did just what you mentioned

[Drycreek3189]

I don’t think they let you enjoy the 2nd Amendment there, so no. Have a good time !

[curtintex]

It is a great place to visit and so many awesome things to see have already been covered, but I'm going to change your life..... Go eat atFilomena's Ristorante in Georgetown. Best Italian food I've ever had and a great atmosphere.

https://www.filomena.com/

[Erin]

Trip is booked and we are working on final details. I've gotten mixed reports of renting a car vs public transportation and Uber. We are staying close to the White House and it looks like a lot we can walk to a lot of things, but I know there will end up being more walking than I am anticipating and that's already a lot. I think we can handle most of the sites without a car other than Mount Vernon, but is that reasonable?

We put in a request for the White House tour and got approved so I'm pretty excited about that. I had read not to expect to get passes since spots are limited. Our whole family enjoys history and museums so I think this will be an enjoyable trip. Now we are just praying for good weather there and here. Last year's trip was to Montana & Wyoming and a little hurricane hit Houston while we were chasing wildlife.

[Bowtech Lefty]

We went last year. The Holocaust museum was amazing. My favorite was going to Mount Vernon for the day. The Zoo was really cool and they have a new Panda exhibit. They weren't there last year when we were there. Admission was free if I recall correctly. We walked everwhere and uberred to the further spots Have a great trip!

[rockyraider]

Trip is booked and we are working on final details. I've gotten mixed reports of renting a car vs public transportation and Uber. We are staying close to the White House and it looks like a lot we can walk to a lot of things, but I know there will end up being more walking than I am anticipating and that's already a lot. I think we can handle most of the sites without a car other than Mount Vernon, but is that reasonable?

We put in a request for the White House tour and got approved so I'm pretty excited about that. I had read not to expect to get passes since spots are limited. Our whole family enjoys history and museums so I think this will be an enjoyable trip. Now we are just praying for good weather there and here. Last year's trip was to Montana & Wyoming and a little hurricane hit Houston while we were chasing wildlife.

We are going to DC in May, like May 20ish, can't remember the exact days. When did you submit for the WH tour? I submitted our request over a month ago and we got denied. Capital tour was offered but no WH tours avail. per the email we got.

[Mayhem]

We are going to DC in May, like May 20ish, can't remember the exact days. When did you submit for the WH tour? I submitted our request over a month ago and we got denied. Capital tour was offered but no WH tours avail. per the email we got.

Just a few days ago. Maybe it depends on who your congressman is.