Denise, we haven't yet received our WH tour tickets. They tell me they're not released until two weeks before the tour date. Our earliest possible tour date is still three weeks away. We have been scheduled to tour the US Capitol, the Library of Congress, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing so far. The only other tours we requested are the White House and the Supreme Court. I expect those will come through within the next week or two. We're also invited to a Meet & Greet "Constituent Coffee" with one of our Senators. That'll be fun.
I did buy SmartTrip cards in advance, preloaded with enough money for several days' worth of trips. We'll be there ten days, and will watch the totals and add more money if needed. Someone commented about no need to buy ahead of time. I think they need to be advance purchased so you have time to set up an account, so you can reload the card from your computer. Either way, I don't want to run into any snags with subway fares.
We're being cautioned not to overplan things. I completely agree, and I'm not looking to pack the itinerary any further. These tours are the only things we're firmly committing to (plus a weekend trip down to Charlottesville to tour Monticello. Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park is a great side trip.) Some things will not be missed - I'm waiting to buy Ford's Theater tickets until I know the times of these other tours. I don't want to cross myself up and schedule two things at the same time.
The rest of our DC time will be taken as it happens. I've made a list of the Smithsonian Museums and their locations, and a few other things we plan to visit (like Arlington Cemetery, and the monuments on the Arlington side of the Potomac.) We want to do a few paid things, that are on the "if we have time" list - the Newseum and National Geographic Museum, for example. We know there will be no shortage of things to do.
Unfortunately, something we wanted to do may not be available - now that the Washington Monument has reopened, all the advance reservation tickets are gone until dates well after our trip. So unless I can get same-day tickets one day, we may not be able to go up into the monument. But that's okay. I already know this won't be the last trip to DC - there is just too much to see and do.
We're very excited about this trip. Can you tell?
Dave