Planning our second trip to D.C! Things not to miss?

[Miss Marty]

Easter Monday 2016


Breaking News...

A boat with multiple passengers on board has capsized in Washington Channel on the D.C. Winds in the area gusted as high as 40 mph Monday afternoon, Storm Team4 said

 

[Denise L]

Really, really windy today. I was just telling my son that they wouldn't be taking any river cruises today!

We were supposed to have our U.S. Capitol Tour today at 3:20. Took the 2:18 Yellow Line to L'Enfant Plaza and transferred to the Blue Line and got off at Capitol South. Then noticed all of the police out in full force so obviously there would be no tour today. Had to improvise and took the Circulator to the Jefferson Memorial and walked to FDR and MLK Jr. Memorials. So windy, so many cherry blossoms.

Back at OTA now to decompress before thinking about dinner. Yesterday, we went to the Newseum which was okay. Something different, but I wasn't impressed. The good news was that it wasn't crowded at all.

 

[Miss Marty]

Denise L - Have a wonderful time in Washington DC & OTA


Alexandria, Virginia:

Use your phone for a self-guided tour around the city
dial 703.229.8632 and use a map to key in numbered
locations for a narrated tour of city sites.

 

[Miss Marty]

Exciting Easter week in DC for Cherry Blossom Tourists


The Washington Monument was closed Tuesday
afternoon after an elevator stopped with people inside.

About 40 people were stuck - 19 on the elevator and another 23 on the observation deck - when the elevator broke around 3 p.m. Tuesday. They all walked down the 897 stairs, officials said. No one was injured in the incident.

The Washington Monument Reopened Wednesday

 

[Miss Marty]

Washington Monument Tickets may be obtained by either of two methods.


Free Tickets:

The Washington Monument Lodge, located along 15th Street, opens at 8:30 a.m. for distribution of free, same day, timed tickets on a first-come first-served basis. One person may obtain up to six tickets as well as request their preferred ticket time. All visitors (including children ages 2+) must have a ticket to enter the Washington Monument.

Though Washington Monument tickets are free; reservation and mailing services are available through Recreation.gov for a fee; these fees are NON-REFUNDABLE.

These tickets may be picked up at the “will call” window of the Washington Monument Lodge on the day of your tour. Tickets are available 3 months in advance of the date you are requesting. Availability is limited.

Order advance tickets online or call 1.877.444.6777 for
individual tickets or 1.877.559.6777 for group reservations.

There is a $1.50 service charge per ticket.

 

[Miss Marty]

The New Ford's Theatre Visitor Experience

Denise L

How did you like Ford`s Theater, Museum and Peterson House?

I am looking at tickets to Ford's Theater, Mount Vernon, and the Newseum right now. What tour is a good tour at Ford's Theater? It looks like I have to buy them via Ticketmaster and for some reason the prices aren't loading. Some tours come with the theater walkthrough and some don't. They appear to be self-guided, or are there ranger-led tours also? Do you recommend that we purchase the audio component? I brought up Ticketmaster with another browser and it lists prices of $10.25 with audio and a ranger-led talk in the theater.

FORD`S THEATER DC

The site of the April 14, 1865, assassination of President Lincoln,
Ford's Theatre holds a unique place in United States history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8BkxY19t6c

 

[Denise L]

Denise L

How did you like Ford`s Theater, Museum and Peterson House?



FORD`S THEATER DC

The site of the April 14, 1865, assassination of President Lincoln,
Ford's Theatre holds a unique place in United States history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8BkxY19t6c

Our tour of Ford's Theatre was yesterday at 11:00 AM. Quite a crowd with timed entry tickets lining up outside. We got there early, so waited 15 minutes. The museum was interesting. We purchased tickets online ahead of time, and they included the audio guide. I didn't think they allow enough time to go through the museum with the audio before you need to go into the theater to sit down. You can spend a few extra minutes in the museum, but then you can't take any photos in the theater and it may be hard to find a seat. "One Man's Destiny" was a 30-35 minute one act play. The first actor was hard to hear and there were sound issues (crackling) at first, so it started off confusing and then it got slightly better. If people in the audience cough or sneeze or cry, you can't hear the actors. It was okay. I got a little bored during the show due to not being able to hear the actors. Then after the show, you walk across the street and stand in line to see the Petersen House. That was okay, and there are more museum things to look at there. I wish we would have had more time, but my daughter and I had to rush off to Georgetown for a doctor appointment.

I think it was a neat theater. I think that the museum had a lot of great historical information. I think it was too crowded and there wasn't enough time allotted per group to tour properly. I paid $16 per person, probably wouldn't pay for the audio again, though it was nice to have if we would have had more time. Disappointed in the show, but it wasn't awful.

 

[DaveNV]

I think it was a neat theater. I think that the museum had a lot of great historical information. I think it was too crowded and there wasn't enough time allotted per group to tour properly. I paid $16 per person, probably wouldn't pay for the audio again, though it was nice to have if we would have had more time. Disappointed in the show, but it wasn't awful.

When we were there it was packed with kids on a field trip from local schools. Impossible to see anything in the museum. So after the theater show ended, we asked a Ranger if we could go back into the museum. They let us, and we were able to take our time to see what we wanted to see. It was much nicer.

Dave

 

[Denise L]

So these are the things we ended up doing in D.C. for the week:

Sunday: Newseum (not crowded on Easter and no school tours, interesting but not fantastic)

Monday: Planned, but canceled U.S. Capitol Tour (due to gunman from TN). Improvised by hopping on the Circulator bus and visited Jefferson Memorial, FDR Memorial, and MLK Jr. Memorial. Tons of cherry blossoms everywhere! Drove to dinner in Arlington, then to U.S. Marine Corps Memorial/Iwo Jima Memorial at night (really beautiful!)

Tuesday: Natural History Museum (too crowded), Air and Space Museum (too crowded), U.S. Botanical Gardens, National Art Gallery (east wing, west wing was closed for renovation)

Wednesday: National Postal Museum (quiet, nice), attempted Lincoln Memorial at night but could not find adequate parking so drove around monuments instead

Thursday: Ford's Theatre tour, doctor visit with DD in Georgetown and good test of our Metro skills, DH and DS went to Smithsonian Castle and Freer Gallery of Art

Friday: National Archives docent tour, Arlington Cemetery with tram/trolley tour

Saturday: Udvar-Hazy Space Center, and antique shops in Maryland

Our weekly SmarTrip cards worked well for $36 each . We only went over 5-10 cents each so still have a small balance on each card. Ended up keeping the rental car and used it to pick up pizza, drive to the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial and Arlington at night, and to drive to Udvar-Hazy and Maryland on our last day before flying home. Put 130 miles on the car.

OTA was great, love the location and the staff is super nice and friendly.

No plans to go back with the kids again, I think they have had enough of museums and touring, but I would love to go back to see Mt. Vernon and other sights that they were not interested in.

 

[Big Matt]

Great trip. I think you got a lot out of it. Mount Vernon would have been worth it. It was probably in the top two or three things you should have seen. There's always next time.

Also, DC is great as a married couple without kids. You can really hit some good restaurants and goof off in general.

 

[DaveNV]

OTA was great, love the location and the staff is super nice and friendly.

No plans to go back with the kids again, I think they have had enough of museums and touring, but I would love to go back to see Mt. Vernon and other sights that they were not interested in.

Now you know why we're going back as well. We saw plenty two years ago, but there was still so much more to be seen. Added bonus: My brother and his new wife are gong to fly in and stay with us the last three days of our trip, so we can give them a quick tour of the monuments and such. I had the pleasure of officiating their wedding in Hawaii last year, and this visit happens to be over their first anniversary. I can't imagine a better city to spend a wedding anniversary, or two people with whom I'd rather help to celebrate it.

Dave