OT: Capitol Hill Here I Come

I will be in our countries magnificent capitol in a few weeks and I am so excited! I will be there in a semi work related context so I won't have tons of extra time, but I still hope to see some things. If you only have limited extra time what are the must sees?

Tom and I were there a few weeks ago on vacation.  Depends on what you like.  The Smithsonians are always good - but if you don't have a lot of time you may want to pick just one to see.

Of Course Gina's out there... she's always good to see!!

Will you be having time at night?  I've always like the Trolley tour by night.  You pick it up at Union Station.  Its an awesome way to see DC at night with the lights.

I'm sure others will chime in - always a lot to do there!

The must for me has always been Arlington... We need to get back that way for another mini vaca... Have fun/

Come see me! I can meet you halfway if you'll be free for a bit on the weekend.

--gina

I fly in the morning of the 22nd which is a Sunday and leave the evening of the 25th Wednesday. I have some free time that day. I would love to meet you somewhere Gina. I believe I will be staying at the Hyatt on Capitol Hill.

Ok, we'll see what works for Sunday afternoon. Maybe Pentagon City or Crystal City right near a Metro stop or something. 

--gina

Since you are on Capitol Hill, see if the Capital still gives out  visitor's passes (you'd request them from your congressman now). 

A walking tour of the monuments, such as the the Jefferson Memorial, Washington Memorial, Teddy Roosevelt Memorial, the WWII Memorial, or the Vietnam Memorial AKA "The Wall." If you've never seen The Wall, you can't comprehend its power til you see it.  

If you like gardens, possibly the Botanical Gardens or you could simply enjoy walking the Capitol grounds, which were designed by Frederick Law Olmstead (the same fella who designed NY's Central Park and the thousands of acres around Biltmore in Asheville.

If you're into history, you might want to travel about 15 minutes to Mount Vernon, Washington's home.  Plenty there for a history or gardening buff.  OR you can drive to St. Mary's COunty, Maryland, to see Restored Historic St. Mary's City, which was founded in 1634, 140+ years before Washington's era.

If  you're into Art, consider the Phillips Museum (great Impressionists works there), the Corcoran (American Art), the National Portrait Gallery, the Freer Gallery (Asian Art), or the National Gallery of Art, which is a Smithsonian Museum. 

If you like crafts, try the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria on the River.

If you like spy thrillers, try the spy museum out toward Dulles. 

If you like boating, consider an evening boat ride on one of the tourism boats that ply the Potomoc and point out sights from the water.

traceyPQ

DH and I went last year and just did the art museums.  We hadn't been since we had little kids with us and it was nice to just be able to take our time.  Bring your walking shoes, no matter what you plan on doing.  Everything is spread out.
Time before that, there were baby pandas at the zoo and we had to go see them.