Must Do's and Sees While in Washington, DC, our Nation's Capital!!!

[+ Axiom2001]

In August I plan to be in Washington, D.C. to participate in the unveiling and the opening of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Mall, the only land in this area that is being dedicated to an individual who was not a president of this country.

 

Although I've been to W,DC previously in the 90s and once in the 70s--there is so much that I have yet to experience. I've never been to the Smithsonian Institute or to the Veit Nam Vets' Memorial Wall.

 

So, from you, my fellow "cyberfriends" and posters-- list what you deem pertinent that I do during my four days minus being at the MLKJr. event!!! Thanks to you in advance!!!!!!

[+ deej]

You could easily spend four days just on the various museums of the Smithsonian. The National Archives is generally a good bet as well. Check with your hotel's concierge when you get there to find that week's hot attraction. The town is packed with museums and exhibits and the hotel people will know what's hot.

 

August in DC can be brutal. Plan any outdoor activities for very early in the day, before the heat and humidity fully settles in. Start at the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial around daybreak and take the short stroll from there to the Lincoln Memorial (great views, all the way 'round).

 

With only four days, I wouldn't bother with the White House, the Washington Monument or the Capitol just because of the time you'll spend standing in line.

 

There will likely be a tropical downpour from 2pm to 4pm so that's a good time to retire to your hotel for a little disco nap.

 

One of my favorite things to do in DC is just walk and people watch. Stroll the mall, around the tidal basin to the Jefferson Memorial, etc. -- but not in August.

[KMEM]

Wimp.

 

Best regards,

KMEM

[instudiocity]

If you're going to DC in August, go to the grocery store and pick up some Stay-Free Minipads. They are sanitary napkins with an adhesive border all around the edges. Apply one to each armpit, one to the small of your back, and one in your jockstrap. Oh, and it's so humid, you'll only want a jockstrap underneath your shorts. And don't plan to go commando, you could chafe yourself.

 

Ah, DC in August, take a shower, dry off, then dry off again!

[+ deej]

Wimp.

 

Experienced.

 

I lived there for 10 years.

[+ Axiom2001]

deej, thanks for your salient advice. My post could have DONE without the other two! I am NOT in need of cutesy facetiousness! The humidity situation has been noted!!!!!

[instudiocity]

deej, thanks for your salient advice. My post could have DONE without the other two! I am NOT in need of cutesy facetiousness! The humidity situation has been noted!!!!!

Ok, not so facetiously,

 

See: Vietnam Mem, Lincoln Mem, WWII Mem, Jefferson Mem, Air & Space Mus*, American History Mus*, National Archives, new Capital Visitor Center underground on East side of Capital, Supreme Court Building, Jefferson Building of Library of Congress, Corcoran Gallery, Georgetown University, National Cathedral, Union Station

 

Eat: Sam & Harry's Steakhouse in Georgetown. Happy Hour at The Monocle, between Union Station and Capital, Old Ebbet's Grill across 15th Street from Treasury (Clint Eastwood's Piano Bar in "In the Line of Fire".

 

*They are on the Mall and part of the Smithsonian Institution

[cany10011]

The holocaust museum was particularly moving for someone who didn't grow up nor has lost anyone in the war. I think the lessons it teaches can be applied universally and was a moving tribute to all those who perished.

 

 

 

deej, thanks for your salient advice. My post could have DONE without the other two! I am NOT in need of cutesy facetiousness! The humidity situation has been noted!!!!!

[instudiocity]

deej, thanks for your salient advice. My post could have DONE without the other two! I am NOT in need of cutesy facetiousness! The humidity situation has been noted!!!!!

FYI, my neighbor, a native Southern Californian attended an August wedding in DC. I told him the Stay Free Mini Pad joke and when he returned he added the part about "and one in your jockstrap!"

[+ deej]

The holocaust museum was particularly moving for someone who didn't grow up nor has lost anyone in the war. I think the lessons it teaches can be applied universally and was a moving tribute to all those who perished.

 

Thanks for including that! It was under construction when I moved away from the area, and subsequent visits have been too packed to include it but people I trust describe it much the way you do. Very much on the Want To Visit list!

[Diverdan]

The humidity can be brutal, but I have been in DC in August when it was pleasant. Axiom, you might want to check out Dave and see if he is available when you are there. He can give you a great massage after a day of walking around. I basically agree with everything Instudiocity has said about the memorials and the various buildings. If you plan ahead, you can get your Senator or Congressman (especiall if they are a Democrat) to get you a pass for the White House Tour, and you can skip the lines. It is definitely worth it and try to get an early morning tour when they first open. If Congress is in session, use the same request to your Congressman or Senator to get passes to the visitors gallery for both chambers. It will probably be boring, but the sense of being in the Capital is wonderful. Be sure to visit the offices of your two Senators and Congressman. Their staff are young, very good looking and very knowledgable of the latest "hot spots" of every kind are in the City. Be sure to visit the Dupont Circle area for local eye candy, great bars and restaurants and the friendly gay and non-gay residents there. Be sure to see the Kennedy Center, and if anything is playing there, take it in. You can also eat in the roof top restaurant (cheaper at lunch than dinner) with some magnificient views of the City. Likewise, the bar at the top of the "W" hotel is great for its views and eye candy of both sexes. Great Seafood at The Oceanaire, although it is a bit pricy, but you will see the power brokers there, as well as at the Capital Grill, a well known steak house. For friendly fare, check out Annie's, which was the site of the Hooville DC brunch earlier this year. Have a good time, you will never cover everything, but you can see a lot in four days and nights, if you don't want to sleep much!!!!!

[Guest DuchessIvanaKizznhugg]

I totally agree with the assessment of the Holocaust Museum. I can honestly say that I left the building a changed person. I had known many of the facts, but the method of display in the museum is outstanding. The video stories by survivors, which you come upon at the end of the "tour" were a perfect way to let sink in the total horror and senselessness of it all.

Amazing.

 

For something to refresh the spirit, a visit to the U.S. Botanic Gardens, on the Mall next door to Congress is hard to beat. Website link here.

 

If you are at all interested in the decorative arts, I recommend:

 

-a visit to Marjorie Merriweather Post's final home, Hillwood.

Wow. She liked to collect, and she liked to share it. See what all those Alphabits and Honeycomb you ate as a kid helped to pay for. She was an astute collector....only the best would do!! The gardens, too, should be in full bloom.

A (16 minute) video intro to the museum here and website link here.

 

-Anderson House, in the Dupont Circle area, is quite the mansion built in the early 1900's and in its time was THE PLACE to score an invitation to. It was also used a couple of times to house visiting royalty to the US. Now the home of the Society of the Cincinnati, there is lots to amaze. Website link here

 

-the Harry Winston Gem Gallery at the (Smithsonian)National Museum of Natural History is worth a peek. I'm not a big fan of wandering endlessly through museums. I'm better with having an agenda, seeing what I want, and moving on. This museum is on the mall, so it's a handy side tour to something else if you're down that way. Website here.

 

 

I hope there are some things of interest here.

In any event, have yourself a great trip. It's a wonderful sight-seeing city.

 

 

[Kevin Slater]

The East Wing of the National Gallery has some amazing modern and contemporary art, and the structure itself, designed by I. M. Pei, is breathtaking.

 

If you stay in Dupont, the Phillips Collection is a rarity in DC: a private gallery but with a wonderful collection. Well worth the visit.

 

The Vietnam Memorial, especially if viewed at night, is very moving.

 

And the Crew Club is a pretty fun sex club.

 

Kevin Slater

[KMEM]

Axiom2001-

 

Sorry you took offense at my "climate" remark. We who live in the South know how to deal with humidity and heat. However, if I were going to DC for 4 days, I would spend it all split between the Air & Space Museum in the Smithsonian and the Udvar-Hazy museum at IAD (Dulles International Airport). 4 days would not be nearly enough time for me to do justice to those two but at least one would be inside and not out in the "awful" weather.

 

Best regards,

KMEM

[+ dupontversDC]

And don't forget some entertainment at night. Secrets features a ton of fully nude dancers. Well worth a visit.

[wild2east]

A few more places to consider:

 

- Have a drink at the roof top bar at the W hotel - used to be Hotel Washington - on 15th Street, NW. You'll get to see the roofline of the Treasury Building, the White House, and beyond!

- Buy a ticket to one of those hop-on, hop-off tour trollies that will take you to near and further out spots, such as Mt. Vernon (George Washington's spread by the Potomac River), and save you some serious sweating;

- Eat like a local and grab a steak at Annie's Paramount Steakhouse on 17th Street NW between Q and R. It's been there for over 30 years faithfully serving the Gayborhood;

- Partake a play at one of the excellent local theaters - Woolly Mammoth, Studio Theater, Shakespeare Theater (there a two of them!) and Arena Stage are all walk/metro accessible, and discounted tickets are often available through either Ticketplace.org or Goldstar;

- Go underground and visit the Smithsonian African & Asian museums. Not only do they have excellent collections, they are nice and COOL and underground;

- Check and see if you will happen upon the Smithsonian Folklife Festival? Usually planned for the hottest days of summer, this outdoor festival on the Mall feature different cultures around the US and the globe each year;

- Have a half-smoke hotdog at Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street NW between 12th and 14th Street - a survivor of the 60's riot, and still going in the newly gentrified gayborhood.

 

Finally, be ware that you will be in the company of THOUSANDS of tourists by bus, school bus, tour bus, all sorts of buses! So don't get trampled by the maddening stampedes!

 

Finally a caution

[+ Travis69]

Don't take the tour of the Capital. Even with special tickets you stand in line after line. You can barely understand what the tour guide is saying with all the noise. You can hit the new museum under the Capital, go across the street to the Lib. of Congress, and next door see the Supreme Court. Easy access to all and won't take more than 1 hour total. Hillwood estate is very interesting as is Anderson House for a taste of old Washington money. Be careful late at night on the Mall. They have had problems in past summers with muggings.

[+ ArVaGuy]

There are plenty of excellent suggestions here. I've been taking friends and co-workers around DC for years now and have made a list of a few of my favorite places to take people.

 

Other sites to consider:

 

Albert Einstein Monument - near National Academy of Sciences and the State Department. One of the best photo ops in town. You can climb up and sit in Albert's lap for one really cool pic.

 

The Fairfax Hotel - in Dupont Circle on Mass Ave near Anderson House. The significance of this location is that it is Al Gore, Jr.'s boyhood home. The hotel was owned by his uncle and Al spent more time here than living in TN.

 

The Embassy of Indonesia - also in Dupont Circle and next to the Fairfax Hotel. This was the home of Eleanor Walsh McLean, owner of the Hope Diamond. This mansion is one of my favorite buildings in the city.

 

Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle - Connecticut and M Street NW. Why list a Catholic church as a place to see? One reason is that it was the place where John F. Kennedy's funeral mass was held. Fine example of Romanesque design.

 

The Exorcist Stairs - in Georgetown located at 36th and Prospect Street is the house used for the exteriors for the movie. The bottom of the stairs on Canal Road/M Street is the location shot where the priest exits the taxi in the movie.

 

Dumbarton Oaks - Georgetown located 32nd and R Street NW. The United Nations Charter was signed here in 1946. Fine collection of Pre-Columbian Art in the Americas as well.

 

Congressional Cemetery and Rock Creek Cemetery - Capitol Hill must see if you really have time. Stop by J. Edgar Hoover's grave and Clyde Tolson's at Congressional and you can also find the resting place of Leonard Matlovich his epitaph: "When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one." In Rock Creek check out the Augustus Saint-Gauden's sculpture called "Grief" commissioned by a descendant of John Adams.

 

Orlando Letelier Memorial Marker - Sheridan Circle / Dupont Circle border. In 1976 agents of the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet assassinated Letelier with a car bomb in broad daylight. Interesting site to see and one most tourists miss while looking at the stately homes and embassies.

 

The Woodrow Wilson House - Embassy Row on at 24th and S Street NW. Great museum and fascinating insight on one of the most complex men to hold the office of President. Stop by the Textile Museum next door as well.

 

I could go on and on with plenty of places to see that are off the normal tourist track. Just make sure you have a pair of very comfortable shoes. LOL

[instudiocity]

Axiom2001 you just need to rake ArVaGuy

[+ ArVaGuy]

Axiom2001 you just need to rake ArVaGuy

 

ROFLMAO!!

 

Thanks Instudiocity.

 

I left off one other place to see.

 

The Sonny Bono Memorial at the intersection of New Hampshire, 20th, and O Streets near Dupont Cirlcle. I'm not sure if Cher has ever visited the small park or not but it's worth a couple of minutes just to say you've been there.

[Guest Wetnwildbear]

In August I plan to be in Washington, D.C. to participate in the unveiling and the opening of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Mall, the only land in this area that is being dedicated to an individual who was not a president of this country.

 

Although I've been to W,DC previously in the 90s and once in the 70s--there is so much that I have yet to experience. I've never been to the Smithsonian Institute or to the Veit Nam Vets' Memorial Wall.

 

 

Defintely echo the sentiment on seeing the Holocaust Museum - Not a Happy - But a Powerful Moving Experience that makes you value

 

your own personal humanity and question that of others. If you have time the 1/2 day (sorta) shuttle out to Thomas Jefferson's home

 

Monticello the trip is well worth the time -

 

Truly an amazing man of vision, insatiable intellect, and other appetites (ahem). And of course an

 

evening/happy hour in Georgetown is a must - Get your palm and your beads read -see the powerful and infamous chow down just like

 

mere mortals! Nothing more frightening than watching Newt Gingrich power through a rack of Ribs at Houston's while still talking

 

continuosuly - If I had children with me they would have been traumatized for life! I know I was . . .

[OneFinger]

Totally agree with the Holocaust exhibit.

 

The Spy Museum is another must see.

 

I really like the Korean War Memorial but recommend that you see it at night with the special lighting. It's close to the Lincoln Memorial which is another must see. Note that Lincoln's hands are positioned with the sign language letters "A" and "L".

[+ deej]

I've been taking friends and co-workers around DC for years now and have made a list of a few of my favorite places to take people.

 

I remember it well. One of the unique "pleasures" of living in the DC area is the steady parade of friends/relatives who expect a free tour guide. Relatives you haven't heard from in decades (or never knew you had) come to visit for a week and they want you to take them around.

 

It actually is sorta fun. You end up finding things you might not actually otherwise see just because you're bored seeing the usual things. Fortunately, there's a never-ending supply.

[+ Axiom2001]

Men, I am so glad that I posted what I did. ALL of you have been great; thus I can do a preliminary itinerary and send it to a friend who will also be there during the same time. I sincerely thank all! Ax-

[+ azdr0710]

I'll be there on a personal vacation next month, shrewdly avoiding the cherry blossom festival time (not into that).....I like local dives for breakfast and lunch - good food, mostly locals, no atmosphere, unchanged decor, coffee cup kept full, waitresses that call you "hun"....any suggestions for that?.....how about a good ol' soup, salad, sandwich joint?.....casual and not mentioned in the guide books is good!.....

 

I like to walk a lot....any neighborhoods besides the apparently ultra-hip Adams-Morgan 'hood that are nice for walking thru?.....also, I plan to walk the tow path for several miles, or is that a mistake?....would going to Secrets alone be really stupid?....what is some protocol when going to a place like that?....thanks

 

and thanks a lot for all the previous suggestions...appreciate it