Guidebook advice for Maryland, Virginia & Washington DC

torbrex

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

thanks for that.

The last time I went to DC was pre-terrorism and I imagine that a lot of the freedoms that I enjoyed will have been severely curtailed e.g tours of the Hoover Building, tours of the Pentagon).
Our plan for Washington was for staying outside the city, driving to the outskirts after rushhour, using the Metro, going home before evening rushhour and then driving in at night to see the Statue & Monuments lit up (remembering the Korean War Memorial at night still sends a shiver down my spine).

The walking tour idea sounds ideal - we took a walking tour of Annapolis a few years ago and it was great fun.

DC is not to bad for restrictions post terrorism, The White House and Pentagon needed 24 hours pre-booking (with passport) when I was there but everything else was still open daily though will be busy at peak times. The Monument, Mint and Holocaust museum do tend to get long lines for tickets.

Can I suggest rather than go out to get the car, just stay in the city and get the Metro out after dark, it would save the double journey and driving (and parking) can still be difficult anywhere near The Mall.

I stayed in Arlington during my trip (near the Iwo Jima Monument) and regulary got the last train back and never saw any trouble.
I took in a ballgame at the Nationals and with them playing well this year it might be more difficult to get good seats at short notice but it is a really good park with plenty of stuff for youngsters to get involved in.

Murphy_The_Cat

torbrex wrote: »

DC is not to bad for restrictions post terrorism, The White House and Pentagon needed 24 hours pre-booking (with passport) when I was there but everything else was still open daily though will be busy at peak times. The Monument, Mint and Holocaust museum do tend to get long lines for tickets.

Can I suggest rather than go out to get the car, just stay in the city and get the Metro out after dark, it would save the double journey and driving (and parking) can still be difficult anywhere near The Mall.

I stayed in Arlington during my trip (near the Iwo Jima Monument) and regulary got the last train back and never saw any trouble.
I took in a ballgame at the Nationals and with them playing well this year it might be more difficult to get good seats at short notice but it is a really good park with plenty of stuff for youngsters to get involved in.

Hi Torbrex

Unfortunately my DC was over a year ago, but some of the stuff is still fairly fresh in my mind. I fancied going to the Pentagon, but I was put off by having to apply via the US Embassy, likewise going to the White House didn't seem to be so straightforward. Sadly tours of the Hoover Building ar now a no-no as well.
We followed your advice on using the Metro and it worked well for us - the exception being going to see the War Memorials at night, as they were a fair hike for little legs to/from the Metro.

Ref the Baseball, we went to the Dunedin BlueJays this year(a Minor Leagues feeder team for the Toronto Blue Jays and had a great time. $6 for adults & the children were free.)

torbrex

Sorry Murph
I did not realise it was an old thread that had been ressurected

Murphy_The_Cat

torbrex wrote: »

Sorry Murph
I did not realise it was an old thread that had been ressurected

no worries

the ideas & experiences from both of us are still relevant:beer:

cubegame

I looked at this one because we're hoping to do a road trip starting in DC in the Autumn.

Seems that some have suggested they visited the White House? I was under the impression it was off limits to UK citizens as the Embassy have to apply for you and they've stopped doing it.

Is that the case?

neilbond007

Thanks MTC.

The young uns won't be an issue. They're little angels. And when they aren't they're the other halfs problem

We're looking at the Embassy Suites Tysons corner. It's $275 for 3 nights. Bargain! We'll go to the Metro that's close by to get in to town. The Homewood at Dulles looks excellent, but the Friday / Sat night is $82, the Sunday night $175!!

At Virginia Beach, well, Chesapeake we're stopping at a Homewood Sunday - Thursday. Free food and beer at night. Saves any meltdowns at restaurants!

Cheers

Neil

Murphy_The_Cat

neilbond007 wrote: »

Thanks MTC.

The young uns won't be an issue. They're little angels. And when they aren't they're the other halfs problem

We're looking at the Embassy Suites Tysons corner. It's $275 for 3 nights. Bargain! We'll go to the Metro that's close by to get in to town. The Homewood at Dulles looks excellent, but the Friday / Sat night is $82, the Sunday night $175!!

At Virginia Beach, well, Chesapeake we're stopping at a Homewood Sunday - Thursday. Free food and beer at night. Saves any meltdowns at restaurants!

Cheers

Neil

Ouch, there must be something 'big' going on.
As per yoour suggestion from the other year, Homewoods are now my fisrt port of call when I'm looking for accomodation in the US, as I believe the Value For Money that they offer is excellant. However, whenever I 'talk them up' on here, people don't seem to interested in considering them c'est la vie.

Just a quick thought for you, do you have any HHonours points to use ? I've just had a quick shuftie and its only 30000 points to stay at the Dulles Homewood

jackieblack

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

As per yoour suggestion from the other year, Homewoods are now my fisrt port of call when I'm looking for accomodation in the US, as I believe the Value For Money that they offer is excellant. However, whenever I 'talk them up' on here, people don't seem to interested in considering them c'est la vie.

We've booked a Homewood Suites (in Princeton) for the last night of our trip this year - we've never stayed in one before but if Murphy_The_Cat and neilbond007 think they're ok we're happy to give them a try

Murphy_The_Cat

jackieblack wrote: »

We've booked a Homewood Suites (in Princeton) for the last night of our trip this year - we've never stayed in one before but if Murphy_The_Cat and neilbond007 think they're ok we're happy to give them a try

Be sure to enrol onto the HHonors scheme, as its a very generous 'frequent stayer' scheme (they'll also let you Doubl Dip your points and give you Air Miles as well, if that is wahat you prefer).
If you're staying Mon-Thur you'll also get a free evening meal plus wine/beer thrown in with the price. I'm not going to pretend that its high quality restauarnt food, its more similar to a bar meal, but it will be plentiful, tasty and it will hit the spot. :beer:

jackieblack

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

Be sure to enrol onto the HHonors scheme, as its a very generous 'frequent stayer' scheme (they'll also let you Doubl Dip your points and give you Air Miles as well, if that is wahat you prefer).

Already done

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

If you're staying Mon-Thur you'll also get a free evening meal plus wine/beer thrown in with the price. I'm not going to pretend that its high quality restauarnt food, its more similar to a bar meal, but it will be plentiful, tasty and it will hit the spot. :beer:

It's a Saturday