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Grex > Agora46 > #166: visiting Washington, DC -- need tips | |
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| 25 new of 72 responses total. |
goose
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response 25 of 72:
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Aug 22 15:56 UTC 2003 |
Take the FBI tour, your kid will love it. Assuming it's still going on,
as the last time I was in DC was pre-9/11.
Air and Space Museum is also a great place for Jr., as many have pointed out.
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tod
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response 26 of 72:
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Aug 22 15:59 UTC 2003 |
This response has been erased.
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mary
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response 27 of 72:
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Aug 23 00:24 UTC 2003 |
The FBI tours are no more.
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russ
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response 28 of 72:
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Aug 23 03:48 UTC 2003 |
Air and Space is way cool, though the dedicated geek is going to
want to linger longer over each exhibit than a 6-yr-old would.
(I can't imagine many people taking detailed pictures of the U-2
the way I did, or staring in awe at one of Goddard's own creations.)
Natural History is pretty neat too; the mineral exhibit has all kinds
of shiny and sparkly things, and then there are the insect and mammal
sections.
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gelinas
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response 29 of 72:
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Aug 23 04:11 UTC 2003 |
(It occurs to me that the Sunset Parades probably end at Labor Day. But the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded year 'round.)
The Museum of Natural History is the place to look for dinosaurs.
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jep
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response 30 of 72:
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Aug 23 13:09 UTC 2003 |
Right, I did some more checking on-line, and found that the Museum of
Natural History has a whole section about dinosaurs. We'll definitely
be going there!
The Smithsonian doesn't charge for admission., The National Zoo
doesn't charge. What a concept!
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goose
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response 31 of 72:
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Aug 23 14:59 UTC 2003 |
Oh you pay admission....every April 15....;-)
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bru
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response 32 of 72:
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Aug 26 15:13 UTC 2003 |
The National Cathedral is a nice place to go.
And the one place I want to go, adn you should go if you are an aircraft fan,
is Silver Hill. It is part of the National Air and Space Museum.
http://www.nasm.si.edu/nasm/garber/direc.html
http://www.nasm.si.edu/nasm/ext/status.htm
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at the Dulles International Airport, VA. is the
new facility they are going to open in December. This will have the Enola
Gay on dispaly along with many of the other aircraft as tehy get moved in over
the next few years.
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jep
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response 33 of 72:
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Aug 26 16:34 UTC 2003 |
I'm not an aircraft fan, but my son is. Thanks!
Why visit the National Cathedral?
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albaugh
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response 34 of 72:
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Aug 26 16:36 UTC 2003 |
If you are at all in seeing really, REALLY big churches, that would be why.
You aren't going to see them that big unless you go to Europe. If that
interests you (not likely to interest a kid), you could also drive out to see
the National Shrine, whether you're Catholic or not.
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polygon
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response 35 of 72:
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Aug 27 23:13 UTC 2003 |
Taxicabs in DC are extremely cheap compared to other cities. They have
a zone system, so the cabs have a map instead of a meter. In other words,
there is a set fee for traveling from any point in zone 1 to any point
in zone 2. Or within a zone. Zone 1 includes the Capitol and major
tourist destinations.
My favorite monument in DC is the Einstein Memorial. It's on the grounds
of the National Academy of Sciences, just across the street from the
north end of the Vietnam war memorial. It features a much larger than
life size statue of Einstein, wearing jeans and sandals and a rumpled
old sweater, sitting on a circular patio which doubles as a star chart,
with little metal nubs of different sizes indicating stars of different
magnitudes. It's surrounded by trees and shrubbery, so you follow a
little path to get in and come upon it all of a sudden.
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cmcgee
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response 36 of 72:
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Aug 28 00:10 UTC 2003 |
Aren't there some Really Big Diamonds and such, like the Hope Diamond, at the
Museum of Natural History mineral exhibit?
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gelinas
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response 37 of 72:
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Aug 28 03:28 UTC 2003 |
Last I heard, the Hope Diamond was visible at the Museum of Natural History.
I kind of doubt they've sold or lent it.
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klg
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response 38 of 72:
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Aug 28 16:22 UTC 2003 |
(Was that before or after the Clinton administration left town?)
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jep
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response 39 of 72:
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Aug 29 02:30 UTC 2003 |
How much does a taxi ride cost if you're going, say, 2 miles to your
hotel? Or 5 miles? Can you give any examples, Larry?
I don't think John knows what a diamond is, other than a hard rock.
Maybe I'd be surprised, though. I'll have to remember to ask him.
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polygon
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response 40 of 72:
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Aug 29 14:29 UTC 2003 |
I haven't been to Washington in several years, but I remember the taxi
fares being surprisingly low compared to taxi fares in Ann Arbor or
Lansing. The absence of a meter makes it a different experience: the
driver gets no extra money from going out of the way or dawdling.
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oval
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response 41 of 72:
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Aug 29 15:43 UTC 2003 |
..and room for haggling!
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jep
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response 42 of 72:
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Sep 3 03:47 UTC 2003 |
I've been bopping around sites such as orbitz.com, looking to reserve
a hotel room. It's quite interesting. The prices go up and down on
orbitz.com, even if you enter the same search a 2nd time. I have no
clue, but just re-entered my search, and the lowest priced hotels
within 2-5 miles of Washington, DC jumped from $60 to $126. I've gone
through this several times. Maybe the WWW page is getting tired of me.
I've called a couple of hotels, and found their outdoor pools closed
at Labor Day, just as they would in Michigan. Oh, well, my son will
be disappointed but I'm not interested in paying $300 per night for a
hotel room so there's an indoor pool.
Aha, I just noticed something. The rates are lower if I say there are
two people. What's up with that? That's why the prices are going up
and down, anyway. I keep forgetting to check the box that says "2".
Heck with this. As soon as I find something that says it's close to
the Metro or has a shuttle, with complimentary breakfast (because it's
one less thing to fret about in the morning), and from a recognizable
national chain, with free parking...
A refrigerator can substitute for a free breakfast...
A cooler can substitute for a refrigerator...
Annd the winner is, Day's Inn of Alexandria, Virginia "a convenient 10
minute walk from the closest Metro-DC's subway system (the cleanest &
safest in the world)." (That's a definite selling point for
me; "cleanest and safest" I mean.) 'Tis done, now I can try to make
sure I see as much as I can of Washington in 4 days!
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jep
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response 43 of 72:
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Sep 3 03:52 UTC 2003 |
There's an article in the newspaper that says you can tour the White
House again starting September 16. I'll be in Washington from
September 13-18. I e-mailed my congressman's office to ask for
reservations; never heard back from them on my previous e-mail but
maybe they believe in silent service. (Heh.) You have to have
reservations from a congressperson and pass a security check. If we
get the reservations we'll worry about the security check later.
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cross
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response 44 of 72:
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Sep 3 04:38 UTC 2003 |
This response has been erased.
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klg
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response 45 of 72:
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Sep 3 16:12 UTC 2003 |
re: "#43 (jep): You have to have reservations from a congressperson
and pass a security check. If we get the reservations we'll worry
about the security check later."
According to our news source, it sounded as if the security check
occurred prior to the issuance of tickets.
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jep
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response 46 of 72:
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Sep 4 02:36 UTC 2003 |
The congressman's office sent me an e-mail; they're not sure what's
needed for the security check either. They took some information from
me and will get me tickets if they can, they said.
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edina
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response 47 of 72:
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Sep 9 18:32 UTC 2003 |
First off, to clear something up said back there, it has been my understanding
that your tax dollars DON'T support the Smithsonian - at all. Your $10 lunch
of a hot dog and fries and soda however . . . .
After having cabbed in NYC, I wish DC would go back on the meter. The problem
with zones is that the zones seem open to interpretation depending on the
driver.
And John, if you really want to get into the Air and Space Museum, I'll take
John for a few hours and give you some time there.
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jep
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response 48 of 72:
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Sep 9 19:14 UTC 2003 |
Heh. Brooke, John is fascinated with airplanes since he flew to New
Orleans a month ago. He wants to see airplanes. I want to see space
stuff. We'll need a lot of time for Air and Space!
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jep
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response 49 of 72:
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Sep 13 02:33 UTC 2003 |
I heard from my congressman's office today. They didn't have time
(due to staffing issues) to send me tickets to any of the things I'd
requested, but made reservations for me for some of them, and e-mailed
me the information I'll need. I guess I'll have to stop by the
Congressman's office to pick up the tickets I'll need.
We will be able to visit the Supreme Court and Kennedy Center on
Tuesday, and then take a US Capitol tour, then visit the Library of
Congress on Wednesday.
We don't get a White House tour. As they said, we can just do that
one later, next time we visit Washington.
The Congressman's office also recommended the Spy Museum. We'll have
to buy tickets for that, but they assured me it's well worth the
trip. Hmm, looking over their WWW page, it looks like it might be a
little old for John (they recommend it for ages 12 and up) but I'll
discuss it with him and we'll see.
I'll be back in a week! You may dread my report, which I will place
in this item, when I return.
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