Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Political Friends Goes to Washington

It may be hard to believe, but I have never visited Washington, D.C. This October, I am going. I hope to make this the first of many visits. I love our nations history, and Washington is one of the places to really learn about that history.


I am looking for advice on the "must see" things in D.C. I am committing to going to the National Archives. Past that, I am open to suggestion. So, if you have any ideas, let me know. Thanks ahead of time for any advice.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't miss at least one of the Smithsonian museums....and maybe the Vietnam Memorial (very moving).

Kevin said...

Really depends on how long you are going. There are things you are not going to get the chance to see on this first trip.
The American History museum is not going to be re-opened by the time you get there but that is a reason to go back.

The Vietnam Memorial is good, the Korean one is right there too. WWII is at the other end of the reflecting pool from Lincoln's Memorial. Read the Gettysburg Address on the wall in the Memorial. Stand on the steps of the Memorial and imagine 200k + people for MLK's speech.
Go to the top of the Washington Monument to see the city. Arlington National Cemetery.

The holocaust museum is good. It takes a while and is very hard mentally, for me it was very similar to actually going to Dachau in Germany. The war memorials and Holocaust museum might be too much to do in one day.

The Spy Museum is awesome as well. Seeing the House of Representatives is good. Go to the basement and see an early supreme court.
And of course with any city. Get out of the tourist area and see the city. Georgetown is cool.

Andy D said...

Those are good suggestions. I am going to do the Smithsonian, just not sure which one. The Vietnam Memorial and the Holocaust Museum sound like good choices too.

Keep the suggestions comming.

Rebecca said...

Personally, I think the Library of Congress Jefferson building is the most beautiful of them all. I try to sneak in there as often as I visit.

Try and park your car at a metro stop and just metro around the city. You'll feel too clumsy with a car. Union Station is a great place to eat and take a break.

We go quite often, for business and pleasure, so if you have questions before you visit, I'm happy to oblige where I can.

Andy D said...

Thanks for the recommendations. My wife is going to be with me, but I think she has a day where she has to do some meetings for work, and I am free to roam as I will. I hope to use public transportation for that. I have always heard the traffic in DC is terrible, and I don't really want to learn the roads.