Day Trips, Washington D.C.

While in DC, take the train to colonial Williamsburg if you like history. Don't forget to visit the Rockefeller House and James Town while there..

Monticello (George Washington's house?) is also within driving distance..

From DC, you can go to Baltimore and Philadelphia by train and Annapolis by car. And then there is Harper's Ferry!

On the last Wednesday In July there is an annual event where 150-175 Chincoteague wild ponies swim across the channel from Assateague Island, Maryland to Chincoteague, Virginia. There is a carnival there and an auction some of the ponies are auctioned off. This event

I believe you can park your car at Union Train Station on Capitol Hill close to the U.S. Capitol. This will enable you to walk to the Capitol and along the mall among the Smithsonian museumns to the Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, Korean Memorial, Vietnam Memorial and the Lincoln Monument. You will also have the opportunity to visit/see the White House. Enjoy this great city!

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I have taken trips to D.C. about 3 times and the pictures are at the location in our place not to be found-ie; lost. I really enjoyed seeing some of the sites, but there are so many, it could take some days to get it all in. Try to do so, our heritage is counting on you US people to keep the democracy going, and foreigners to enjoy our heritage.

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People don't realise how vast the area around Pennsylvania is and how far the sites are from each other e.g. the Capital Building and the White House etc. We hired Segways - on an escorted tour and are available from a company operating out of the Willard Hotel. When we visited during the summer period people were begging us for lifts and enquiring as to where they can be hired from. It take about 10 minutes to learn how to master them but they are very safe and great fun and certainly helps in getting the best out of Washington.

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There are several boat tours in Washington that consists in a daytrip taking you alongside the Potomac to see some points of interests not only from DC, but also Virginia and Maryland. Among these we had the Washington Monument or the Capitol, the Reagan Airport, the Woodrow Wilson bridge (that unites Alexandria, VA to Maryland), Fort Washington (the only defensive fort of Washington DC for a long time) and Mount Vernon (house of George Washington). Some tours stop in Alexandria, in order to allow visitors to get into the Old Town, while others prefer to stop in Mount Vernon, so people can visit George Washington's estate and tomb.
The one I took was named Spirit of Mount Vernon and they charged US$44 per person, including the entrance fee to Mount Vernon. No meals are included in the fee, although you can buy (expensive) food and drinks in the cruise bar. This one departs from Waterfront, which is also another nice area of DC and accesible by metro (Waterfront stop). However, there are other companies that depart either from Waterfront or from Georgetown.

The George Washington Memorial Parkway lies on the south bank of the Potomac River in Virginia. It starts in Mt. Vernon and winds its way until it merges into I-495 west of DC. The parkway is quite an attractive one, with views along the way of the monuments and memorials and buildings of downtown DC; there are also parking areas nearby that lead to places like Dyke Marsh, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial, and the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial- places I haven't visited but hope to soon. There are many excellent views of the Potomac River from the parkway west of DC; at one point the buildings of Georgetown rise above the water, creating a postcard-perfect scene. There are two overlooks from the parkway further west. The GW Memorial Parkway is most scenic in autumn, when the foliage turns bright yellows and reds.

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The National Museum of the American Indian is a highlight of a visit to The Mall as far as I am concerned. Too many of the buildings along The Mall are the same thing over and over. Marble upon marble probably meant to convey the magnificence of the capitol of a developed world just ends up boring me to death. With so much wealth and power, can't we come up with architecture more moving and inspiring than a bland marble box? As you can see from the picture, whoever came up with the design for the building could care less about rules, tradition, or anything else. They did what they felt led to do, and the results are obvious.

The contents inside the museum are thoroughly put together, though I will confess that I thought it was a bit thin, considering the size of the building. Or perhaps it is the fact that I could soak up information about the native culture without end. Regardless, this is one museum that you absolutely must see. Especially if you are unfamiliar with Native American culture and history.

While Washington DC can capitalize on the life of George Washington just with their name, Fredericksburg has a true claim to fame: George Washington's childhood home, where he supposedly chopped down a cherry tree and threw a silver dollar across the Rappahannock. There are also four Civil War battlefields, a historic downtown, and megasize urban sprawl. So while visiting Fredericksburg is worth it for the historic sites, don't expect a tidy little nice town.

If you want to know how George Washington lived, it's fairly easy. Go down the George Washington Parkway until it ends, and for roughly 15 bucks, you can see Mt. Vernon, the estate of George Washington.

Like all great American leaders, George was a land owner, and he, his family, his indentured servants, and his slaves worked the land south of the shipping port of Alexandria. A natural leader if not a great intellect, George Washington was elected first president, and in a great change of pace, stepped down peacefully to retire to Mt. Vernon.

Certainly, his retirement was not lonely. He and his wife constantly had overnight guests, and the large Palldian estate shows how the landed gentry modelled their lives after Europeans, and how the wealthy lived after the revolution. George's thrift is also apparent at the painted fake mahogany and fake stucco that impressed visitors but cost far less than the real thing.

Take time to walk the grounds and see the magnificent view of the Potomac river.