<p>Sorry, b&p, I got distracted and forgot to finish my post… we do plan to go to Arlington, as we did not get to it last time we were there. But we will be in town for 6 days, so I would like to get to a couple of hours in Rock Creek Park as well. Plus, D2 is a big bug collector and will probably enjoy a hike there. However, the hotel maid are not always so keen on finding the bug containers in the freezer of those little fridges in the hotel rooms, so we have to remember to take them with us when we leave.</p>
<p>Really, maybe they should just pave more of the mall…</p>
<p>Perennial favorites when we’re in DC: Phillips Collection, National Gallery, National Zoo, Mount Vernon, Ethiopian food in the Adams-Morgan neighborhood. Washington’s also a (surprisingly) good theater town. The Shakespeare Theater Company and the Folger mount serious Shakespeare productions, and typically there a 3 or 4 other pretty high quality productions going on at various venues, including the restored Ford’s Theater (where Lincoln was shot).</p>
<p>Mt. Vernon. It was so different than I expected, but my family enjoyed this side trip very much.</p>
<p>Last time we went from DC, we took the city bus and got there pretty quickly and saved a bunch of money. It was a local friend who gave us the tip on which bus to take.</p>
<p>I had a conference scheduled at the new Gaylord Hotel at the National Harbor, but missed because it coincided with bringing son to college.</p>
<p>However, some of the tours offered were water taxi service to Old Town Alexandria and Mount Vernon. </p>
<p>Might be a nice boat ride to see those areas, and the National Harbor is a pretty place to view the Potomac and get a bite to eat. Son and I really enjoyed a gelato place there when we visited a couple of years ago.</p>
<p>The one beauty about mass transit in DC is it is so much easier than let’s say NY. The Metro system is really based off of the Tube in London. You are following color lines not numbers. Plus, there are many hubs where if you do get confused you just go to the big circle spots and start over again from there.</p>
<p>We saw the Tempest at the theater in the Folger building. It was quite an experience–the theater is an indoor replica of the Globe–smaller, but has the intimate feel and the cool dark wood, etc—made a great impression on the younger folks.</p>