family stuff in DC

I will be this weekend in DC with my 2 year old twins and my 6 year old son. we will spend a day seeing the mall, hit the Air and Space, the national Gallery, the american history and the natural history museums. we will go to the new Spy museum. probrably the zoo.


what else is recomended? also, any cool family eats/ice cream etc would be valued.

They just finished remodeling the National Aquarium, which is in the Dept of Commerce building. I hear it's supposed to be pretty shnazzy, but haven't had the chance to go down and visit yet. Maybe this weekend. It's on 14th st, between Pennsylvania and Constitution.

If you have a car, GT, go to the Air and Space Museum annex in Dulles. It is stunning. HUGE planes there--and a space shuttle. But the one on the Mall might suffice since you'll only be here for a weekend. Plus it's a bit of a drive out to Dulles.

I've never been, but I have never heard a single good word about the Spy Museum. Again, if you have a car, the NSA/CIA National Cryptologic Museum at Ft. Meade just north of the city is supposed to be really cool. They have a real Enigma Machine, etc. The Spy Museum is probably more showy, though, which may keep kids more entertained. Link: http://www.nsa.gov/MUSEUM/ Hmmm, it seems to have weird weekend hours.

American History might still be closed, btw. I think it has a November opening date now (it was delayed).

The Zoo is great. Go see Happy the Hippo before they ship him off to a new home. The sea otters are always playful and the Asian River Otters can be fun. Unless they're just basking in the sun, which they do a lot, I think. Be sure to keep your eyes pealed for the Orangutans on their overhead ropes. And the Golden Maned Tamarinds might be loose as well.

You could see the National Cathedral. It requires either driving or a bus ride though. From Farragut Sq (near the White House) you can catch an N2, N4, or one of the various 30s busses and they will take you to the top of the hill where Wisconsin and Mass cross and the Cathedral is right there. If you take one of the Ns, they go up Mass past all of the embassies. The 30s go through Georgetown and up Wisc.

As for eats, I'm not real sure. The restaurant at the National Gallery isn't great. But they do have hamburgers, etc. which might be good for kids. The one at the American Indian museum gets rave reviews. I've been once a few years back and it was def. above average for museum food.


PM or call. The Mrs. and I were talking about hitting a museum this weekend.

b

Originally Posted by rdawson808

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If you have a car, GT, go to the Air and Space Museum annex in Dulles. It is stunning. HUGE planes there--and a space shuttle. But the one on the Mall might suffice since you'll only be here for a weekend. Plus it's a bit of a drive out to Dulles.

I've never been, but I have never heard a single good word about the Spy Museum. Again, if you have a car, the NSA/CIA National Cryptologic Museum at Ft. Meade just north of the city is supposed to be really cool. They have a real Enigma Machine, etc. The Spy Museum is probably more showy, though, which may keep kids more entertained. Link: http://www.nsa.gov/MUSEUM/ Hmmm, it seems to have weird weekend hours.

American History might still be closed, btw. I think it has a November opening date now (it was delayed).

The Zoo is great. Go see Happy the Hippo before they ship him off to a new home. The sea otters are always playful and the Asian River Otters can be fun. Unless they're just basking in the sun, which they do a lot, I think. Be sure to keep your eyes pealed for the Orangutans on their overhead ropes. And the Golden Maned Tamarinds might be loose as well.

You could see the National Cathedral. It requires either driving or a bus ride though. From Farragut Sq (near the White House) you can catch an N2, N4, or one of the various 30s busses and they will take you to the top of the hill where Wisconsin and Mass cross and the Cathedral is right there. If you take one of the Ns, they go up Mass past all of the embassies. The 30s go through Georgetown and up Wisc.

As for eats, I'm not real sure. The restaurant at the National Gallery isn't great. But they do have hamburgers, etc. which might be good for kids. The one at the American Indian museum gets rave reviews. I've been once a few years back and it was def. above average for museum food.


PM or call. The Mrs. and I were talking about hitting a museum this weekend.

b


cool, we'll give you a call, definatly. we will only have a car on the day we leave (renting and driving to Bal, Phi and NYC) but we are landing in Dulles. maybe we will do the air and Space then. I would love to see a space shuttle.

Go to the National Arboretum. They have a free museum plus tons of green space to run them ragged.

Parking at the zoo can be a pain if you do not get there early enough.
The catherderal is not too far from the zoo. 2 Amys pizza is good, but a little pricey.

This is prob one of the best gelatos I have had in my life
http://dolcezzagelato.com/
not too far from Skyvalet shoe shop.
few hundred yards from skyvalet is Cafe Divan, turkish restaurant. The pastrami Pide is VERY good.
Doner kebab is pretty good but i have had better.

American Indian musuem food is pretty good. I used to live in NM and these guys fry breads etc are better than most you get there.

Richmond (home of Ron Riders cordovan boot empire) is about 90 min drive.

There are often events going on on the mall (concerts, demos etc) , so it is fun just to spend time there.

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My friends will be street performing on Saturday ~8pm at DuPont circle. They do a mighty fine robot, so your kids might get a kick out of that if you are in the area.

cool, ice cream is one thing that we miss in Chicago.

Originally Posted by oscarthewild

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Parking at the zoo can be a pain if you do not get there early enough.
The catherderal is not too far from the zoo. 2 Amys pizza is good, but a little pricey.

This is prob one of the best gelatos I have had in my life
http://dolcezzagelato.com/
not too far from Skyvalet shoe shop.
few hundred yards from skyvalet is Cafe Divan, turkish restaurant. The pastrami Pide is VERY good.
Doner kebab is pretty good but i have had better.

American Indian musuem food is pretty good. I used to live in NM and these guys fry breads etc are better than most you get there.

Richmond (home of Ron Riders cordovan boot empire) is about 90 min drive.

There are often events going on on the mall (concerts, demos etc) , so it is fun just to spend time there.

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Originally Posted by globetrotter

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cool, ice cream is one thing that we miss in Chicago.

Thanks for my suggestion can also be said with a few pairs from skyvalet. I can PM you my size.

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2 Amy's Pizza is really solid, although busy so if you have hungry kids it might be an issue.

The Spy museum is pretty cool. off the main mall area there is a Holocaust museum- a moving place to go see. They made it so adults and kids can attempt to relate to the subject. I absolutely love DC. Awesome city, enjoy.

Originally Posted by oscarthewild

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Thanks for my suggestion can also be said with a few pairs from skyvalet. I can PM you my size.

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Originally Posted by life_interrupts

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Go to the National Arboretum. They have a free museum plus tons of green space to run them ragged.

Don't bother with this. You cannot get their very easily with public transport. There's a Metro stop kinda close but it's a walk and a crappy neighborhood for the most part. The museum is tiny. Though it was showing a cool bonsai exhibition when we were there a month or so ago.

Originally Posted by oscarthewild

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The catherderal is not too far from the zoo. 2 Amys pizza is good, but a little pricey.


Geographically they are close. But it's hard to get between the two. An adult can walk it easily (we did a few weeks ago), but little kids can't. And buses don't run between the two in any simple way (i.e. without transfering and going way out of your way).

2 Amy's is very good. But on a Friday or Sat night, the wait can be very long. As Callen says:

Originally Posted by callen

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2 Amy's Pizza is really solid, although busy so if you have hungry kids it might be an issue.

The Holocaust museum

I cannot believe I forgot about this. This museum (the one time I went 10 years ago) is stunning. I was nearly reduced to tears by the end of the tour, though.

b

Originally Posted by rdawson808

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I cannot believe I forgot about this. This museum (the one time I went 10 years ago) is stunning. I was nearly reduced to tears by the end of the tour, though.

b

we are really torn on this - I am not sure that my son is ready for this, but it will probrably be several years before we are back as a family in DC.


thanks all

Originally Posted by callen

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... there is a Holocaust museum- a moving place to go see. They made it so adults and kids can attempt to relate to the subject. I absolutely love DC. Awesome city, enjoy.

I thought about rec this, but each parent is different. Some may not want to expose their very young the base levels civilized societies can fall to almost instantly. May I suggest a prima facie review sans kids before taking them?

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Originally Posted by globetrotter

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we are really torn on this - I am not sure that my son is ready for this, but it will probrably be several years before we are back as a family in DC.


thanks all


Holy cow, similar thoughts!