Do students in Louisiana trip there in 8th grade? In CA most public schools offer a tour but it's $2500. Fortunately I have a friend with a vacation home on the Chesapeake Bay so I was able to take my daughter, her best friend, and her mom and stay for 7 days and it cost a whole lot less. We took side trips to Alexandria, Mt Vernon, and the Naval Academy. The Naval Academy blew me away. It is the most impressive college campus I've ever been on. They have had 300 years and lots of $$ to get it done but they have gotten it done. Anyone else ever been there?
I went as a child when a middle class family with one working parent could afford to do such a thing. I remember The Smithsonian, Capitol Bldg, Lincoln Memorial, and Monticello.
@uscvball My family went when I was around 10 or so. We also went to the Academy, but I dont remember it very well. My most vivid memories are of the Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, the Air and Space Museum, and Williamsburg.
Travel isn't cheap these days. If not for the free lodging, I doubt I could have gone. I had been once before. Things have changed a bit. Increased security has resulted in long lines and wait times. It was my first time seeing the MLK Memorial. I had mixed feelings about it. Monticello is on my bucket list. 3 of my grandfather's planes hang in the Air and Space so I love it. My bucket list also includes lots of "burgs"...Williamsburg, Leesburg, Gettysburg to name a few. Mt Vernon was excellent.
The beauty of this list is that they are all fairly close together. I worked in Williamsburg for a month or so and it was awesome. I would recommend December as they go all out with Christmas and decorating Historic Downtown. If you go during the non-winter months, there is a Busch Gardens for the kids (big and small).
Yep, some nice old naval armament on display, as well. And one of my favorite publisher's bookstores . . . the Naval Institute Press. Fort Washington, south of the beltway is a good visit. Almost as good a view of the Potomac as Mt. Vernon. As good as the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on the mall is . . .the new giant Udvar-Hazy National Air and Space museum out by Dulles airport if even better. It takes all day to see it.
yes, one of the greatest cities in this country, im thinking about moving there. i was just there last month for a conference, going back in september.
Washington is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't live there for any reason on earth. Crime inside the beltway is astronomically high and local government is very bad. If you must commute from outside the beltway, the traffic is a nightmare, taxes are sky high, and you will live in a dense suburbia indistinguishable from almost anywhere. The crab cakes are good, though.
So many things to see and appreciate. The masthead from the USS Delaware, known as Tamanend is prominently displayed on the northwest end of Tecumseh Court. Midshipmen will throw coins into the quiver before finals as a good luck ritual. For those who are secure in their grades, Tamanend is also known as the God of 2.0. So much beautiful architecture. I loved Dahlgreen Hall. Would have loved to see it up close if we had the time. I could see it across the river and it looked like a great place. Air and Space had lost a bit of luster for me this time. Not sure why but it is starting to feel rundown.
