Our plans are changing again!
Back in September we asked for your suggestions of things to do in Maryland this fall. Our original plan had been to spend the second half of November there, but then a couple of things happened.
First, you all gave us a bunch of great suggestions both in the comments of that post and on Facebook, so we ended up having a long list that we probably couldn’t get to within 2.5 weeks.
That 2.5 week period has since gotten shortened too. We’ve booked Truffles in for a teeth cleaning, but that’s in Virginia a few days before Thanksgiving. Seeing as Shae’s family is in Virginia, we decided to spend a week there over Thanksgiving. That’s awesome, but it would give us less than two weeks in Maryland.
We’d considered spending some time in Maryland now and some another time, but came up with a different solution instead. We hadn’t visited Washington D.C. as part of the road trip yet, so figured that would be a better use of the 12 days from when we leave West Virginia and have to be back in Virginia.
Accommodation
We already have our accommodation booked for our time there, so that’s sorted. It would’ve been nice to have stayed in Washington D.C. itself, but our hotel options were too expensive. I stayed at a nice hostel there recently for $35 per night as part of the 40k To Far Away challenge, but it’s not pet-friendly.
There were a few options on Airbnb, but they were all basement apartments. Truffles can be a bit barky when people stomp around above us, so I was a little concerned she might be too noisy if we stayed in a basement apartment with heavy walkers above us.
We’re therefore staying at a hotel near Dulles Airport. We got a great paid rate for eight of the nights and are using points for the other four nights. It means it’s a bit of a drive or train ride into D.C., but 12 days should still give us plenty of time to explore the city.
Things To Do In Washington D.C.
Shae and I have been to D.C. a few times in the past, so we have a fairly good idea of things to do there. I also did a Segway tour there recently and so want to take Shae on that as it was a lot of fun.
We did the National Zoo a couple of years ago, saw the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights at the National Archives and also visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum a few years ago. We’ve hit up some of the National Museums and seen most of the memorials before, but are certainly up for doing some or all of those things again.
Your Suggestions
I’m sure there are some hidden gems in the nation’s capital that we aren’t aware of though, so this is where you come in. Do you have any suggestions of fun, fascinating or quirky things to do in Washington D.C.? If so, we’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments below.
Since you’re staying next to Dulles, you should definitely visit the “Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center” to see all kinds of aircraft. The Discovery space shuttle, the Enola Gay, etc… This is an annex to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and to be honest I like it better.
Now, as far as places to visit in DC, I definitely recommend the “Library of Congress”. The inside is fully decorated with frescoes from floor to ceiling. They also have a first-edition (one of 3 still remaining) Guttenberg Bible on display, right in the lobby. They sometimes have the Gettysburg Address on display as well. But that display rotates.
Afterward, walk across the street to visit “The Capitol Building”. They provide free tours of the Capitol to tourists and it’s a really nice tour. You can book those online at the Capitol website so when you get there, you’ll be good to go. Allow yourself about 20 minutes from your reserved time to go through security to enter the building. Their security is pretty tight to get through and sometimes they have a line. Think airport security.
Also, very close to the Capitol and Library of Congress is the “Botanical Gardens”. I feel that people don’t go to this one as much but, it’s such a breath of fresh air to see all of the gorgeous plants and flowers, especially on a cold and dreary day.
“The Natural History Museum” a.k.a the Dinosaur Museum has been renovated and opened back up recently. So, even if you’ve been there before, it probably looks different now. Don’t forget to visit the gemstones on the second floor!
“The National Gallery of Art” is my absolute favorite but, if you’re not into art, at least walk in there to see the only Leonardo da Vinci painting outside of Europe.
Something for Truffles… “The Theodore Roosevelt Island” will be a big hit.
It’s also really worth it to keep an eye on Groupons. There is always something interesting that you can find to see and do there.
Thanks for all those suggestions! A couple of our friends took us to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center a couple of years ago and we loved it, so we might head back there.
Thanks for the heads up about the Capitol tours – I wouldn’t have thought about the fact that there could be long security lines to get in.
I don’t think I’d heard of the Theodore Roosevelt Island, so Truffles will definitely be pleased about that 🙂
Not sure of the price, but I would suggest the Spy Museum and I agree with going to The Natural History Museum and the National Gallery of Art to see the da Vinci
Great! We had someone else suggest the Spy Museum too, so we’ll have to look into that.
Check and see if there are Washington Monument tickets available when you are going to be here in DC or plan on getting up early and getting into the city early to get day of tickets. Any of the Smithsonians are free. Go see the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery . This is technically VA but I think you should get a pass on that one. The Holocaust Museum is memorable. If you are cheating Great Falls is great place to hike. Remember parking in the city is expensive. Check Parking Panda for cheaper spots. The Reagan Building Parking or Union Station is closer to $25 for the day. Look at driving to Ballston and parking at the mall parking deck and taking the Metro into the city from there. Orange Line parking lots fill up early with commuters. Not sure about the Silver Line parking decks.
Thanks for all the tips! I didn’t know about the Washington Monument tickets, so that’s good to know. It looks like they’re releasing a dozen tickets at 10am each day for the following day, so we’ll try for those and if that doesn’t work we’ll have to be up super early.
Even though we’ve been to the Holocaust Museum before, I think we’ll return on this trip as it’s been something like 10 years since we last visited.
As for parking, I have some credit with ParkWhiz to use up, so this seems like a great opportunity to do that before it expires. We’re also staying out by Dulles airport, so we might take a shuttle to the airport or Reston, then take the Silver Line into the city.