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I am planning a road trip up to Washington D.C. in August. Having never been, can anyone suggest things to do other than museums and monuments? Any good brewpubs/restaurants/breweries?

Also, I want to make a side trip to Wolf Trap to catch a NSO concert. Any advice? Is it like Tanglewood where you can take in coolers and chairs?

Thanks for any tips and advice!

Too many to name, but this is my list:

Arlington Cemetery and Arlington House
Jefferson Memorial
National Archives
The Smithsonian

Unless you have a week, you won't have time for all those. If you can only do one, go to Arlington Cemetery. You'll never forget it. Ever.


Sandy "I bore people to death talking about history" Keathley

For heaven's sake go to the FREE concerts by the major DC service bands.

Great idea - DC is great. I live in the hills of Colorado, but work a lot in the beltway and love the place. I'll break this into sights and beer as requested...

Sights - as mentioned above. Also, the Newseum is fantastic. The Smithsonian aviation museum at Udal (by Dulles airport) is also fantastic and get this - uncrowded. The Holocaust Museum is truly depressing, but worth a visit. Ford's Theater is nice too. Consider time in Georgetown and do a nice hike on the C&O path to visit part of a 186 mile canal system. You can also rent a kayak here and paddle up and down the Potomac - very cool. Then there's old town Alexandria - catch a water taxi from Georgetown. For something different consider a drive to Harper's Ferry. As stated above, you'll have to budget your time carefully.

Food/Brews: Capitol Brewing Company in DC has great beer and food. There are lots of kebab places to ponder. Shamshiry in Tysons Corner is exceptional (and close to Wolf Trap). If you get tired of the city, take a drive over the Bay Bridge and get a bucket of crabs at Kent Narrows, right on the water (work around peak commute times though). The East Shore Brewing Company has great beer and is located in St Michael - about 35 minutes from Kent Narrows.

As a tuba player - Baltimore Brass is right up the road and has several tubas in stock, including lots of Kanstuls.

There is simply too much to cover! Have fun out there...

To answer your question and clarify one thing:

You are allowed bring a cooler and chairs to the lawn at Wolf Trap.

The Udvar-Hazy annex of the Smithsonian (near Dulles Airport) is indeed a great destination. The annex building is HUGE (there is a space shuttle and SR-71 on static display) and has many more displays that the original Air and Space Museum downtown could ever hold. Attendance is free but you'll have to pay to park. Be prepared to spend the better part of a day there, if not all.

It will also help if you are heat and humidity tolerant, because you'll get both. Keep that in mind if you book travel on a water taxi or other open-air (i.e., non air-conditioned) conveyance that goes around town. Good luck with trip planning!

My usual "big city" advice is that you should only plan 1 or 2 big things per day to allow yourself plenty of "getting around" time -- both because it takes a while to get from point A to point B (especially if you drive) and because you will find lots and lots of distractions along the way from point A to point B that you'll want to see. Nothing is less enjoyable then spending 3 days running and running and running around and seeing a tiny snippet of a LOT of things. Better to see a LOT of a few things and really feel like you SAW a few things.

Also, although the Chesapeake Bay, eastern shore of MD, and Baltimore (and Baltimore Brass) are all cool things to see/do, they would quickly "become" your trip, and you will have no time to spend actually in DC. I say spend your time in the city and see the museums, monuments, and all that other stuff. Just being there is a pretty cool thing, so enjoy it!

Friday evening marine corps parade at the barracks at 8th & I.

The "President's Own" plays as well as the "Commandant's Own" Drum & Bugle Corps and the silent drill team performs as well.

ken k

tuba_hacker wrote:(there is a space shuttle

*ahem* space shuttle test article. at least until we get Discovery in a year or so!!