All too often we forget to sight see in our own town. Lucky for me, I live near our nation’s capital, and so I have been able to sight see with both sets of parents when they visited, my friend Amber, and now my sister and two of her kids when they visited the week of the Fourth. We had a blast and I got to see some old sights and a few new ones.
First we did all the monuments and statues WEST of the Washington Monument. Lincoln. Einstein. Martin Luther King, Jr. FDR. Vietnam, Korea, and World War II. And a glimpse of the Jefferson. Here is a handy map of all the monuments: https://www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisit/maps.htm. After being in the sun all day, we were ready for some inside action, so we drove over to Dulles airport and visited the Udvar Hazy Air and Space museum. Very cool stuff, and the kids liked the tie in to the Transformers movie. The Udvar Hazy is free to enter, but you must pay for parking there, or take a public bus.
The next day was DC EAST. The other Air and Space, the Botanic Gardens and Conservatory, and the Capitol building, then a quick look into the Library of Congress. Yay! Finally a ride on the carousel at the Smithsonian castle. All of these were free, although to get a tour of the Capitol building you need to apply for that in advance.
The next day the kids and their mom took the metro in, and got to see the Spy Museum, open daily till 6 pm and priced at $21 for adults and $16 for children (some discounts on their website), the National Archives, and then the National Cemetery (both free). I took the day off. Whew!
On the last day, we visited Mt Vernon. They are open 9-4, and prices are $9 for children and $18 for adults. It is not actually in DC, but if you have a car it won’t take you long to get there, or you could take a metro then a bus to get there. Amazing house and grounds. Mr Washington was certainly a fascinating person. On the way back to the airport to drop off my sister, we drove through old town Alexandria. A cute little place!
Only a week to go and then I’ll be starting my big trip up to New England and Canada!
Next post: Appalachian Trail, Connecticut- Maine.
PalmTreeMusings 
Deah,
I just read your Maine, eastern Canada and Africa blogs. Loved reading about and enjoying your travels vicariously. I will be watching for the next around the world segments. Have a wonderful trip!
Caron
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