Washington D.C. in March

So the girl and I will be in Washington D.C. early March.

We’re already planning to visit the Smithsonian, Triggercut’s Restaurant and all the other various historical places in and about the city area. We’re staying with friends who live in Arlington, so we figured we’re within driving distance of all the interesting places. What we’re wondering though if there’s anything that’s cool to see that really isn’t covered in the tour guides.

Also, is anyone interested in a meetup. We’ll be in the city from the 8th to 15th March, with the 13th and 14th in Seattle.

Any chance we’ll get a tour of El Guapo’s Hot Tub?

If you’re really luck, the cherry blossoms might be peeking out by the time you’re here. Or, perversely, if you’re really unlucky, because it means there will be hordes of tourists EVERYWHERE.

If you like planes, and looking at lots, and lots, and lots of aircraft, the Air & Space Museum out by Dulles (not to be confused with the Air & Space Museum on the National Mall) is not to be missed.

The Holocaust Museum is also amazing, but something of a downer (obviously); you may or may not want to subject yourself to that while on vacation. On a similar note, you can also come see the incredible legislative process that managed to completely fuck up health care reform, if you’re really in for something depressing.

What kind of stuff are you interested in?

We’re interested in the history stuff mostly. The air and space museu
is definitely one of the places we want to go. Not so interested in the political stuff. We’re going to be staying with friends who just moved to Arlington so most of us are a little unfamiliar with the cool places. We’re also big fans of those small book stores with old editions of classic books, but our weekend trip to NY might take of that once we head to the Strand.

Didn’t know Washington had cherry blossoms.

Here’s some info from the National Park Service about the Cherry Blossoms.

There’s more than enough stuff to be seen around DC proper, there are museums that I haven’t gotten a chance to see yet, and I’ve been living in the area for I think 4 years now. My favorites are the American Indian museum (which has the best food on the National Mall, go there for lunch!) and (parts of) the Natural History.

If you like the Air and Space museum, there is also the Udvar-Hazy extension out by where I live. It’s where they keep all the really big stuff, like the space shuttle. If you like civil war sites at all, you could make it a day trip and head over to the Manassas Battlefield Park, which is right on my doorstep, pretty much.

There’s a ton of cool stuff to do in Arlington proper, from the Torpedo Factory art thingy to the GW Masonic memorial, to Gravelly Point, which is a park located a couple of hundred feet from the end of the Reagan Airport runway, and is supposed to be a great place to watch airplanes.

Old Town Alexandria is worth a stop for dinner and shopping at some point, too. Most of the places are over-priced, but there are some neat places to stop at. You can also grab a ferry to the National Harbor as well; since it won’t be hot yet, the Potomac won’t smell like a giant open sewer yet!

Not far from Old Town is the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, which is great for the Masonic piece (even for non-Masons) as well as the view from the top floor.

Dammit, Athryn!

I forgot to hit the button and left this up too long.

It just reinforces that the GW masonic memorial is cool!

Technically, the Torpedo Factory is in Alexandria. I still display the silkscreens I bought there from Craig Huffman, and wish I’d bought more.

Yeah you’re right, I meant to type Alexandria but typed Arlington instead. They both start with an A!

The Torpedo factory and GW Masonic Memorial are in Alexandria, and Gravelly point is in Arlington.