Washington DC

4 hours total driving: 3 hours to get to church, 1 hour from church to campground 

National Mall and Memorial Parks

The following sites are located within what is called the national mall.

And yes there's an app for that!

Capitol Building

We have a tour scheduled July 1 at 10:30 AM. Cost: $0.

The tour will be given by staff that works for our representative.

There is a video for students that is rather useful.

Smithsonian Museums

There are 19 different museums that are part of the  Smithsonian.

In no particular order:

1. Smithsonian Institution Building: also known as the Castle, is a good place to start. Located here is a map and schedule of events.

2. Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building: closed for renovations

 

3. Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum: largest collection of air and spacecraft in the world as well as instruments, memorabilia, and clothing. Learn about the history, science, and technology of aviation and space flight

    

4. Smithsonian Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden: The modern and contemporary art exhibits include arts of traditional historical themes and collections addressing emotion, abstraction, politics, process, religion, and economics.

   

5. Smithsonian Freer Gallery: The world-renowned collection highlights art from China, Japan, Korea, South and Southeast Asia, and the Near East.

    

6. Smithsonian Sackler Gallery: This unique building is connected underground to the Freer Gallery of Art. The Sackler collection includes Chinese bronzes, jades, paintings and lacquerware, ancient Near Eastern ceramics and metalware, and sculpture from Asia.

  

7. Smithsonian National Museum of African Art: The collection includes ancient as well as contemporary works from Africa.

        

8. Smithsonian Natural History Museum: At this family favorite museum you will see a variety of artifacts including an 80-foot dinosaur skeleton, a life size model of a blue whale, an enormous prehistoric white shark, and a 45-and-a-half carat jewel a known as the Hope Diamond. The Discovery Room is a great hands-on display for young children. Feel the skin of a crocodile, examine the jaws and teeth of different animals or try on clothes from around the globe.

 

    

9. Smithsonian American History Museum: With more than 3 million artifacts of American history and culture, visitors learn about the nation's history from the War of Independence to the present day. At the heart of the museum, the Star-Spangled Banner—one of the most recognized symbols of the nation—has been given a new state-of-the-art gallery.

  



10. Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian: The newest museum on the National Mall in Washington, DC showcases Native American objects from ancient pre-Columbian civilizations through the 21st century. Multimedia presentations, live performances and hands-on demonstrations will bring the Native American people’s history and culture to life.

  

11. Smithsonian International Gallery: this is the education and membership branch of the Smithsonian Associates and hosts a variety of traveling exhibits. The Smithsonian Discovery Theater and conference facilities are also located here.

12. Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture: Under construction and will open in 2015.

Located off the mall:

13. National Zoo: more than 435 different species of animals. Open year round, the world-class property offers the opportunity to view and learn about favorites including giant pandas, elephants, tigers, cheetahs, sea lions and many more.

       

14. Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum: This small museum focuses on African American culture. Exhibits rotate and feature regional and national topics.

  

15. Smithsonian National Postal Museum: The museum displays the largest stamp collection in the world and examines the development of the postal system using interactive displays.

       

16. Smithsonian Renwick Gallery: The building was the original site of the Corcoran Gallery and is furnished with American crafts and contemporary arts from the 19th to 21st centuries. The museum features unique works of art in an impressive setting across the street from the White House.

      

17. National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum: furnished with American crafts and contemporary arts from the 19th to 21st centuries. The museum features unique works of art in an impressive setting across the street from the White House.

18. Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum opened a companion facility on the property of Washington Dulles International Airport to showcase additional aircraft, spacecraft and other artifacts. The museum has an IMAX Theater, flight simulators, a museum store, guided tours and educational programs.

  

National Gallery of Art

  
Not part of the Smithsonian but surrounded by it. Cost $0

a world-class art museum that displays one of the largest collections of masterpieces in the world including paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculpture, and decorative arts from the 13th century to the present. The National Gallery of Art collection includes an extensive survey of works of American, British, Italian, Flemish, Spanish, Dutch, French and German art.

Open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Arlington National Cemetery

Across the Memorial Bridge from DC

This is America's largest burial ground with the graves of President John F. Kennedy, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, world champion boxer Joe Louis and the Tomb of the Unknowns. Hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

Jefferson Memorial

This dome-shaped rotunda honors the nation's third president. The 19-foot bronze statue of Jefferson is located on the Tidal Basin, surrounded by a grove of trees making it especially beautiful during Cherry Blossom season in the spring. Hours are 8 a.m. to midnight daily.

Lincoln Memorial

     

This memorial was dedicated in 1922 to honor President Abraham Lincoln. Thirty-eight Grecian columns surround a statue of Lincoln seated on a ten-foot high marble base. This impressive statue is surrounded by engraved readings of the Gettysburg address, his Second Inaugural address and murals by French painter Jules Guerin. Hours are 8 a.m. to midnight.

Washington Monument

Interior closed for structure repair due to an earthquake a few years ago.

US Holocaust Memorial Museum
The museum serves as a memorial to the millions of people who were murdered during the Holocaust. Open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. everyday, except Yom Kippur and Christmas Day. Timed passes are distributed on a first–come first–served basis.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

A V-shaped granite wall is inscribed with the names of the 58,209 Americans missing or killed in the Vietnam War. Across the lawn is a life size bronze sculpture of three young servicemen. Hours are 8 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. 

(Note: they held a contest for the design and a college student won. Her design is what is constructed here.)

World War II Memorial

     
This beautiful structure serves as a peaceful place to remember those who served our country during World War II. The memorial is open 24 hours a day.

Other DC Sites

White House

We have requested a tour and will hopefully be able to go.

Interactive tour here.

Dates: We have requested Tuesday the 1st through Friday the 4th. Hopefully we'll get one of those dates!

Cost: $0

National Cathedral: 

  
  

Washington National Cathedral is called to serve as the spiritual home for the nation. The Cathedral is a national treasure and an architectural feat, a place of stunning beauty built to inspire. Inside, artwork and exhibits tell the American story of faith. Outside, you can explore gardens and grounds shared with three outstanding schools—or peer with gargoyles from the city’s highest point.

Mount Vernon

George Washington, commander in chief of American forces in the Revolutionary War and the first president of the United States, called Mount Vernon home for more than 40 years. George Washington and his wife Martha Washington lived at Mount Vernon, which is now the most popular historic estate in America. Situated along the Potomac River in Northern Virginia, Mount Vernon is just 16 miles south of Washington, D.C.


Today, guests to Mount Vernon can visit the Mansion, more than a dozen original structures, Washington’s Tomb, and nearly 50 acres of his extensive plantation. The estate also includes a working blacksmith shop and the Pioneer Farm, a 4-acre demonstration farm with a reconstructed slave cabin and 16-sided treading barn.

Cost $118

Washington DC Temple, visitors center

open daily from 10 AM to 9 PM

U.S. Patent Office

National inventors hall of fame: features interactive exhibits, a high definition video theatre and a portrait gallery. In the gallery historical and living figures come to life and talk about the history of invention and the USPTO. There is also a gift shop.

National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum Hours
The museum is closed for renovation until May 2014. The museum store will remain open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The store will be closed on Sundays, Mondays, and federal holidays.

The National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum is located in the atrium of the United States Patent and Trademark Office's Madison Building, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Va., and is easily accessible from the King Street and Eisenhower Avenue Metro stations.

Supreme Court Building

The Supreme Court Building is open to visitors Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It is closed Saturdays, Sundays and on federal holidays. Visitors are encouraged to take advantage of a variety of educational programs available during their visit including Courtroom Lectures, a visitors' film, and exhibitions that are changed periodically.

Where we would stay

There is a campground/RV park called Cherry Hill Park. There is a bus stop located at the entrance so no driving through DC would be required.

       

• 400 RV and Tenting campsites with water, sewer and electric hookups
• 30 or 50 amp service
• Clean restrooms with hot showers
• Carpeted laundry room (19 washers, 20 dryers)
• Propane refills
• Firewood

Transportation into the city is available from the campground multiple times daily, working around your vacation schedule. And when you return from a fun day of touring, relax and take advantage of our two swimming pools, hot tub, sauna, and other amenities.

Campsite map

Photos

Alternate: Greenbelt. $16 per night, no hookups, water and dump station available. 1.5 miles from bus stop.

Parking an RV in DC: there is a parking garage for buses. You can park an RV there. $20 /day $10 overnight.

Getting Around in DC

DC uses a system of busses and trains to move people around.

Pocket guide to the Metro system

Rules and Manners

Infographic for getting around DC












Good blog post