We're planning a family vacation/business trip (wife, self and 5 year
old boy) from Canada in the Washington DC area and North Carolina in
the last week of August.  Resort accommodations (pinehurst in NC and
Lansdowne in suburban Washington)have been arranged.  travel will be
by rental car from gateway at Raleigh Durham airport, returning
Washington Dulles.  Specific recommdations sought for sites/activities
for our family.

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Request for Question Clarification by mvguy-ga on 22 Jul 2002 11:53 PDT

What sort of things do you and your family enjoy seeing or doing?

Hi there marbuk!

I have one word for you: SMITHSONIAN!

http://www.si.edu/

The Smithsonian's 15-plus museums in Washington house some of the
world's largest collections, and the best news is: they are FREE!
That's right. Just walk right in the front door and spend all the time
you want.  You can easily spend an entire day in any one of them.

I grew up in the Washington area so I can make some specific
recommendations. I'll confine them to those that might hold interest
for your 5-year old. As you can see on the Smithsonian website there
are plenty of art galleries and other museums which are more
adult-focused, should you find yourself there sans child.

Natural History Museum. - Dinosaurs, Animals, a fabulous live Insect
Museum (hold a tarantula!), hands-on stuff for the kids, Imax theatre
(this does cost money).
http://www.mnh.si.edu/

Air and Space Museum - climb inside a real Apollo capsule, trace the
history of flying, see the Gossamer albatross, also has an Imax.
http://www.nasm.si.edu/

The National Zoo - an excellent Zoo and also free!
http://natzoo.si.edu/

Word to the wise, don't try to drive into Washington and find parking.
Better to find your nearest Metro Station and take the train in. The
cost is minimal, the trains are frequent, and the Smithsonian has its
own stop as does the Zoo which is farther out of the city.

http://www.wmata.com/riding/using_metro.cfm

Also know that rush hour in Washington is a nightmare and lasts about
3 hours at each end of the day. Avoid travel during those times at all
costs. Also, pack a picnic! Food prices will be horrendous but there
are lots of outdoor spaces to picnic.

From the Smithsonian Metro station you can also get to the White House
(a bit of a hike or short taxi ride) and the Washington Monument. Both
of these offer tours but be advised, lines are usually long. For info
on touring the White House:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/tours/

Finally, since you have a car, I'd HIGHLY recommend you make the
one-hour drive to Baltimore to see the National Aquarium. It's well
worth the trip! (And what 5-year old wouldn't be amazed at being
face-to-face with a 12 foot Sand Tiger Shark?!) Plus, the shopping and
eating in Baltimore's Harbourfront is fabulous.

http://www.aqua.org/

In Baltimore is also Camden Yards (home of the Baltimore Orioles). An
incredibly impressive structure (even if you’re not a fan). They offer
tours:

http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/bal/ballpark/bal_ballpark_history.jsp

And the Maryland Science Centre which is a fully-interactive science
museum geared to all-ages (much like the one in TO if you're familiar
with that).

http://www.mdsci.org/

I hope this has been helpful to you. I've confined my answer to
Washington, rather than North Carolina since this is where my
experience lies. I've found that personal recommendations are much
more meaningful than just pointing you to a bunch of tourism links. I
hope you agree.

Happy travels!

--K~

Sound advice for $2.00.  Actually, I 'know' Washington/Baltimore
because of business interests there --- the warning about rush hour
(the Beltway Blues) is entirely correct.

For info on N.C. why not check out this previous question and answer
from the ga archive?
https://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=36974

thanks for this additional information.  Very helpful.

Yes Marbuck as the commenter says; I asked for info on North Carolina 
some time back and my good mates Alien Intelligence, Seedy and
Journalist gave me enough info to create an encyclopedia on the
subject. I am surprised they have not jumped in on this one in fact.As
 a matter of fact I am still going through it and  cant imagine how
many hours reading they actually provided but it was massive.

    Good Luck with trip,

 John From Melbourne ( Australia)

Thanks for the plug johnfrommelbourne but I am preparing for a trip to
NC this weekend to celebrate a graduation.  Fly to Raleigh  (lunch at
Mama Dips),  http://www.mamadips.com/

then drive up to Winston-Salem for some letterboxing at the Duke
Campus  http://www.letterboxing.org/nc/amanda.htm#Tarheel

 then to Apex, NC for a big fish fry...then to a nearby lake for some
water sking (more like water dragging in my case).....Remember to slow
down on those NC roads since every pothole puddle has a fisherman
nearby trying to catch something from it...

Have a great time in North Carolina...

seedy

Just a short addition from my trip to Raleigh of the last few days. 
Be sure to have North Carolina barbeque....chopped pork or chopped
beef.  The North Carolinian syle barbeque is to chop the meat with a
vinegery sauce...It is delicious...in contrast to Memphis barbeque
which uses pulled pork or beef with a tomatoey sauce mixed in and in
contrast to Texas barbeque which has the pulled pork or brisket smoked
a bit dry with the sauce added on top....It depends on your taste, but
the North Carolinian is my second favorite to the Texas barbeque.  Try
Mama Dips in Raleigh for excellent NC barbeque although I found the
fried chicken at Mama Dips to be a bit dry to my taste...

Have a great time..

seedy