Ffdelaflor ?
I?m going to make a bunch of suggestions here in hopes that several
stick. I?m skipping some of the more-obvious museum and tourist
suggestions ? except for one that requires advance planning and
tickets. And I know that you?ll get some good suggestions from
comments!
These are in the order that I think teenage girls would like:
1. Young men in uniform: tour the Naval Academy at Annapolis.
Annapolis is a beautiful city and the harbor area is a combination of
shopping and restaurants that?s astounding. But the central
attraction is probably the U.S. Naval Academy, which has several
options for a tour:
U.S. Naval Academy
?Visit USNA?
http://www.usna.edu/visit.htm
Remind your daughters that they might wish to attend the Naval Academy
? and note that the Academy runs special summer two-week
?introduction? programs for high school juniors interested in
attending.
2. As at least one may already be thinking about college, visit one
or more of the major universities in Washington, DC. What?s
astounding about these schools is how different they are ? from the
suburban campus of American University to the very urban locations of
George Washington University and Howard University to the distinct
Georgian architecture of Georgetown University:
American University
http://www.american.edu/tour/
Howard University
http://www.howard.edu/enrollmentmanagement/tour/
Georgetown University
http://www.georgetown.edu/undergrad/admissions/CampusTours.htm
George Washington University
http://gwired.gwu.edu/adm/visit/index.html
3. The White House has long been one of the most-open of government
homes in the world. But access has been restricted somewhat by
security concerns. To visit the White House, you want to contact your
Congressional representative and get tickets to tour the White House.
You can contact either senator from your state or your Congressional
representative, as they have blocks of tickets available ? but this is
something that you want to do as soon as possible.
My teenager loved it partly because we were there at Christmas, when
the presidential home is specially decorated. Plus, I think she
really hoped to see Bradley Whitford or Martin Sheen (of ?West Wing?):
National Park Service
White House Visitor Center
http://www.nps.gov/whho/pphtml/planyourvisit.html
4. Washington restaurants have advanced significantly in their
culinary offerings, though you can say that about every American city
over the past 2 decades. But there?s one way to dine and enjoy the
view: take one of the dinner boats out of the Alexandria waterfront.
They cruise up the Potomac, past the Capitol Building, the Washington
Monument and the Jefferson Memorial. The last time we did it was on a
dinner-dance ? but there are less fancy day and evening cruises:
Dandy Dinner Boat
http://www.dandydinnerboat.com/tour.htm
5. The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal is a marvel, starting right in
Georgetown and going 185 miles to Cumberland, MD. The Georgetown
portion is worth walking but the trail quickly becomes rural. The
last time I saw a wild turkey was along the trail. Some resources:
C&O Biking Guide
http://bikewashington.org/canal/
Bike Washington
http://bikewashington.org/index.htm
6. Lunch at the National Cathedral. The National Cathedral sits on a
hill overlooking the capital at the intersection of Massachusetts and
Wisconsin avenues (one comes up from the center of the district, the
other from Georgetown). The gardens are extraordinary, so I might try
to plan a picnic lunch ? then tour the cathedral or see if there?s a
special music program.
Lunch provisioners might include:
Booeymonger Delicatessen
http://www.booeymonger.com/locations.html
or Dean & Deluca:
http://www.digitalcity.com/washington/entertainment/venue.adp?sbid=102195686
And the National Cathedral?s home page is here:
http://www.cathedral.org/cathedral/visit/direction.shtml
6. Visit Great Falls. This popular park is northwest of Washington,
about 14 miles from the city. DO NOT attempt it on a weekend, as it?s
so popular that the crowds diminish its impact. Of course it is best
on a sunny day and it?s also a good spot for a picnic. It abuts the
C&O Bike Trail, mentioned previously:
Great Falls of the Potomac
http://www.nps.gov/gwmp/grfa/
7. Washington?s music scene has grown at a more rapid rate than its
restaurants. AOL?s City Guide is a good place to pick your genre and
the events for May:
Washington, DC City Guide ? Music
http://www.digitalcity.com/washington/bars/
The Birchmere in Alexandria is a very special location, popular with
Bluegrass and folk music oerfirners. I?ll be in DC during the same
period and am trying to figure a way to see The Seldom Scene, a
nationally-known Bluegrass group that?s based in Washington:
Birchmere Calendar
http://www.birchmere.com/calendar/calendar_list.cfm
8. Crabs. Long a Chesapeake Bay specialty, they serve them different
than anywhere else in the country -- smothered in Old Bay?s Spice.
Expect simple surroundings: paper-covered tables, a mallet and a
crab-cracker. Some suggestions:
The grand-daddy of Washington crab restaurants, Crisfield in Silver
Spring, comes with a personal recommendation ? and that of the
Washington Post:
WashingtonPost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?node=entertainment/profile&id=794287&typeId=2
Some other possibilities:
About.com
?Crab Restaurants in the Washington, DC Region?
http://dc.about.com/od/restaurants/a/CrabRestaurants.htm
9. How could we get this far without mentioning shopping? Because
this is being written by a guy. But even I?d recommend shopping in
Georgetown for its boutiques and unique regional flavor. It has
excellent antique and artwork collections. For regional flavor, DO
NOT miss Appalachian Spring, which has a unique collection and a
unique mission as a store:
Georgetown Shopping
http://www.georgetowndc.com/site_category.php?section=1
Georgetown's also a great place for celebrity-watching, though the
"celebrities" tend to be governmental/political types that teenagers
would find boring.
10. Alexandria, which is on the way to Mount Vernon, is also an
excellent shopping district with well-preserved ante-bellum homes. It
also has a number of walking tours too:
Funside.com
?Alexandria Attractions & Tours?
http://www.funside.com/tours.asp
11. The regular NBA season will be over, but just perhaps the Wizards
will still be in the playoffs:
Washington Wizards
http://www.nba.com/wizards/schedule/#May
And baseball?s back in Washington at RFK Stadium this year. The
Nationals have home games the weekend that you?re in the city against
the Chicago Cubs on the 13th, 14th and 15th:
Washington Nationals
May 2005 Schedule
http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=was&m=5&y=2005
---
One other note: I was going to recommend getting to the FBI tour early
because of its popularity. But it?s closed for renovation:
FBI
http://www.fbi.gov/aboutus/tour/tour.htm
---
About.com has a couple of pages that help reinforce some of the
?things to do,? though they also dwell on the standard monument &
museum tours:
About.com
?Top 10 Things to do in the DC/Capital Region? (Cooper, undated)
http://dc.about.com/od/touristattractions/a/TopTenToDo%20.htm
?15 Best Places to Go With Kids? (Cooper, undated)
http://dc.about.com/od/childrensactivities/a/15bestforkids.htm
Google search strategy:
mix activities with ?Washington, DC? and ?Alexandria, VA?
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA |
