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Local Pleasures
| Things to do in DC, for first time visitors (on or near the
Mall)
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The White House,
National Capitol, and
Supreme Court are the "must see but may
not want to tour" components of any first-time visit to DC.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial,
Lincoln Memorial, and
Albert Einstein Memorial
are clustered at the northwest corner of the Mall. Think about visiting them after dark.
The Jefferson Memorial overlooks the Tidal Basin, which
is driving distance south of the Mall. It's another candidate for an evening visit.
If you're there doing the day, try the paddle boats.
The Washington Monument is in the center of the Mall,
roughly equidistant between the White House and the
US Holocaust Memorial Museum, which may well be the
single best museum in the country.
Next door to the Holocaust Museum is the Bureau
of Engraving and Printing, which conducts one of DC's best tours.
The FBI, once highly regarded for its
tours, is not currently open to the public. As an alternative, check out the
International Spy Museum, only two
blocks north of FBI headquarters.
The National Gallery of Art is at the
east end of the Mall, at the base of Capitol Hill and directly across from
the National Air and Space Museum.
Immediately west of the Air and Space Museum are the most familiar parts of the
Smithsonian Institution: the Castle, the Arts and Industries
Building, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Freer and Sackler Galleries (Asian art),
and the African Art Museum.
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| Things to do in DC, for first time visitors (away from the Mall)
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Mount Vernon is located 16 miles south of DC
and 8 miles south of Old Town Alexandria at the southern end of the George Washington
Memorial Parkway.
A dozen blocks up Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House you enter
Georgetown,
home to some of the most interesting housing, shops, and nightlife in the District.
While in Georgetown, try a ride on the
canal boats.
The National Cathedral is on Wisconsin Avenue, about
a mile north of Georgetown. Be sure to sign up for the docent's tour.
The entrance to the National Zoo
is off Connecticut Avenue, a mile or so east of the Cathedral. The elephant training
demo at 11 am is a "don't miss."
The Phillips Collection,
which is just off Massachusetts Avenue, near Dupont Circle, is best known
as the home of Renior's Luncheon of the Boating Party.
An amazing collection of good
ethnic restaurants, including Indian, Vietnamese, Thai, Ethiopian, and Afghan, are
scattered throughout the District.
Wolf Trap, the National Park for the Performing Arts,
is located about five miles from Carol Place.
Old Town Alexandria, including the
Torpedo Factory, sits astride the George Washington
Memorial Parkway, halfway between the District and Mount Vernon. We think of Old Town as
Georgetown with parking.
The Great Falls of the Potomac,
one of Dave's favorite settings in the DC area, are only a few miles outside the Beltway,
northwest of the District.
Manassas National Battlefield park is an easy
25-mile trip out the Interstate from Carol Place.
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| New things to do in DC, for those who have been here before
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What locals always referred to as "horse country," the beautiful rolling countryside between
and to the west of Leesburg and Middleburg, has become home to dozens of
wineries.
Most are open for tours and tastings. Many produce really fine wines. Mix in a couple of
antique shops and you have a most excellent adventure.
Baseball now includes both
the Nationals at Nationals Park (on the Metro)
and the Orioles at
Camden Yard (one hour north).
The National Museum of the American Indian is a spectacular
combination of building and grounds, but the exhibits are disappointing.
The National Building Museum is visually spectactular in a very different fashion and usually
offers some very interesting exhibits. A history of service stations, motels, camp grounds,
and other institutions serving the long-distance driver, for example.
The Sculpture Galleries at the National Gallery of Art
provide a beautiful display space for the collection, a space we care about in part because
Aliceann handled the contracting for it.
The new Air and Space facility, the
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center,
near Dulles, is a "wow." The Concorde, a space shuttle, the SR-71, Migs, the Enola Gay: allow
at least half a day to savor this extraordinary collection.
The National World War II Memorial, on the Mall
near the Washington Monument, is beautiful and moving.
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| Adventures near Carol Place
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The Washingtonian's
online guide to restaurants and dining puts it this way:
The diversity of Falls Church restaurants is remarkable. The possibilities include the
less familiar cuisines of Burma, Korea, Greece, Peru, Afghanistan, and Persia along with
soul food, barbecue, and delicatessen. There is Indian, Thai, and Japanese. The only major
cuisine missing is pure French, and that is a hop and a skip to the north, where La
Cote d’Or and Bistro des Célestins stand at the intersection of Westmoreland Street and
Lee Highway.
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Carol Place is a few blocks from the 8-mile marker on the
Washington and Old Dominion Trail,
once the 45-mile right-of-way of the W&OD Railroad,
today one of the skinniest parks in the commonwealth of Virginia.
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