We are planning a road trip to Washington, DC at the end of March with two teenagers and two parents. My husband wants to visit the Air and Space Museum. One daughter wants to see the White House (we were already too late for a tour when I asked our congressman in January; it might be 6 months in advance now) and the Lincoln Memorial. The other daughter wants to visit the Botanical Garden Conservatory (especially if the weather is dreary) and both are in favor of Ford's Theater to see Little Shop of Horrors as well as the booth where Lincoln was assasinated. Places that I considered but we probably won’t go include the International Spy Museum, the Zoo, and the Holocaust Museum. You might be able to change my mind on the spy museum, but reviews sounded like the interactive exhibits weren’t enjoyable when crowded. I have some of the required timed tickets reserved and reserving others is on my calendar. Most meals will probably be casual and one daughter is a vegetarian, but I do have a couple of restaurant questions. And are there special exhibits or other places we should definitely try to see?
Tentative schedule is Monday, visit the National Museum of African American History and the White House area and part of the mall, hopefully renting bicycles to get between monuments (the museum webpage says we can take small backpacks to carry bike helmets and water bottles or hopefully get one of the lockers). Tuesday, Air and Space museum and then Ford's Theater in the evening. I want to make reservations for that dinner - any thoughts on the theater menu at China Chilcano? Wednesday I'm expecting a later start and hoping to have Ethiopian food for lunch (any recommendations?) before a walking tour (Attucks Adams) of the Music and Art of Black Broadway (around U street and the Howard Theater) and then the National Archives. There is a free concert at the Kennedy Center that evening or Union Station has an evening concert most Wednesdays (and I like fancy train stations). Thursday is for the Botanic Gardens, US Capitol Rotunda tour, and the Library of Congress during their evening hours. Friday I’d like to try Lexicon Lane at Planet Word since we like word puzzles, but that will only be a half day. In some of the open time, we will probably stop in at the Portrait Gallery, Museum of American History, or Museum of Natural History, although we're not sure how much it overlaps with the Field Museum in Chicago. Or if the weather and cherry blossoms cooperate, more time outside, including seeing some of the monuments lit up at night. We leave Saturday, possibly after some of the Kite Festival on the mall or maybe we head out earlier and stop somewhere along the way home (where to stop is a question for a different post).