Readers of “Travels With Sheila” (and close acquaintances) will probably go into shock over my recommending a visit to Washington DC. Washington is a great destination. It may not be Timbuktu but several friends recently took my advice, spent a long weekend in DC and had the same wonderful experience as we.
Some of you may have had a chance to visit Washington on an organized spring break school trip. I did, but husband, Steve (known as the “ex-Marine”) never had. With this in mind, we decided that a trip exploring DC would probably be much more informative and fun as adults…but nothing really prepared us for how wonderful and emotional it would be.

You can drive, train, bus or fly, and it’s easy to fly into either Washington, DC or Baltimore, MD from almost anywhere. Check out fares into both places, sometimes it is cheaper to fly into Baltimore, only 30 miles out of DC. From Baltimore, you can take a train, taxi, SuperShuttle (shared ride van service) or BWI Express bus into the city. If you fly into Reagan National Airport (as we did), again you can take a taxi, Metrorail or SuperShuttle.

The Official Washington, DC Tourist Internet site has abundant information.

Hotels? You have to decide which neighborhood you want to stay in. We prefer the Georgetown area with all its restaurants and walking area. There are hotels for all budgets – from relatively inexpensive (for DC) to luxury.

After getting past these two easy steps, you must have a game plan. Even the five, full days we spent was not long enough to see everything. There are some places you can spend days in and others that just required a few hours or less. Also, allow enough time for standing in line at the most popular sites, get off and running first things in the morning and wear walking shoes! Washington, DC is an easy city to walk…with the landmarks everywhere, it is difficult to get lost.
The places that took the most time to visit were the following in order of our “must-sees”:

Arlington National Cemetery. We spent most of an emotional morning here. Nothing ever prepares you for the sight of all those graves. ex-Marine (husband) wanted to see the Iwo Jima United States Marine Corps Memorial – his Corps memories being very dear to his heart. After crying in front of that, we wandered through the Cemetery, paid our respects to the Kennedy graves, Audie Murphy, Joe Louis, the Memorial to the crew of the space shuttle Challenger and Arlington House, the restored memorial to Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Wrung out physically as well as emotionally, headed towards something lighter…

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, otherwise known as the “Money Factory,” was so interesting and enjoyable watching our hard-earned money spewing off the presses. The printing of currency began in the Fall of 1863, and by 1877, all United States currency was printed in the Bureau.
Still lots more sights to see….