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W A S H I N G T O N  D C
A weekend in Washington D.C. with the Cherry Blossoms
Date Area Location Notes
W A S H I N G T O N  D C  (+/-)
April 6, 2009 Maryland College Park Highway 1 to University of Maryland at College Park, Hornbake Library
April 7, 2009 Washington DC National Mall United States Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial
April 9, 2009 Washington DC Smithsonian Institution National Air & Space Museum
Apollo 11 Command Module "Columbia", Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis", Skylab Orbital Workshop, Douglas DC-7.
Washington DC Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History (Mammals Hall, Dinosaur Hall)
Washington DC Smithsonian Institution Museum of American History (Star-Spangled Banner)
April 10, 2009 Virginia Chantilly National Air & Space Museum - Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (Blackbird SR-71, Space Shuttle Enterprise)
April 11, 2009 Maryland College Park University of Maryland at College Park, Adele H. Stamp Student Union
Washington DC National Mall 495 Beltway from College Park to George Washington Memorial Parkway to the Arlington Memorial Bridge
Washington DC Smithsonian Institution National Air & Space Museum
Apollo 11 Command Module "Columbia" (1969); Gemini IV (1965); Mercury "Friendship 7" (1962); Viking Lander (1975); Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis" (1927); North American X-15 (1959); Sputnik 1 (1957); Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (1957); Tomahawk cruise missle; Wright Flyer (1903); Douglas A-4C Skyhawk (1967); Bridge (Pri-Fly); Apollo to the Moon (F-1 Engine, Skylab 4 Command Module, Lunar Roving Vehicle, Apollo 11 Checklist, Apollo 11 Command Module Hatch); Lockheed F-104 Starfighter (1954); SpaceShipOne; SS-20 Nuclear Missile; and we touched the Apollo 17 "moon rock" (1972) on the way out the door.
Washington DC Smithsonian Institution National Gallery of Art
The Alba Madonna, Raphael (1510); The Annunciation, Jan van Eyck (1434/1436); Rouen Cathedral, West Façade, Sunlight, Claude Monet (1894); The Japanese Footbridge, Claude Monet (1889); Self-Portriat, Vincent van Gogh (1889); Jerusalem Artichoke Flowers, Claude Monet (1880); Rouen Cathedral, West Façade, Claude Monet (1894); The Adoration of the Magi, Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi (1440/1460); The Peppermint Bottles, Paul Cézanne (1893/1895).
Washington DC National Mall United States Capitol, Inauguration Area
Washington DC Dupont Circle The Madison, Room 1238. Drinks in the Madison Bar.
Washington DC Downtown Verizon Center on the night of the Frozen Four Championship (Boston College 4, Miami (OH) 3), Dinner at La Tasca.
April 12, 2009 Washington DC National Mall Museum of American History
Star-Spangled Banner (1814); Thomas Jefferson's Desk (1776); Gunboat Philiadelphia (1776); Muhammad Ali's Boxing Gloves (1976); Dorothy's Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz; George Washington's Uniform, Sword and Scabbard; Custer's buckskin coat; UH-1H Huey Helicopter deployed in Vietnam (1966); Watergate File Cabinet; C3P0 from Return of the Jedi.
Washington DC National Mall Museum of Natural History (Hope Diamond (45.53 carats), Ocean Hall, Dinosaur Hall).
Washington DC National Mall Lunch on the Mall, walked to the Washington Monument, along the Reflecting Pool to the Lincoln Memorial. Walked the Vietnam Memorial to Foggy Bottom and George Washington University. Took the Metro back to the hotel to watch Tiger & Phil's final round duel at The Masters.
Washington DC Dupont Circle Walked to The White House and Lafayette Park.
Washington DC Georgetown Walked around Georgetown University, drove P Street, dinner at News Cafe, walked to the C&O Canal.
April 13, 2009 Washington DC National Mall Checked out, took the Metro downtown, waited in line at the National Archives, ran over to the Museum of American History (Lincoln's Top Hat (1865)).
Washington DC Georgetown Walked around Georgetown, lunch at J. Paul's.
Virinia Chantilly National Air & Space Museum - Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Blackbird SR-71, James S. McDonnell Space Hanger containing the Space Shuttle Enterprise and main engine, Gemini VII capsule, John Glenn's training couch, mother ship model from Close Encounters of the Third Kind; Boeing B-52 Superfortress Enola Gay, Boeing 307 Stratoliner Clipper Flying Cloud, Aichi M6A1 Seriran, Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Nakajima J1N1-S Gekko, Boeing 367-80, Mikoyan-Gurevich MIG-21F, McDonnell F-4S Phantom II, Grumman Tomcat F-14, and an Air France Concorde supersonic airliner.
N O T E S  (+/-)
Smithsonian Entry Smithsonian Museums are free. If you run into lines trying to get in, keep in mind that there are two entrances - one on the "Mall" side and one on on Constitution/Independence Avenue(s). We found that the "Mall" entrances had shorter lines on the weekneds, vice versa for the weekdays.
Parking (Dupont Circle) Parking in downtown Washington DC is relatively easy to find on both the weekends and weekdays. Don't believe the valets at the hotels. Parking is free all weekend long in most downtown areas, but make sure you read parking signs & meters carefully. There is no parking on most downtown streets between 7am and 9am "Rush Hour", and it's not easy to figure out as the parking meter signs will elude to something different. Parking tickets will run you $100 dollars if you're lucky enough not to be towed.
Driving to Washington Dulles
from the Capital Beltway		 When you merge onto SR-267 (Dulles Toll Road) from the I-495 Capital Beltway, there are "no toll" lanes to the left which take your directly to Washington Dulles (and vice versa). You can also access Washington Dulles from the "local" SR-267 but you will pay a toll.
W A S H I N G T O N  D C