That's what it is like here in Sacramento too.
But DC is NOT a dry heat. Two years ago when I was there it was 100 degrees and 100% humidity. It's God awful. I don't know how people live there....
It doesn't get that hot here very often.
Washington DC in spring
- Thread starter propita
- Start date
It doesn't get that hot here very often.
A lot of the good restaurants probably shut between lunch and dinner, and many are closed on Mondays. You should be able to grab lunch at any number of places around the various congressional office buildings though. There is also a great food court and several other restaurants in Union Station to grab a meal while down near the monuments. I do suggest you check for hours before planning on any specific restaurants. You should really plan to go to at least one nice dinner - a good place to walk around a choose what strikes your fancy is Adams Morgan, which has a great variety of ethnic restaurants. I particularly like Dukem, which is an Ethiopian place.
eta: and you will have no trouble finding a starbucks.
Don't forget Mt. Vernon, if you have wheels available. Also, there's more than a few Civil War battlefield parks around, within driving distance.
Cheers,
-CM-
Cheers,
-CM-
That's what it is like here in Sacramento too.
But DC is NOT a dry heat. Two years ago when I was there it was 100 degrees and 100% humidity. It's God awful. I don't know how people live there....
We drink.
What’s the better airport to fly into Reagan/National, Dulles, or Baltimore? We were thinking Reagan for proximity but are otherwise ignorant.
I’m really looking forward to this. Got a response from our Rep’s office about tours, confirmed the info and the date changes. It’d be pretty cool to see all of this.
I’m liking the idea of taking the train to NYC and flying out of JFK. It’s these shared experiences that are so fun.
Maybe when we’re closer to travel time, if someone in the area is free, we can meet up. Obviously, not sure of scheduling yet.
I’m really looking forward to this. Got a response from our Rep’s office about tours, confirmed the info and the date changes. It’d be pretty cool to see all of this.
I’m liking the idea of taking the train to NYC and flying out of JFK. It’s these shared experiences that are so fun.
Maybe when we’re closer to travel time, if someone in the area is free, we can meet up. Obviously, not sure of scheduling yet.
Reagan (DCA) has the advantage of being "in town" with it's own Metro stop. However, you generally pay for the luxury, with tickets running 25-150 more.
Dulles (IAD) is pretty crap unless you're flying to Europe. It's 8.2 billion miles away. It's huge and smells. Metro runs a shuttle bus to Rosslyn, just over the Potomac from Georgetown and to L'Enfant Plaza in Downtown DC. Both are subway stops.
Baltimore-Washington (BWI) is the best of both worlds. It takes a while to get to...being in Baltimore and all...but there is a shuttle bus that takes you to the Metro (subway) Green Line terminus in Greenbelt, MD. From there you can take the train into town. Tickets into/out of BWI are usually the cheapest and I think it's by far the best airport.
Having just taken the train to NYC for the first time this weekend I'm wondering WHY IN THE HELL ISN'T EVERYONE DOING THIS ALL THE TIME? It's great. It's like what airlines were in the 50s...I guess...just without all the smoking and sexism. My fiancee got two tickets in September on the Northeast Regional for 49 bucks each and it took about 3 hours to get from DC's Union Station to NYC's Penn Station.
Dulles (IAD) is pretty crap unless you're flying to Europe. It's 8.2 billion miles away. It's huge and smells. Metro runs a shuttle bus to Rosslyn, just over the Potomac from Georgetown and to L'Enfant Plaza in Downtown DC. Both are subway stops.
Baltimore-Washington (BWI) is the best of both worlds. It takes a while to get to...being in Baltimore and all...but there is a shuttle bus that takes you to the Metro (subway) Green Line terminus in Greenbelt, MD. From there you can take the train into town. Tickets into/out of BWI are usually the cheapest and I think it's by far the best airport.
Having just taken the train to NYC for the first time this weekend I'm wondering WHY IN THE HELL ISN'T EVERYONE DOING THIS ALL THE TIME? It's great. It's like what airlines were in the 50s...I guess...just without all the smoking and sexism. My fiancee got two tickets in September on the Northeast Regional for 49 bucks each and it took about 3 hours to get from DC's Union Station to NYC's Penn Station.
Thanks for confirming DCA as not a bad choice, Squig! I will check BWI, but I think Hubby wants to minimize the hassle. We were seeing that train info online. Sounds great!
And we’re only taking a carryon each (plus backpack with iPad and camera, etc), so no check-in baggage. I know it limits us on some stuff, but as we’re not fancy anyway, so we’re going pretty casual. If we want a “nicer” place to eat, we’ll make it lunch--which is what we were planning. A big midday meal and smaller dinner.
We’re really new to travel and just learning all the stuff. We looked on expedia and found a hotel we liked--Affinia Liaison in Washington and Affinia Manhattan in, well, duh. Not cheap but not shockingly expensive nowadays, and Best Western is about the same price. That was surprising.
Can you all tell I’m really up on this?
Hubby and I have not had a REAL vacation by ourselves since ComicCon 1991!!! Little trips to Vegas or LA or Frisco, and Florida (with all the family), but not just us.
And we’re only taking a carryon each (plus backpack with iPad and camera, etc), so no check-in baggage. I know it limits us on some stuff, but as we’re not fancy anyway, so we’re going pretty casual. If we want a “nicer” place to eat, we’ll make it lunch--which is what we were planning. A big midday meal and smaller dinner.
We’re really new to travel and just learning all the stuff. We looked on expedia and found a hotel we liked--Affinia Liaison in Washington and Affinia Manhattan in, well, duh. Not cheap but not shockingly expensive nowadays, and Best Western is about the same price. That was surprising.
Can you all tell I’m really up on this?
Hubby and I have not had a REAL vacation by ourselves since ComicCon 1991!!! Little trips to Vegas or LA or Frisco, and Florida (with all the family), but not just us.
Avoid Dulles at all costs.
Better yet, if you're flying in on a week day, the MARC is $6 straight to Union Station. There's a free shuttle that takes you from the terminal to the airport train station. If you're getting in late night or on the weekend, Amtrak runs trains through there as well.
I used to always take the train north, but I've found the Bolt Bus to be just as comfortable, a bit faster, and significantly cheaper ($10-15). The only thing really missing is the snack car and ability to stretch your legs with a walkabout.
Better yet, if you're flying in on a week day, the MARC is $6 straight to Union Station. There's a free shuttle that takes you from the terminal to the airport train station. If you're getting in late night or on the weekend, Amtrak runs trains through there as well.
I used to always take the train north, but I've found the Bolt Bus to be just as comfortable, a bit faster, and significantly cheaper ($10-15). The only thing really missing is the snack car and ability to stretch your legs with a walkabout.
Dulles is fine if you're destined for the NoVA area. Traffic into DC and around to Baltimore can be a pain at times though. The Dulles Toll Road helps somewhat with that. (Can't wait for them to finish the Dulles metro line in a few years.)
doubleohfive
Fleet Admiral
Amen! That new line will make my travel back much easier in that I won't have to depend on family to waste an an hour or so coming to get me every time I fly in.
So you visited in the summertime. That's not unusual.
As someone who grew up in the DC Metro area (Arlington, to be exact) I would also advise lodging in either Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church or one of the surrounding cities. The Metro system is superb and will get you where you want to go for less than you'd pay for parking a rental car around town.
Of course. But this was a heatwave even by normal summer standards. The temp was well over 100 degrees. (And yeah, there was humidity to the extreme as well.)
Fortunately the OP will not have that problem.
Last edited:
doubleohfive
Fleet Admiral
July and August tend to have 100+degree weather days in DC; that's not entirely out of the norm. Worse is when the humidity creeps at 98% or so, so that its not just heat but sticky heat. Definitely don't miss that.
Then again, when the humidity does finally peak, you get those excellent 20-minute thunderstorms out of nowhere that disappear just as quickly. I miss those a lot.
Then again, when the humidity does finally peak, you get those excellent 20-minute thunderstorms out of nowhere that disappear just as quickly. I miss those a lot.
The first time I went to DC (five years ago) we were out walking to Legal Seafood for dinner. It was about 90 degrees, and all of a sudden the sky opened up. It was incredible! Of course we had no umbrellas (we were in shorts and t shirts).
I was surprised they let us into the restaurant. By the time we got there, we were soaked.
PS: I always fly into Dulles, and I've never had a problem. I love those people mover truck things. They look like something out of Star Wars.
In the 'Very Nice Restaurant' category:
http://www.rasikarestaurant.com/
http://www.jaleo.com/
http://zaytinya.com/
In the 'Classic' category:
http://www.benschilibowl.com
http://www.2amyspizza.com/
In the 'You're in the city, see something you can't at home' category:
http://www.dcimprov.com/
http://www.kennedy-center.org/
http://www.warnertheatre.org/
http://www.nationaltheatre.org/
http://www.arenastage.org/
http://www.verizoncenter.com/
The 'Quick Food that's not fast food' category
http://www.shakeshack.com/
http://www.choptsalad.com/
Anywhere in Chinatown: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown_(Washington,_D.C.)
http://www.rasikarestaurant.com/
http://www.jaleo.com/
http://zaytinya.com/
In the 'Classic' category:
http://www.benschilibowl.com
http://www.2amyspizza.com/
In the 'You're in the city, see something you can't at home' category:
http://www.dcimprov.com/
http://www.kennedy-center.org/
http://www.warnertheatre.org/
http://www.nationaltheatre.org/
http://www.arenastage.org/
http://www.verizoncenter.com/
The 'Quick Food that's not fast food' category
http://www.shakeshack.com/
http://www.choptsalad.com/
Anywhere in Chinatown: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown_(Washington,_D.C.)
While those "people mover truck things" are still around, they're mostly used as backup or for "remote gate" operations (de-plane directly onto the truck). For most stuff, the new subway they opened a few months ago has replaced them.
Dulles is actually the most convenient airport for me now since I live in Bethesda, but when I lived in Arlington Reagan was the most convenient airport I have ever had.
