OT Trip to PA, VA, Washington DC

Looking for some help from the Pennsylvania and Virginia contingent.


The wife and I are celebrating our 40th anniversary this year. We typically stay close to home (Wisconsin) on our vacations but thought we'd knock off something on my bucket list. I've admired Washington and Jefferson lives and wanted to visit Mount Vernon and Monticello. I also want to include Gettysburg and DC.

Couple of questions. The first leg is 800 miles from my house to Gettysburg so I think we would stay somewhere between Cleveland and Pittsburgh and leave one whole day for the battlefield. Any suggestions for a nice town with reasonable accommodations?

Next would be DC and I am told to leave at least two days for the city. I am diabetic and walking long distances can be a real trial. I would prefer to leave my car outside the city and use "the Metro". Can I get on and off the bus? Again accommodation recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I suspect the best deal is outside the city of DC but where?

I figuring one day for Mount Vernon, Montpelier and Monticello. Is that reasonable?

The way back will include a family wedding in Indianapolis.

i will be on the lookout for tractors the whole trip and will report back on them.

If this works out next year I want to do Yellowstone or Glacier National Parks.

Be aware that Gettysburg might be a bit crowded around the first of July. 150th anniversary, you know.

I'd say at least 2 days in VA for Mt Vernon and then down to Montpelier and Monticello.Just past Monticello is Ashlawn home of James Madison and between MT Vernon and Montpelier on US 20 is the Wilderness Battlefield from the Civil War.Even with 2 days you be just skimming the surface so to speak as there is lots to see in this area.

Mass transit in the DC area is excellent. Get a hotel in the suburbs, then take the Metro into DC. It will drop you off right at the Mall. In the area of the Mall there are trolleys for tourists; as I recall you can get a day pass that will let you get on and off when you like. That said, seeing the various attractions is going to involve a fair amount of walking and standing in line; I strongly suggest you work on building up the distance you can walk. If you can comfortably walk at least 3 or 4 miles, it will make your visit much more pleasant. Get some good walking shoes and start walking now.

You'll definitely want to stay in the suburbs unless you have deep pockets. I normally stay in Alexandria in one of the hotels off I-395, but there are plenty of alternatives. At certain times of the year hotel rooms can be difficult to find; consider making reservations.

Charlottesville is a pretty long haul from DC, but Mt. Vernon is in the DC area; I would just make my Mt. Vernon visit part of DC and plan on visiting Montpelier and Monticello on a different day. Consider taking a few hours to drive up to Front Royal, then down through Shenandoah NP to Charlottesville.

I like to spend three days when I visit DC. That's not long enough to see "everything", but it's about as much as I can handle. I strongly recommend getting a tourist guidebook and planning your trip up front so you make sure and see the main things you want. You can easily spend two days or more at the various museums on the Mall. One attraction I would not bother with is the White House; the wait is long and the tour is short. A little-publicized attraction is the Friday evening parade at the Marine Corps 8th and I Street Barracks; definitely worth seeing if it works out with your schedule.

OK Gerry 2 days in DC will work but you need to pick what you want to see; Smithsonian (there's at least a day), Ford's theater, spy museum, some monuments and there's anothr day. Mt Vernon is greatly enlarged and really nice as it includes the house, a threshing barn, distillery and some fields. I have always found it burns a day. You will not see all three (Mt Vernon, Monticello and Monpelier) in one day. As i said Mt Vernon is one then half a day to get to the area of the other 2 and depending on how much else you want to see in the area will burn up more time.
"metro?" If you're thinking bus then you need to be IN DC; if you're thinking subway, and that's the way to go, then you're good and can stay at the end of the line. Now if you come down US 81 and east on State route 7 in Virginia the end of the line is in Vennia. If your plan is to stay on US 70 then come south on US 270 in Maryland the end of the line is Gaithersburg/Rockville. Both have nice places to stay with shuttles to the "Metro" so you can leave your car at the motel. I would suggest you drive to Mt. Vernon (get on George Washington Parkway and stay with it to Mt. Vernon) and spend that night closer to Monticello/Montplier, less cost.

If he's at Mt Vernon and goes into the Shenandoah valley to get to Charlottesville he'll be gone 100 miles out of his way for no reason.Better to head South from Mt Vernon on I95 get off at US Route 3 at Fredericksburg turn South on US 20 he'll pass thru the Wilderness Battlefield,thru Orange and right by Montpelier then US 20 to Charlottesville.Monticello is only 1 mile from US 20.Then to head to Indiana he takes
I64 West thats only 2 miles from Monticello.

Yeah, I live in G-burg. Hearing some wild estimates thrown around about the number of people coming this summer. One day will cutting it close for G-burg. Just depends how indepth you want to cover the battle. If you just want to take in the visitors center and drive the batllefield field auto tour I guess one day will be good.

I didn't say Shenandoah Valley. I suggested he go through Shenandoah National Park. And as far as for going out of his way for no reason, the reason would be to see the vistas from Skyline Drive. If Gerry doesn't want to go out of his way, his best bet would be to stay home in Wisconsin and save himself the entire 3000 mile trip.

Not being picky, but Ashelawn was Monroe,s home.
Richard

Did you know that Jefferson and Monroe were the only 2 presidents that could shake hands across their property lines?
Richard

check out the tour bus of Washington , you'll get to
see everything about Washington in a day . the other
places may take a day each and if I had to choose it
would be Mt.Vernon , Monticello then Montpelier .
I'm near Richmond and I wish they would move
Washington to the Mid West , what a mess.

He said he wanted to see Monticello and Montipelier not the Park so I gave him the best route.Skyline Drive is about as boring as it gets this time of year he'll see plenty of VA countryside from I64

Had Madison on my mind.Also the Rotunda at UVA is well worth seeing if you're a Jefferson Fan and George Rogers Clark birthplace is on US 20 just before Charlottesville.

Gerry,

What distances are you comfortable walking? If a quarter mile to a half mile walk at a time is uncomfortable then Washington DC could become a problem. The Washington mall is over a mile long and it is setup for walking everywhere. Visit the websites and get a tour book or two with some accurate maps so you can plan out your visit ahead of time.

Mount Vernon is well worth visiting, and there is a lot of walking there too, it was a farm. The tour of the house involves climbing some steep narrow stairs.

The Capital building is difficult to get into, very long waiting lines unless you can get a VIP pass. The White House tour used to require reservations made through your US representative or senator. The Smithsonian is seven or eight totally different museums, allow a half day to tour any one of them. The Treasury tour requires reservations, but they are easy to get the day ahead. The Supreme court is open when the court is not in session. I think the bus tours originate at the old train station just north of the Capital building, I don't remember the name of that station. The Washington DC crowds are not wall to wall people, but it's busy and the distances are long, similar to being at a state fair.

It could be a very good trip, but you will need to plan ahead for it. Have a good trip.

Jerry has it right about G'burg this year. Rumor has it that every hotel/motel room is already reserved for most of the summer since it has been 150 years since the battle. Wife is employed at the local hospital and there are several periods coming up this year where they are not allowed to take vacation. Seems like they are the two weeks around July 4th which is the actual anniversary and then in November which is when Lincoln's address is commemorated.

On DC... Public transportation in DC is about as good as it gets in this country. Seems like the last time we went on a day trip we were able to purchase a "day pass" which gave unlimited travel on all the bus lines as well as the Metro. Really beats trying to fight traffic all day in the city. Having said all that, the OP needs to take stock of how much walking is going to be practical for him. If you want to get up close and personal with any of the monuments or museums it will take a bit of walking.

Kirk

If you are looking for just a place to stay around Pittsburgh the
town of Washington, PA is just south and has some nice hotels. It
is right on route 70. Also near Washington is the Fort Necessity
Battlefield. Well it is north of there but if you have time and would
like to check it out you should.

If you're looking for old tractors, near Gettysburg, stop in at
yingling's junkyard, couple miles south of town.

Gerry, you're gonna cut it short if you try to do Gettysburg in one day and DC in two. And, if you go to Gettysburg, you should take an extra day and go to Antietam, near Thurmont, Md., and just south of Gettysburg. While Gettysburg was the end of the Army of Virginia and the real turning point of the war, Antietam was the bloodiest day, and about an hour south of Gettysburg.

But it will be hard to do DC in one day. The metro can be accessed from several suburbs very easily, and will bring you up at a station right in the Mall, surrounded by the Smithsonian and near the Washington Monument, Vietnam Memorial, and WW II Memorial. Arlington is not too far away, as is Mount Vernon and many other attractions. There is also the Washington Masonic Memorial just south of town in Alexandria, and that can take a day in itself. You could easily spend a week in the DC area and not get bored. If you do use the metro, it will also pay to get an extended pass- it's good for bus and rail service in the area. The Metro can be accessed from Lanham, northeast of town, or from Rockville to the northwest, as well as locations at College Park and Silver Spring, and will get you to many locations surrounding Washington.

So if you're planning a trip to this area, please don't cheat yourself for time. I was born and raised on the Ma & Pa border, and within a couple of hours of most of this stuff, and I still haven't seen it all- try to take at least a week just for the area around DC. You can lost in the Smithsonian for that long.

You're not allowing enough time. In DC alone there's so much to see it takes you a week to realize you haven't even scratched the surface.

Come to WV and visit Harpers Ferry,Ill set up some Tractor sights

jimmy

Don"t forget about the new Marine Corps Museum in Quantico (1/2 hour south on 95 from George"s old house), and the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum right by Dulles Airport and about 15 miles outside the Beltway.
There are some other good suggestions below.
Air & Space Museum

We have been to VA twice but for genealogy and some sight seeing. Stay away from the larger towns and you almost think you are back in IL. But there is a lot to see and within a few miles, not like the west. There will be alot of people at the main attractions and could be hot. You seem to have a grasp of things you would like to see, so go for that and then the next time go back for what you missed until you get everything looked at. Many old things have been preserved, unlike around this area. There is a lot of history in that area other that bloody wars.

Having a bad day, TF?