DC SIghts en route Home from DE
1. Coming back from DE, lock your firearms (unloaded) in the trunk.
2. Take I-95/I-495, Capital Beltway, around the east side of DC (entirely in MD).
3. Cross the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into VA, into Alexandria. (Ignore the 1/2 mile in the middle of the bridge that may or may not be "in DC").
4. Exit I-95 at Telegraph Road South, which is the second exit in VA after the bridge.
5. Turn left at the traffic light at Huntingdon Ave.
6. Drive 1/2 mile east on Huntingdon Ave, and turn right into the Huntingdon Avenue Metro station.
7. Park and lock your car in the parking garage.
8. At the Metro entrance, ask for help in getting a (cardboard) Metro card for each person in your group (no sharing allowed) except the driver. For the driver get a (plastic) Metro Smartcard. (Different dispensing machine than the others.) You will have to have the Smartcard to pay for parking when you leave - no attendants or cash at the parking exit.
The Metro attendant can advise you on how much money to put on each card. Be sure to add the parking fee into the amount on the Smartcard.
9. Take the Metro train (Yellow Line) into DC. The train is above ground as it crosses the Potomac River. Enjoy the view of the Jefferson Memorial, airplanes flying into National Airprt, and the Washington Monument and Kennedy Center off in the distance.
(Do not bother with changing to the Blue Line to ride to Smithsonian Station. That only wastes a lot time riding on the subway instead of sightseeing.. The walk from L'Enfant Plaza is not bad.)
10. Get off at L'enfant Plaza station, first station in DC after crossing the Potomac. Ask for directions to walk to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum or the National Museum of the American Indian. They are both on the National Mall, where you will be in the midst of the Smithsonian, The National Gallery of Art, the Hirschhorn Art museum, the Capital at one end and the Washington Monument at the other. See as many sights on the Mall as you have time and interest. Don't try to get to them all in one day - you can't.
(Tip - if you want to have a meal at one of the museums on the Mall, eat in the cafeteria at the Museum of teh American Indian. It is the only good museum eatery there, but it is also an outstanding food place., well worth it.)
11. Retrace your steps to L'Enfant Plaze and catch the Yellow Line back to Huntingdon (the end of the line, so you will not miss your stop.)
12. Retrieve yoru car, pay for parking with your Smartcard, and be on your way in VA!
Enjoy your visit!
To help prepare for riding the Metro, check
http://www.wmata.com/
How do I know all this? I live three miles from Huntingdon Metro Station.
Craig_VA