Washington DC Queer Parenting Meetup! - Page 2

[seraf]

The kids are getting excited about our upcoming trip. I have a couple of questions, are there any camping areas kind of close to the city?

And what do we need to see while we're there? Is there a Chinatown?

[nosreves]

seraf -- i don't live in the DC anymore, but i did for much of my teens and part of my 20s.  the zoo is free and really cool.  also, the smithsonian museums are a must-see, and they too are all free.  my favorites as a kid were the Air and Space museum and the Natural History Museum (don't miss the top floor.  the kids can hold tarantulas and huge cockroaches, if they are so inclined.) the east wing of the national gallery (the H shaped building right near the capitol building) has an enormous mobile by Alexander Calder (my fave) hanging from the ceiling, and the building itself is super cool.  there's also the Hirschhorn (a round art museum) and its sculpture garden.  and one of the newest Smithsonians is the National Museum of the American Indian.  it's very interesting, and you can get some authentic food in the cafeteria. 

if you're up for some strong emotions (tough looking bikers guys sobbing their eyes out, for example), there's the Vietnam War Memorial.  it's right by the Lincoln Memorial and not too far from the Washington Monument and all the Smithsonians. 

i also highly recommend eating Ethiopian food in Adams Morgan (a very cool neighborhood).   i used to always get the vegetarian combo platter, as it had a little bit of everything...well, everything except the meat.  it doesn't look like a lot of food when you get it, but an order for one person is usually enough for two people. 

and, yes, there's a Chinatown!

depending on how much time you have, you might also want to check out old town Alexandria (just outside of DC on the Virginia side.)  it's a sweet little area, and if you're feeling peckish, you can get ice cream from the Ben and Jerry's store and go eat it on the docks.  there's also the Torpedo Factory which has artists' studios in it.

that's all i can think of for now... have a great time!

[seraf]

Nos, did Osh put you up to that post? We are planning zoo, air and space, natural history, native American museum FOR the food, and I don't even know what else. The fact that you mention Ethiopian food is what makes me suspect the boy. Thank you for all your recommendations. I will prob try to squeeze more in than Ari can handle. Note to self, bring a sling.

[AngelaM]

Nosreves covered the basics and then some! Sadly (well, happily, but sadly for the purposes of this meet-up), we are moving to North Carolina soon so that I can take a fab new job. So, we won't be around to greet you. Not sure about campgrounds, but if you go the hotel route, staying outside of the city will save you $$. Arlington or Silver Spring, maybe. Just make sure you are near a metro.

Have a great trip!

[smilingsara]

escher (or nos): what would be a good neighborhood to look for cheap hotels that are on the metro system, preferably outside of the city but not too far?! 

Thanks so much! 

[escher]

Seraf and Sara: I'm so excited that you all are coming! It sounds like you've already gotten lots of great ideas of things to see. I will say that it seems like for kids, less is often more in DC. I see so many miserable children being dragged all around DC by their parents because their parents want them to see all the great museums, monuments, neighborhoods, etc. There is a lot to see.

The closest campground I know of is Greenbelt Park. It is about 4.5 miles from the Greenbelt metro station, and I believe that there are buses from the metro station to the park. Googling just now, it looks like there is a for-profit campground called Cherry Hill Park that is less than 3 miles from the Greenbelt metro station. You could also think about camping in beautiful Harper's Ferry, and they have commuter trains into DC everyday. I don't know much about hotels in the area, but if you want to send me some you're considering I'm happy to give you any information I have on their locations.

Angela: I'm sorry to hear you're moving away, but I hope your new job is great!

[AngelaM]

Lots of people stay in Arlington or Crystal City, though they're kind of blah suburbs. Check out the Courtyard Marriot in Silver Spring. Not sure how pricy it is, but I've heard it's nice, and Silver Spring is great. Also, what are your dates, and are you allergic to cats? We have good friends who live in the district who are always traveling and looking for petsitters.

[AngelaM]

Oh, make sure you book at Downtown silver Spring Marriott, not the Courtyard North.

[seraf]

Angela, holy cow! You are moving so soon? That's a shame we won't get to see you but yay for a great new job. And thanks for the recommendations.

Escher, so it's just us and you? Lol, I will try to resist the urge to exhaust the kids. I was thinkig morning activity, lunch, afternoon activity. Does that seem unreasonable? I haven't been to dc since O was a baby so I don't know. Thank you for the camping recommendations. Sara pointed out that it may be too cold for camping, so I don't know if that means we need to just wait and see or pack for whatever may come. Just let us know where you wan to meet.

[nosreves]

sara -- Osha didn't say anything to me, but i think i might have been channeling him.  the kid's got some mad telepathy skills!  i second Angela on Arlington and Crystal City.  for the most part, i loathe bland ole Northern Virginia (where i went to half of high school and where my dad still lives).  that being said, this site gives accolades to a campground that's very close to where my paternal unit lives.  it looks like it's about 20mins by car to the Metro, and there's a ton of parking at the Springfield/Franconia station.  personally, i'm all for Greenbelt, MD, as it's a super cool town (despite the current tick and chigger alert), and it's not very far from the College Park Metro. Old Greenbelt was a planned cooperative community that Eleanor Roosevelt helped design, and it still has a very crunchy, co-opy vibe.

let me know if you need further help figuring out where to stay.  i can ask one of my many minions in that area for suggestions. 

[seraf]

Thanks again for all the recommendations. I think I need to look at a map to plan it out better (oh, so much better than the Chicago trip).  We are excited.  And I'm going to be HUGE.  When we tried to get day passes for the transportation in Chicago we found out that you can buy any of them in the stations except the kind we wanted, which had to be purchased at a drug store.  Mmm hmm.  On a sunday morning.  Are there any quirks like that in DC I should know about?

Nos, you will be getting a post card from there.  Osha was very excited about the idea of Ethiopian food.  When I was first trimester with him Ethiopian food was the only thing that sounded edible.  He has hardly had it since we moved away from the city 5 years ago so it cracks me up when he gets excited about it.

[escher]

I don't know if it will be too cold to camp in September. But I tend to be ok with slightly chilly camping weather. According to weather.com, during the third weekend in September (around September 17) the average high in DC is 79 and the average low is 62.

[seraf]

I didn't think weather stuff would be out already.  That doesn't sound bad to me, what with having my own personal heater, but Sara has been getting chilly lately just in the house.  I am guessing we will just hotel it because that means we have so much less stuff to pack that way (driving a car with minimal cargo space).  Thanks for looking it up.