[Sable99]

I worked in Washington, DC for 26 years and lived in northern Virginia. There are so many places to see in DC: the Capitol, the Capitol Visitor Center, Arlington Cemetery, the WWII Memorial is beautiful, the Kennedy Center, the Zoo, the Smithsonian, the Holocaust Museum, National Cathedral, the Catholic Church (can't remember the name), the White House and of course, all the monuments. I believe they are all still free. They are probably not doing the Capitol Dome tours now because there is major construction on the Capitol Dome; but, a Member of Congress can take you to the top of the dome. I've been there many times and its a beautiful view of the city.

I've been retired for a while but you used to be able to get White House tour passes from your Member of Congress. You need to call early because each Member only gets 10 tickets a week.

There are many places to see in northern Virginia too. Arlington Cemetery, the Lee Mansion, Iwo Jima, the Pentagon, the Air Force Memorial and the 911 Memorial at the Pentagon to name a few. My favorite is Mt. Vernon (the home of George Washington) but that is about 20 miles out of town.

The best way to see DC is by the blue tour buses. Traffic is a lot better in the summer because all of the colleges are out but it is not easy to park in DC. Also, the Metro system is wonderful.

Have a wonderful time if you go to DC!! I wish I was going with you!