Friday, July 10, 2009

See Ya In DC!

ACK! ACK!! ACK!!!

In a few short days Aunty will be leaving for the RWA National Conference in Washington DC. I'm really looking forward to some face time with all my writer-buddies, and this year for the first time, I'll be participating as a published author in the Literacy Signing! This is a very big deal with over 500 authors participating and all the proceeds going to literacy programs. Plus, since it is open to the public, I'll get a chance to meet some readers.

Aunty hasn't been in DC in about five years, so I asked my Banditas for some info on the hotel and getting around to the sights. If you are going to be at the conference, maybe some of this will be helpful for you too!

My Banditas Jeanne (Le Duchesse) Adams, Trish Millburn, and (Vrai aka VA) Anna Sugden all recommend using the Metro which is at the bottom of the hill from the Wardman Marriott where the conference is being held. They all praised the Metro as being quick, clean, and safe. The red line which is by the hotel goes down to the National Mall and all the fabulous (and FREE) museums! Not sure about the cost but Trish provided this link:
http://www.wmata.com/

Speaking of those museums, my personal favorite is the Air & Space, followed closely by the Natural History. At Air & Space you can see Lindberg's "Spirit of St. Louis" overhead as you walk in. There's also a space capsule and you can touch a moon rock. When you walk into the main floor gallery of Natural History, you're greeted by a gigantic, charging elephant! Don't worry, he's stuffed and not going anywhere.

Another good museum to see that is often less crowded is the Hirshorn. This is 'modern' art and has all the iconclastic artists from the 1960s. You can see Andy Warhol's soup cans, Jasper Johns' flags, and Roy Lichtenstein's cartoony portraits. You can't miss the building because of the huge sculpture out front that looks like a ginormous twisted piece of raffia ribbon.

VA also recommends the tour buses that let you get on and off at various stops. Anna said: "You can get day passes...and they take you around the city --the people who do the talk are really good. We got on ours at the Lincoln Memorial and went all around DC. If you want to go to Arlington National Cemetery, you need a separate ticket, but then that will let you go round the cemetery, a great tour."(Aunty highly recommends seeing Arlington!)

And here's what Trish had to say about the Wardman Marriott: "The Wardman is at the top of a hill. At the bottom of the hill, right next to the Metro stop, is a CVS. It and a McDonald's are on that end of a strip of stores, and there's a Chipotle at the other end -- not far. There are also a lot of ethnic restaurants nearby."

I really appreciated all their great information and I can't wait to see everybody there! If you can make it to the Wednesday night Literacy Signing, be sure to stop by and say hi!

4 comments:

pjpuppymom said...

Can't wait to see you in DC! I was there last fall and saw quite a lot but the Museum of American History was closed for remodeling. I'm hoping to pop over there while in the city next week.

We used the Metro quite a bit while there and it was great. I second Arlington - definitely a "must see". Also, a night tour of the monuments is not to be missed. Gorgeous!

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

PJ,
I'm soooo excited to see you too!

Arlington is very awe-inspiring and really needs to be experienced first hand to get the full impact.

I've been to a couple of the monuments after dark and they were spectacular, esp. the Washington Monument.

See you soon!!!
AC

Jane said...

Have in DC, Aunty Cindy. I wish I was there so I could meet you and the other Banditas. I've only been to DC once and it was back in junior high. I do remember visiting the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Didn't get to visit Arlington, but hope to someday soon.

Terri Osburn said...

Can't believe I leave in less than 24 hours. Whoot! I'm hoping to take in as many sights as I can since it's been just over 20 yrs since I was there. The good thing is I live 3 hrs away so if I miss anything, I can go back in the fall with kiddo.

I'm so excited to see you again! (And finally get to meet PJ!!!)