John

These guys have an a wonderful variety of foods. All the standard coffee shop snacks – plus some tasty brazilian morsels you cannot find anywhere else in this area.

Last time I was there, a pair of giraffe’s were perpetuating the species. A hippo proved he had not been eating any fish. Very fun to visit when the weather is nice.

Now that I have a digital camera I look forward to going back again and taking lots and lots and lots of photos.

I love taking pictures of animals.

Do yourself a favor and go in the springtime. Then you can enjoy walking around and seeing everything in bloom.

In late July and August, D.C. is like an oven. Very hot and humid.

The memorials are pretty impressive and the parks around them are well-kept.

I went on a tour with my Boy Scout troop as a kid. They showed us an impressive arsenal of guns they have collected from criminals. I think they also let us have or handle a spent shell casing.

Pretty long time ago that I was there, so the details are sketchy.

The photo and film guidelines of the museum pretty much rule out photography by the average tourist.

This was not completely clear from the information on the museum’s information phone line. You do get the impression you would not be allowed to photograph very much, from what is ruled out. The link above spells out the restrictions more plainly.

You have to get permission in advance and complete the photos before the museum opens at 10 in the morning. If you are making a special trip just to spend the day at the museum, sounds like you would be better off leaving the camera at home.

Everyone who lives near the DC area should take their kid here at least once. Especially when they are young, if they like dinosaurs or geology.

The mastadon is really cool. I remember seeing it when I when there as a little kid in kindergarten or first grade.

This is one of the premier museums in the country for little kids to go to. Most are not all that into recent history or art. Stuff they see here will really make an impression because it is the stuff they are already in awe of.

Kids love to visit the Air and Space museum and the Museum of Natural History – the dinosaur museum, if you must know.

The parks, like the one down by the Washington monument, are really beautiful in springtime.

DC has a really diverse array of restaurans. They have a nice mix of the franchise ones and the one-of-a-kind establishments. Even the franchise eateries are kind of unique.

Over in Georgetown, on M Street and also Wisconsin Avenue – you will be amazed at how many restaurants you can find: German, lots of French, some Thai and Indian, lots of Pizza/Italian places, some Tex-Mex. All kinds, really.

DC in August is very hot and humid, though. So, if you are not acclimated to hot weather – do yourself a favor and do not go at the peak of summer if you are going to walking a lot outdoors.

DC area traffic really gets snarled when it snows. Springtime in DC is the best.

My father’s mother, my grandma, used to live here. My family and I went to visit her many times.

Oddly enough, I cannot recall much sight-seeing we did when we were in town there.

I lived here for most of the 1980s.

It was fun to have an apartment with a sliding glass door opening onto a balcony that faces onto woods. I used to look out it and watch birds, squirrels, and such. I would see them flitter and scurry about while I ate my breakfast – and sometimes lunches too.

In the 1980s, there was not much night life to speak of in Reston. Not nearly as many nice, upscale restaurants and bars there then as there are now.

I have worked in and near Reston a few times since I moved from there. It is a handy place to run over to if you need to pick up a book at a bookstore, grab a delicious meal, or go for a walk.

Lake Anne there is very beautiful. It is rung by a walkway which in turn is bordered by condominiums. If the weather is nice, you should go walking there and check it out. When I was super young my parents took me there one day and I got a balloon. When I worked in Reston, I used to get my hair cut there by Chanez, a hair dresser who used to live in Paris.

Philadelphia is great tourist city. Every American should go there and to Boston.

Philadelphia is intimately entwined with the United States’ history. There are many historical sites here. You can go on tours that will take you to see lots of them.

Make sure you see the Liberty Bell. Also, where the first continental congress used to meet.