I found a website that has all kinds of Obama t-shirts and more. It's really awesome! You can have the t-shirt before you even get to Washington! You'll find plenty of Obama t-shirts at the airport and many more places, according to a friend of mine who recently visited Washington, D.C.

Visit this site to buy t-shirt:
http://www.capitolshoppingmall.com/index.html

Some of my favorite places to visit are the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, The State Capitol, FBI Museum, Bureau of Printing and Engraving, Jefferson Memorial. The city looks very beautiful at night with all the lights on. I took a tour at night and it was great.

When I went to Washington several years ago, the city was under a code orange alert, and no backpacks were allowed anywhere. It was very strict then, as my purse and I went through every metal detector. Not to mention, bomb sniffing dogs even came on the tour bus I was on. I wouldn't recommend taking the backback, even though things aren't as strict right now. Cameras are allowed in most places and you'll certainly want visual memories of your trip.

Hope you enjoy your trip!

Great talent Der Mann.

Yes, I have some ideas.

The biggest expense in DC is lodging. Hotel rooms can run $300 a night or more. There are a couple of approaches you can take to this issue.

You can stay out in the suburbs. I don't advocate this, as it is not as convenient to landmarks, and especially with an eight year old it is nice to have a nearby hotel room to crash in for an afternoon nap, or just some time off. If you go the suburbs route, there are a number of less expensive hotels in Arlington – make sure you ask if they are near metro – how far from metro, whether they have shuttles to metro and which station. Rosslyn and Crystal City are two meto stations with some inexpensive motels nearby, almost always involving a significant walk, though.

Better yet, to stay in one of the rare inexpensive hotels downtown. The Red Roof Inn downtown is located in the Chinatown/Penn quarter area, only a few blocks from the mall (near the Capitol). You can usually get a room there for $120 a night or less. The Hotel Harrington is also downtown, near the Metro Center Station, and only a few blocks from the Natural History Museum and the Mall (closer to the Washington Monument end). Rooms here start right at $100.

If both of these are outside your budget, your best bet may be to stay at the Hostelling International Hostel. They start at less than $30 per person per night, and may have lower costs for kids. You can also get a family room for your family. We've traveled in the US and abroad with hostels and had a great time at a great price.

Dining affordably in DC is a little easier. There are large, inexpensive food courts in Union Station, the Post Office Pavilion and the Ronald Reagan Federal Building. The first is at the Union Station metro station, and the latter two are near Federal Triangle. These are just steps from the mall, too, and have a variety of foods that you and your child will enjoy. For dinner, check out the Chinatown area (near the Red Roof Inn) as well as Adams Morgan (take the Woodley Park Zoo exit on the red line and cross the river on the Duke Ellington Bridge. Keep walking till you get to 18th street, then check out the restaurants on 18th street. U-Street Cardozo/African American Civil War Memorial exit also has some restaurants – Ben's chili bowl is a bargain Washington institution. Try to avoid eating on the mall, at any of the museums, as these meals are overpriced.

For attractions, of course, you can spend weeks here and not exhaust the free attractions. The monuments and memorials are free. The Capitol, Library of Congress, Supreme Court and Archives are free. The Smithsonian is free. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is free.

Some of the free or low cost sites that I think are of most interst to an 8 year old are:

The Zoo
The National Aquarium (off 15th street in the commerce building) (*NOT FREE – $5 admission)
The National Museum of Natural History
The National Archives
The Air and Space Museum (note that IMAX movies and Planetarium shows are NOT free)
The memorials along the mall.
The Postal Museum (near Union Station – great for kids!)
The National Archives (how can you not visit the declaration of Independence).
National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden.

More ideas on my web site, listed below.

Excellent work. Pleasure to watch. Perfect music ))

The best Airport to fly into is Ronald Regan DCA but you might get some good flights into BWI. DC has a good metro system. http://www.wmata.com/ which will get you to most of the Tourist areas (or very near). As a tourist you should consider day passes $7.80. Most of the areas around the mall are walkable.

If you fly into BWI you take the B30 bus to the Greenbelt metro and the metro into DC.

As Julie said, nearly everything that you're looking to do in DC will be free. All of the Smithsonian museums are free, as is access to the memorials. The 1st Division memorial is off the mall, closer to the White House. I also really like the Washington DC WWI memorial, which most people don't even know exists. It's on the right hand side of the mall as you walk from the Lincoln to the Washington monuments.

Make sure to visit the Korean War memorial, which is on the other side of the reflecting pool from the Vietnam memorial. Also make sure to visit the FDR, as it's one of the best. There is also a medical museum at Walter Reed that very few people visit, but it pretty cool. The Smithsonian also recently opened the Udvar-Hazy center in Dulles, Va that houses all of the airplanes too big to fit in the downtown Air and Space museum. They have a Concorde, SR-71,the Enola Gay, space shuttle Enterprise, and many others. Admission is free, but parking is $12.

The only real perk to being a service member is that it's apparently much easier to schedule a White House visit. You have to do that through your congressman- call (202) 224-3121 to reach the Capital switchboard.

The good news is that most of the museums and monuments are free and they are within walking distance of the metro. The National Mall runs from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol, and in between you'll find the Viet Nam memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Washington Monument, most of the Smithsonian museums, and the Botanical Gardens. The White House, Jefferson Memorial, FDR Memorial, National Archives, and other memorials and museums (Holocaust Museum, Bureau of Printing and Engraving — money is printed here) are just a couple of blocks north or south of the mall. Just east of the Capitol are the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court.
Nearby metro stops include the Smithsonian, L'Enfant Plaza, Navy Memorial, and Capitol South. (http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/systemmap.cfm)

For information on the Smithsonian, go to http://www.si.edu. Note that the Museum of American History is closed for renovation.

Tip: Most of the museums open at 10 am. However, the grounds of the National Zoo (part of Smithsonian and free) is open at 7 am, and many animals are outside by 8 and this is when they are most active (and fewest crowds — great time to see the Giant Pandas at their best). Nearest Metro: Woodley Park/Zoo or Cleveland Park on the Red line.

For information on what do see and do, where to eat, nightlife, etc. I recommend you look at the Washingtonian Magazine (http://www.washingtonian.com/).

If you are flying into Dulles or Regan National Airport, I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of The Washington Flyer magazine. It's free, and it has some great maps of the area.

There's a lot to see and do and a visit can be very economical, but very exhausting. Lot's of walking. I recommend that you look into taking the Tourmobile. (http://www.tourmobile.com/) These buses provide guided tours along the mall, stopping at most of the sites along the mall, plus the Capitol, White House, Jefferson Memorial, etc. You can ride it all day, getting on and off as much as you want. It also goes to Arlington National Cemetery. A single day pass is $20, or $30 for a 2-day pass.

Another Tip: Go to the museums, Capitol, Library of Congress, etc., during the day, and many close at 5 or 5:30 during the winter months. The Lincoln, Jefferson, FDR, and other memorials are open until midnight, and some, such as the Viet Nam Memorial and Iwo Jima Memorial, are open 24 hours.

Also, the Kennedy Center, which is open at night, has the Millennium Stage — free shows in the main lobby area at 6 pm each evening. No tickets or reservations required. http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/schedule.html Nearest metro is Foggy Bottom, with free shuttles to the Kennedy Center.

Do a little research and plan your attack. Good luck, and have fun!

I worked in DC for over 30 years and visitors usually stayed in hotels in Crystal City or Old Town, Alexandria. They are usually cheaper and are near Metro stations. The advantage to Old Town Alexandria is that there are a lot of great restaurants along King Street, many with nightly entertainment. Often, they have free shuttles to Regan National Airport and the Metro Stations.

I really don't recommend driving in Washington, DC, as a lot of the places you want to go to have very little parking. Find a station outside the city and Metro in.

1) Unless you contacted your Congressperson, you're not going to be able to tour the White House. And even if you do contact him/her, it's not guaranteed you'll get in. If you do, the closest stop is McPherson Square on the Orange and Blue lines. The White House exit will be indicated on the signage.

2) The Washington Monument is in the middle of the National Mall. There is almost no parking nearby. The closest Metro stop is Smithsonian on the Orange and Blue lines, Mall entrance.

3) The Vietnam Memorial and Lincoln Memorial don't have much parking nearby. It's about half a mile south of the Foggy Bottom Metro station on the Orange and Blue lines. You'll see a hospital entrance on your left as you come up the escalator. Turn right to head to the Lincoln and Vietnam Memorials. (http://www.stationmasters.com/System_Map/FOGGYBOT/foggybot.html)

There aren't a whole lot of dining options near the monuments, but Foggy Bottom is about a 15- to 20-minute walk into Georgetown, which has tons of restaurants. Walk up to Washington Circle and walk along Pennsylvania Avenue, which turns into M Street, to get to Georgetown.

There's no easy Metro access, but Adams Morgan (the closest Metro is the Woodley Park station on the Red Line) has numerous restaurants along 18th Street NW.

Another good place for dining is the U Street corridor between 16th and 12th streets NW (U Street station on the Green Line).

Nice work, you did pretty good.

You'll probably find the best deal on hotels by going to one of those websites that lists a lot of them with daily rates (http://www.hotels.com/ or http://www.priceline.com/). Most of them also feature maps so you can see how close the hotel is to other landmarks and main roads. If you get a room near the National Mall (the big, grassy park in the middle of DC, lined with monuments and museums), you will probably be where you want to be.

There aren't many hostels in DC (unlike many other cities), but here's some – they are much more reasonably priced, and come with reviews (like the hotels) telling you which ones to steer clear of: http://www.hostelworld.com/findabed.php/ChosenCity.Washington-DC/ChosenCountry.USA?source=googleadwordsustopcities&gclid=CLCtjvjYy50CFVlM5QodhhtUsQ

Have a great trip!

Brilliant Willy, Just Brilliant =D

Incredible! He looks so life like. Just amazing…and what a beautiful subject

Very nice!!

You’re really good man. You’ve got excellent talent.

Perfect.

yes, you can buy monster anywhere. When you go to DC make sure you stay in NW ….. STAY AWAY from SW, SE, and NE….very bad sections. high crime rate. Although NW is very expensive, it is beautiful and much safer. In April the weather should be quite pleasant….in the 50-60s. Dress fashionably if you can. DC is becoming more and more like NYC.

Usually the weather is around 60 F and windy, but check ahead of time to be sure…it could be much colder. Make sure to bring really comfortable walking shoes, that would be my most important suggestion. If you are out and about touring during the day, most people don't seem to be really worried about the updated fashion…there is so much to see and alot of walking, I would suggest just dressing comfortably. For the nightlife, it is about the same here as anywhere…lots of clubs….just remember "safety in numbers." Hope you have a great time!

woww that’s really relax and beatiful soung .good picture of jhony depp !

Great article. There’s a lot of good info here, though I did want to let you know something – I am running Fedora with the current beta of Firefox, and the look and feel of your blog is kind of flaky for me. I can understand the articles, but the navigation doesn’t work so great.