Washington DC Master Thread

[gubevo18]

I almost always did this, but I can hear it both ways. Last time I was there in the winter, there was no mincha at Kesher, and most of the food is in the suburbs anyway. So even though we stayed in VA (10 min to Kesher) we ended up in the suburbs for mincha/maariv/supper each night.

char bar and oh mama are both great options and probably better than anything in silver spring IMO. Kesher has shachris and maariv consistently (and Mincha maariv once time gets later). There is a WhatsApp group for a 145 mincha minyan near GW but as far as I understand it isn't very consistent (although is imagine if someone was saying kaddish etc they would pull it together)

[yakovwogi]

PM me if you can use this giving away for free

4 tickets for this groupon


DC Hop On Hop Off
Discover Washington DC at Your Own Pace: Hop On Hop Off Tour Save 35%
Purchased on December 24, 2024Item # 1606204064
Expires: March 31, 2025

DC Hop On Hop Off Operated by Big Bus Tours
One Half-Day Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Ticket for Ages 3+; Valid Any Day
Enjoy your experience before the promotional value expires on March 31, 2025.


How To Use
1. Pull up voucher with our mobile app (or print it out).
2. Present voucher to the Big Bus Tours kiosk attendant at Union Station (50 Massachusetts Ave NE), located at the bus passenger pick-up in front of the building.
3. Board the bus and enjoy a day of sightseeing!
Redeem At
Union Station
50 Massachusetts Ave. NE
Washington, DC 20002, US
The Fine Print
Ages 2 and under are free. Closed on 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Half-day tickets are valid for one 4-hour consecutive use period on one calendar day.

[ushdadude]

We're debating the Residence Inn Bethesda vs Residence Inn Dupont Circle.

[Traveler718]

We're debating the Residence Inn Bethesda vs Residence Inn Dupont Circle.

Personally I much prefer staying in DC proper to avoid all the traffic getting in/out of the city and parking headaches. DC is fairly walkable, especially with readily available taxi/Uber. So my vote would be for Dupont Circle. Parking there will be expensive, but you can probably find a cheaper lot nearby. Minyan at Kesher and great food at Char Bar are quite close.

[gubevo18]

Personally I much prefer staying in DC proper to avoid all the traffic getting in/out of the city and parking headaches. DC is fairly walkable, especially with readily available taxi/Uber. So my vote would be for Dupont Circle. Parking there will be expensive, but you can probably find a cheaper lot nearby. Minyan at Kesher and great food at Char Bar are quite close.

seconded. You can find lots for around 20 per day and you shouldn't really need to use your car in DC proper anyhow (even if you were coming in from Bethesda, best bet would be to drive in, park in one lot, and then work your way around).

[yakovwogi]

Claimed.

PM me if you can use this giving away for free

4 tickets for this groupon


DC Hop On Hop Off
Discover Washington DC at Your Own Pace: Hop On Hop Off Tour Save 35%
Purchased on December 24, 2024Item # 1606204064
Expires: March 31, 2025

DC Hop On Hop Off Operated by Big Bus Tours
One Half-Day Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Ticket for Ages 3+; Valid Any Day
Enjoy your experience before the promotional value expires on March 31, 2025.


How To Use
1. Pull up voucher with our mobile app (or print it out).
2. Present voucher to the Big Bus Tours kiosk attendant at Union Station (50 Massachusetts Ave NE), located at the bus passenger pick-up in front of the building.
3. Board the bus and enjoy a day of sightseeing!
Redeem At
Union Station
50 Massachusetts Ave. NE
Washington, DC 20002, US
The Fine Print
Ages 2 and under are free. Closed on 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Half-day tickets are valid for one 4-hour consecutive use period on one calendar day.

[ushdadude]

PM me if you can use this giving away for free

4 tickets for this groupon


DC Hop On Hop Off
Discover Washington DC at Your Own Pace: Hop On Hop Off Tour Save 35%
Purchased on December 24, 2024Item # 1606204064
Expires: March 31, 2025

DC Hop On Hop Off Operated by Big Bus Tours
One Half-Day Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Ticket for Ages 3+; Valid Any Day
Enjoy your experience before the promotional value expires on March 31, 2025.


How To Use
1. Pull up voucher with our mobile app (or print it out).
2. Present voucher to the Big Bus Tours kiosk attendant at Union Station (50 Massachusetts Ave NE), located at the bus passenger pick-up in front of the building.
3. Board the bus and enjoy a day of sightseeing!
Redeem At
Union Station
50 Massachusetts Ave. NE
Washington, DC 20002, US
The Fine Print
Ages 2 and under are free. Closed on 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Half-day tickets are valid for one 4-hour consecutive use period on one calendar day.

Thanks!

[ushdadude]

We're debating the Residence Inn Bethesda vs Residence Inn Dupont Circle.

My daughter chimed in with her opinion.
Anyone know of a nice hotel with an indoor pool near-ish to either of the shuls? (Apparently that's all kids need on vacation)

[Spoon]

My daughter chimed in with her opinion.
Anyone know of a nice hotel with an indoor pool near-ish to either of the shuls? (Apparently that's all kids need on vacation)

PH is 5-7 min walk from kesher

[skyguy918]

PH is 5-7 min walk from kesher

Fairmont too - did that once this time of year with suite upgrade and 3rd night free certs from the CC.

[RL366]

Any minyan Mincha midweek in DC proper ?

Cant seem to find on go daven

[chayie]

https://www.kesher.org/calendar.html

[RL366]

https://www.kesher.org/calendar.html

Only show shacris and mariv

[chayie]

right. so that's the only option in DC. they don't have mincha unless it's listed for a specific today

[Spoon]

Fairmont too - did that once this time of year with suite upgrade and 3rd night free certs from the CC.

yes right across the street from the PH but more dated

[RL366]

Can someone recommend the best option for tour around sites ?
trolley ?double decker bus?

[ushdadude]

We had an amazing time in DC.

We stayed at the Park Hyatt, which was perfect (thanks @Spoon ). We booked 3 nights for 71K points (transferred from Chase) and used an SUA. I decided to splurge and upgrade with cash to the Georgetown Suite (since the Park Executive wasn’t available). Having the extra room was definitely worth it. The hotel itself was very nice, and we had the pool to ourselves. Parking is expensive at the hotel but I found a lot down the block that was $13 for overnight parking.

Sunday was cold, so we opted for a bus tour (thanks @yakovwogi  for the tickets). It was a great way to get an overview of the city. We hopped off at the Lincoln Memorial, walked around a bit, and then headed to the National Museum of American History. One of the best things about DC is that most museums are free, so you don’t feel pressured to see every single exhibit. We focused on the highlights and moved on when we were ready. DD really liked the First Ladies' dress exhibit. We were too tired to eat out, so we ordered Char Bar in. It was okay—probably better in-store. I heard it was a mob scene, so we made the right choice ordering in.

The plan for Monday was to visit the National Zoo in the morning, but since it was still cold, we went to the Air & Space Museum instead. In the afternoon, my brother called our Congresswoman’s office, and they arranged a tour of Congress for us. Her intern took us around the Capitol, and we got to take the underground tunnels, which was really cool. While the intern didn’t have as much info as an official guide, the no-wait private tour was totally worth it. The private tour also came with House Gallery tickets, so we could watch Congress in session. They happened not to be in session that day, so we rain-checked for another time. It’s pretty wild that you can just walk into the office building and visit any representative. Ordered in from Char Bar again, picked better options, so it was an improvement but still not the same as eating in.

Tuesday morning, we finally made it to the National Zoo to see the pandas, which was a lot of fun. After that, we packed up and headed to Baltimore for mincha and dinner. Tried Chu’s, and it was pretty good.
 
There’s so much we didn’t get to see, so we’ll definitely have to go back!