Ooooh! More great advice! I LOVE the idea of Easter Brunch at the Kennedy Center! It is special enough for the occasion and unique to DC. Plus, I checked it out on Chowhound (thanks for the link!) and the reviews are very favorable. Oh, I'm getting excited now! I've also arranged for a Capitol tour with my Senator's office and requested a tour at the Bureau of Printing & Engraving. I passed on the White House tour because it seemed like a lot of security hassle for a short tour. Did I make a mistake - is it really not to be missed? Emma, you are not alone in your enthusiasm for Air & Space - I will go with an open mind! I booked our hotel at the Embassy Suites near Dupont Circle, but I'm not totally sold on that idea. It is a 5 block walk to the Metro which sounds kind of far to me. I'm wondering if I should change to the ES at either Chevy Chase (Friendship Heights) or Alexandria. Both have Metro stations very close by, and it sounds like lots of restaurants as well. Alexandria sounds very charming, I'm leaning towards that way. Will we miss anything if we stay too far out? (Are those places too far out?) I need good restaurants and shopping, don't need nightlife. We'll be there for a week. (I did check out the ES at the Convention Center but it is coming in at over $350/night including tax. I just can't bring myself to go that high!) Thanks again for the great ideas - keep 'em coming! Nicole

Downsouth, we may have a few things in common. My paternal family is from TN, I grew up in IN, but have lived in a DC suburb for around 15 years. Your post doesn't say why you are unethusiastic, but I can guess why. As has already been mentioned, DC has more to do than you will ever get done, so you need to make choices and plan well in advance. And there's great variety in what to do, both within the city and within short driving distances. Monuments, museums, and the workings of our government are DC's main attractions (Ford's Theater is especially interesting). But maybe that type of thing can't enthuse you. There are people from all over the world here. Embassy Row, our own small Chinatown, the State Dept., etc are of interest to some. Still not your cup of tea? The Cheseapeake Bay is only an hour away (2 hours if you're going to cross the bridge and stand in the traffic). Ocean City and VA beach on the Atlantic are only 4 hours away. Skyline Drive and the mountains and 1-2 hours away to the west. An interesting change of pace from DC's history stops is Baltimore's Inner Harbor--just an hour away but a world away in atmosphere. Annapolis and Williamsburg are both fascinating, for very different reasons. And Alexandria is interesting as well (yep, the post about night life has it right). Like crafts and unusual stores? Ellicott City to the North, Occoquan to the south, and to some extent, Alexandria, have interesting offerings. The variety here is tremendous--I still haven't seen it all even after 15 years of trying. Talk to your husband about what kinds of things you want to do--you don't have to spend all of your time on monuments. Cons--the traffic is bad. Take the Metro as often as possible. Food costs in the downtown area are high. Hotel costs, of course, depends on where you stay. In general, the area does have the reputation of being expensive, but more for living here than for visiting. And if your hesitation is because we're living in a post 9/11 world, let me assure you of your safety. We might be a prime target but we've also got great security. Don't let the military presence you see around the Pentagon alarm you--it makes me feel safer. I have seen many visitors have a miserable time in DC, but it's because they didn't plan. They want to do everything, and it can't be done. The walking distance between, say the Washington Monument and the Capital can be a nice stroll or a forced march, depending on how much time you allow. Our summer's are hot and humid, but so are GA's--and in downtown DC, there's always an air conditioned building to duck into. And this summer has actually been a mild one for heat (but I think all the rain that has kept down the heat has made the humidity worse). If you come with reasonable expectations, you'll probably have a great time.

You're making me hungry Live_Wire_Oak...I happen to like Middle Eastern food... I've given most of it up though since being diagnosed w/Celiac b/c I've had difficulty explaining my dietary needs..it's mostly a language barrier, I think. Oh well. Claybabe & others...for those who are planning to attend, we can exchange cell phones to coordinate. If you haven't already, email me via My Page and let me know if I can share the # w/others who are meeting. I've never driven to PF Chang's, only walked so I don't know how obvious it is while driving. Walking it isn't that obvious...that's one of the reasons I suggested meeting in the Qwest/Vangent building's lobby (the Qwest sign is on the top of the building, the Vangent sign is over the doors...two revolving & one regular). It's 4250 N Fairfax Drive...on N Fairfax b/w N Stuart & N Taylor. Vangent/Qwest building (4250 N. Fairfax Drive): Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=4250+Fairfax+Dr,+Arlington,+Virginia+22203&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=49.71116,72.509766&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FeJKUQIdUlxn-w&split=0&z=16&iwloc=A Street View: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=4250+Fairfax+Dr,+Arlington,+Virginia+22203&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=49.71116,72.509766&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FeJKUQIdUlxn-w&split=0&z=16&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=38.882101,-77.112202&panoid=F-tRRqzIWQ1QsdbTKy73Aw&cbp=12,198.66,,0,5 [In case the link doesn't work, here's the address to use in Google maps (maps.google.com): 4250 Fairfax Dr, Arlington, Virginia 22203. Click on the "Street view" to see a closeup of the front of the building.] PF Chang's (901 N. Glebe Road, Arlington, Virginia 22203): Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=901+N.+Glebe+Road,+Arlington,+Virginia+22203&sll=38.882097,-77.1122&sspn=0.012027,0.017703&ie=UTF8&ll=38.882064,-77.115505&spn=0.012027,0.017703&z=16&iwloc=r10 Directions from Vangent/Qwest building or Ballston-GM Metro station: http://maps.google.com/maps?daddr=901+N+Glebe+Rd,+Arlington,+VA+22203-1853+(P+F+Chang%27s+China+Bistro)&geocode=CcthITD85uJIFQ1KUQId4E9n-yFIIzADuTQPsQ&dirflg=&saddr=4250+Fairfax+Dr,+Arlington,+Virginia+22203&f=d&hl=en&sll=38.882064,-77.115505&sspn=0.012027,0.017703&cid=12758474238590985032&ie=UTF8&z=18 Note: When walking, you cut straight across.

Speaking of trip advisor reviews, one of my favorites was for a restaurant in Paris. Almost all of the 300+ reviewers mentioned how they discovered this wonderful little restaurant, filled with locals and not tourists. First of all, didn't anyone notice 299 other people have already reviewed it so they really weren't the only tourist to stumble upon it. Second, unless you speak French and can differentiate regional accents, how do you know the other diners aren't French tourists, some hick from the sticks, and not an oh-so-glamorous-Parisian-from-the-hood? I'm sure many reviewers thought they blended right in and that the staff assumed they just moved onto the Rue. D'accord. I can't stand the baking bread smell from Subways. I usually LOVE baked bread and the aroma (swoon) but their smell is just wrong to me somehow, almost chemical? Besides that smell, I don't eat lunch meat or mayo based salads so I don't go there. My area doesn't have many of the above listed chains, because we're too small not because we have impossible food standards, so it's great I can file away a few names for future travel when I can't pack my own food. Last month while in NYC, we did eat at a Pret A Manger. And Magnolia Bakery (another swoon). I will eat at a Chipotle. I've noticed they definitely give my husband more food than they give me, which is fine based on our sizes, but it's also wrong based on we pay the same amount. I'm getting slightly cheated! It has happened more than once, in different states. It's bizarre.