Visit Washington, D.C., in 2004 and you will find the city pumped up for the presidential election in November, the White House once again open for tours (with certain restrictions -- see more information, below), a huge museum near Washington-Dulles International Airport displaying space craft and air craft, and a pair of bald eagles preening for you in their own refuge at the National Zoo. For news about the latest happenings in the capital, both big and small, read on.
Planning Your Trip
Midwesterners coming to Washington should know that Great Plains Airlines (tel. 866/929-8646; www.gpair.com) has just begun service between the Mid-America Airport, in East St. Louis, and Washington-Dulles International Airport. From East St. Louis, the airline travels on to Tulsa, Oklahoma. At Reagan Washington National Airport, the discount airline AirTran Airways (tel. 800/247-8726; www.airtran.com) recently initiated nonstop service between National and Atlanta, West Palm Beach, and Fort Myers. The big news at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, which is under massive construction, is that the airport has improved its walkways and waiting areas.
However, if you have traveled to BWI Airport in the last year or so, you know about the mess that awaits you outside the terminal. An enclosed and elevated skywalk opened in November 2003 (two more are scheduled for completion, one in spring 2004, the other in spring 2005), complete with a moving walkway between the main terminal and the airport's hourly parking garage. Curbside waiting areas now have canopies to protect travelers from the weather.Getting Around
Washington's metro service is a model of public transportation: easy to understand and use; fast and efficient; and covering a wide area, so it gets you to most places you want to go. The city's metrobus service, by contrast, is comprehensive, but so hard to figure out that travelers throughout the region use it only as a last resort. Bus stops, believe it or not, lack maps that show where buses on that route go, much less whether the bus route links up with a metrorail station. Bus schedules are not posted. Bus stops are often unsheltered and not well lit. And, finally, bus drivers are not equipped to provide change, which means you'd better remember to bring exact change (base fare of $1.20, and perhaps more, depending on where you are going). Sounds offputting? That's why the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (www.wmata.com) is partnering with local business improvement organizations to implement much-needed changes. Starting in January 2004, poster-size bus system maps will be posted at bus stops and inside rail stations. Other improvements are under consideration, such as the installation of safer bus shelters and electronic signage at bus stops to inform waiting passengers about the expected arrival time for the next bus.
Where To Stay
Now's the time to take advantage of discounted hotel rates, as hoteliers, anxious about a slight dip in reservations, lower their room tariffs and offer special promotions to travelers who might otherwise stay away due to pocketbook concerns. As a general rule, it's always a good idea to check out the website of the specific hotel you wish to book. But before you do that, first access the website for the Washington, D.C., Convention and Tourism Corporation, www.washington.org, and click on "Holiday Homecoming," to learn about the discounted room rates available at a slew of Washington hotels through February 29, 2004. For example, during this time, the estimable St. Gregory Luxury Hotel and Suites, 2033 M St., (tel. 800/829-5034; www.stgregoryhotelwdc.com) is offering weekday rates of $129 to $149 and weekend rates of $79 to $89, including complimentary continental breakfast. (The hotel's usual rates range from $189 to $269 on weekdays and $149 to $249 on weekends.)
Marriott International is offering a deal at all of its hotel properties, of which the capital has many: Starting January 1, 2004, Marriott is guaranteeing best available room rates to customers who book a room either by contacting the Marriott chain (tel. 800/228-9290; www.marriott.com). If you book a room through Marriott and then, within 24 hours, find a lower rate posted by a travel agency or by an Internet site, such as Expedia, for the same dates, hotel, and type of room, Marriott promises to award you the lower rate, plus an additional 25% discount. Not all Marriott reservations agents are familiar with this policy; you can refer your agent to Marriott's own press release, dated November 11, 2003, which is posted on Marriott's website in its press room section.
Where To Dine
At any given moment in D.C., popular chefs at established restaurants are staking out fresh culinary territory. Jose Andres, the 30-something genius behind the Latin American Café Atlantico, 405 8th St. NW (tel. 202/393-0812), as well as Jaleo, a Spanish cuisine restaurant at 480 7th Street, NW (tel. 202/628-7949) and Zaytinya, Turkish, Greek and Lebanese cuisine at 701 9th St NW (tel. 202/638-0800) has recently started serving a "minibar" menu at Café Atlantico. The chef prepares about 30 little plates of exotic concoctions, such as "cotton candy foie gras," and "ravioli of pineapple" for the six patrons lucky enough to have reserved a spot at his bar table. Andres offers his special tasting menu Tuesday through Saturday evenings for $65 per person.
Jeff Tunks, whose two restaurants TenPenh, 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue NW (tel. 202/393-4500) and DC Coast, 1401 K St NW (tel. 202/216-5988) remain ever-popular, is going for a third success with Ceiba, 701 14th St. NW (tel. 202/393-3983), where the menu is based on the cuisines of Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and the Caribbean. Diners have been flocking to the restaurant since it opened in late September 2003, hungry for one of Tunks' ceviches (available in halibut, shrimp, tuna, or striped bass), grilled octopus, or empanadas.
The Kennedy Center's Roof Terrace Restaurant and Bar (tel. 202/416-8555) re-opened in fall of 2003 after a nine-month, multimillion dollar renovation. The jury's still out as far the food goes. The menu highlights modern American cuisine with Asian influences: crab cakes with julienned green papaya, for instance, and chicken fried in beer batter served with coconut rice. The room looks terrific, with those long windows and a a great view, illuminated columns, and high ceiling. And of course, you can't beat the convenience when attending a Kennedy Center performance. Sadly, seasoning and service have been found lacking. In addition to dinner and bar menus, the restaurant has resumed offering its Sunday-brunch-in-the-kitchen, a popular treat among Washingtonians.
Attractions
The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (tel. 202/456-7041; www.whitehouse.gov) has resumed public tours, but not yet on a walkup basis, and not for individuals. You may reserve spots on a tour for your school, youth, military, or veterans group, or for a group of any 10 or more individuals, even if you have banded together for no other reason than to tour the White House. You can reserve your place on a tour by contacting your member of Congress and submitting the name, date of birth, and Social Security number for each person in your group; your member of Congress then sends the information to the White House for security clearance. Submit your request as far as six months ahead of your requested date and you should receive notice of your scheduled tour time approximately one month before the date. Tours take place Tuesday through Saturday between 7:30am and 11:30am.
The National Archives, 700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (tel. 866/272-6272; www.archives.gov), closed since 2001 for extensive renovations, reopened in the fall of 2003. Visitors can again behold the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights, which are now in new cases that allow for better viewing. The documents are supplemented by displays that trace the stories of the creation of these papers. In the fall of 2004, the National Archives will debut a new exhibition area in its vaults that will includ interactive technology, a theater, and displays of artifacts, all aimed at explaining our country's development in the use of records.
The Smithsonian Institution (tel. 202/357-2700; www.si.edu) always has a lot going on. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (www.nasm.si.edu), an auxiliary museum space for the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, opened on December 15, 2003. The museum houses hundreds of aircraft and spacecraft, including the space shuttle Enterprise. Like all Smithsonian museums, this one is free and open to the public. The Air and Space Museum on the National Mall (www.nasm.edu), runs shuttles to the Udvar-Hazy Center, which is located near Dulles Airport, in Virginia.
Two grand new exhibits recently took up permanent residence in Smithsonian museums. The National Museum of American History, on the National Mall, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. (tel. 202-357-2700; americanhistory.si.edu) has an exhibit called "America on the Move" that transports visitors on a journey through the history of the United States, as understood through transportation. Multimedia technology and 300 transportation artifacts help visitors to experience the sights, sounds, and sensations of transportation, and the lives of Americans and landscapes of thecountry from 1876 to 1999. The National Museum of Natural History, on the National Mall, 9th to 12th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. (tel. 202/357-2700; www.mnh.si.edu) has an exhibit called the "Kenneth E. Behring Family of Mammals" that occupies a 25,000-square-foot interactive hall and includes more than 270 mammals in lifelike poses and displays that illustrate the 210-million-year story of mammal evolution and adaptation. The Smithsonian's 123-year-old Arts and Industries Building, which needs extensive repairs, is slated to close indefinitely.
Meanwhile, other museums around town are hosting delightful exhibits you won't want to miss if you're in town: "The Impressionist Tradition in America," will be at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, 17th Street and New York Avenue, N.W. (tel. 202/639-1700; www.corcoran.org) through April 2004; "Passionate Observer: Photographs by Eudora Welty," will be at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Avenue, N.W. (tel. 202/783-5000; www.nmwa.org) through February 29; and "Whistler in Paris, 1891-1896," featuring 24 of James McNeill Whistler's lithographs from the time he spent in Paris, will be at the Freer Gallery, Jefferson Drive at 12th Street, S.W. (tel. 202/633-4880; www.asia.si.edu) from February 21 through August 15.