[VAC] Re: Transportation at Cherry Blossom Rally?

["Harvey Barlow" <harveybarlow@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jerry,

Good question.  I agree, driving is not the way to see DC.  Neither is
walking because my wife and I tried that about three years ago.  We almost
became permanently crippled from walking/standing all day.

Amazingly to me, the 140 acre farm owned by the Rogers family gives you the
impression of being so far away from DC as to be on the other side of the
continent but it was actually only about 20 minutes from a Metro subway
train station.

At breakfast I announced our forming plans and asked if anyone was
interested.  A small group of maybe 15 or so wanted to go.  One nice couple
had a van and was kind enough to allow most of us to pile in and Marc Weimer
and his family took their station wagon.  We drove to the metro and parked
all day for I think, $4.

We took the subway in for a modest all day price which I
forget.........about $5 or $6 I think.

We got off at a metro station right behind the Smithsonian and boarded an
excellent all-day, no-limit on exits and reboarding commercial tour bus for
$16.  It would have worked better but for the exceptionally large crowds in
cars, walking, busses, etc. and it was raining off and on.  The busses were
nice, the drivers were professional, and the tour guides were well informed
and informative.  I have come to the conclusion that it is simply not
possible to see DC unless you live there and have a couple of years to
invest in it.  But for tourists like me, the metro and city tourist bus is a
good solution.  I would do it again.

This reply is to Jerry Flanders but I thought there may be others who are
thinking of attending the rally next year and might like to have the answer
so I'm putting this on both lists.

Harvey