Mom & the Museum

"But You Can't Park There!"

So, Mother, Josh, and I are headed out to explore Nothern Virginia and maybe D.C. We all love museums. We all love different types of museums. We hate the crowds that flow like lemmings to the big tourist museums. We've narrowed our choices to two -- the George Washington Masonic Lodge in Alexandria and the Spy Museum in Washington, D.C.

Mom: 75, knees give out easily and she may need a wheel chair to get back to the hotel. Since we are staying in Alexandria, we've arranged for a wheel chair from the hotel, which we will take with us. http://www.morrisonhouse.com/mrr-concierge/index.html

<National Masonic Lodge. Josh can explore the floors devoted to the Knights Templar... the Tall Cedars... and even get a bird's eye view of the seaport of Alexandria from the 7th story observatory.

Then there's the Spy Museum that fills two city blocks in Washington D.C.

The Food
If we choose the Masonic Museum, we can eat on the water and get a taste of British goods, with the Tea Room. The prices vary from 7-15 dollars for entrees and there's tea and wonderful desserts for Josh to get a fill of tasty goodies.

The Spy Museum houses two on site choices --a cafe with the usual fare of hotdogs and sandwiches. There's a reservations preferred restaurant open during the museum hours. The restaurant bosts a "spy atmosphere". This may draw Josh's interests.

http://www.gwmemorial.org/ --The Best Web Site

The George Washington Masonic Lodge Web site

FREE ADMISSION OPEN TO THE PUBLIC DAILY from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Except Major Holidays Guided Tower Tours Daily at 10:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Masonic Tours (details below) are on the first and third Wednesday of each month at 2:00 p.m. and once each month on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. Please call for details. The next Masonic Tour will be on Saturday, May 26, 20.
The museum also offers special tours for the disabled. I wasn't able to find information about parking, but a phone call that was returned almost immediately by a kindly gentleman told me parking was free on the property. They even have an escort for the disabled.

http://spymuseum.org-- Could Be Better Web Site

Located just Northwest of the White House, the Spy Musuem sounds like an intrigue dream. The Web site is a bit confusing because the HOME page is really a listing of events. To find your information, you must learn to go to the "plan to visit" link. You have to guess your way through the site. I will say that once you find your way around, it's fairly straight forward to navigate. While I am certain that Josh will love the Museum, it's not clear whether the museum offers a slow pace with lots of opportunities for seniors like my mother. Another concern is parking. all the Web site says is that there are plenty of garages within walking distance. This lack of information is despite a section on the Plan Your Visit site for Adults, Seniors, and Children. The map is very good, but knowing exactly where to park is a challenge. This is a pretty Web site, but it's not always functional.