To begin with--my GS has been chosen to go to JUNIOR NATIONAL YOUNG LEADERS CONFERENCE in Washington, D.C.

Well, needless to say, this granma is just bustin' her buttons, with pride. Granma & Mom are going also. I mean after all how often am I ever going to get a chance like this again???

Sooooo I need some help, beings I've not been out of my comfort zone in a looooong time.

GS is to land in Chevy Chase airport & we are to stay in Bethesda. How far apart are these places? How do we get from point A to point B? What is the best transportation? What is the most REASONABLE transportation?

We are thinking about going a day or so ahead of time, to get some of our bearings, before all of the doings get going. The parents are discouraged from "hovering" as this is to be all about the children. That is fine w/ us, we just want to be a little closer than -across the country from this child!!

I am feeling like I just fell off the ol' tater truck & don't have a clue of what/where this all going??

Any and all help/suggestions are welcome, after all I am just an old hick from the sticks. LOL.

Billie G in Idaho

Sorry I can't help too much, but on a trip to Washington I took a long long time ago I drove, but the traffic was a nightmare and parking was a pain. Needed lots of quarters for the meters. Hopefully it has gotten better since then. Just wanted to say do not forget to go to all the museums and monuments, and of course the Vietnam Wall. All of these are awesome and it will take several days. Congrats to your grandson and enjoy your trip.

You can probably use the metro(train) to get in and out of Washington. I suggest getting daily passes or a week long pass. I'm not sure how far apart these places are, but you can check that out online. It will be hot and Humid so be prepared for that. And congratulations!!!!

I don't know anything about it myself. I was there years ago with my kids classes to visit the Smithsonian. But my son and DDIL go down about once a year by train. There is plenty of public transportation, trains, subway etc. Google Washington DC and transportation. You should be able to download maps and directions to various points of interest. Good Luck and be sure to take some comfortable walking shoes and be sure to have fun. The cities you mentioned are really suburbs of Washington DC.

Don't forget to pack a camera!!! Ask the hotel where you are staying at if they have a shuttle service. If not maybe they can suggest some way to get around.
Have fun...crafty_linda_b

Dc is easy to get around on the metro even I can do It and im hopeless with public transportation. And you will be close where you are staying. Check with your hotel and they can advise the best way to get around md. Dont miss the american indian museum I love it. dont know if any of the museums have any good fiber arts exhibitions. Worth checking. Pat

You can use www.mapquest.com to check the distance from one location to another. A street address is not necessary, just the name of the airport. You also might want to buy a local travel guide to get some idea about restaurants and attractions.

I had the joy of living in the Washington, D.C. metro area for 18 months - you are going to have a BLAST.

The closest airport to Chevy Chase (MD) is the Ronald Regan National Airport. There's a metro station right at the airport. Check with your hotel and see if they have a shuttle from the airport to the hotel. Also, check the hotel web page for transportation options to / from the airport. The other option is Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI). That airport also has transportation available - just check the website also.

In Bethesda - there is a metro stop also. Really, don't rent a car - USE the metro. The way it works is that there are five colors of rail lines (red, green, blue, yellow, orange). The trains are named for their end points. Read everything you can on www.wmata.com - it's the metro web site.

It's a HOT walking city - plan on water breaks; wear sneakers and sunscreen.

You will enjoy DC. As to transportation, there is a Metro Station just about every block. We stayed in Virginia and took the Metro to DC. You just have to remember your "colors". The concierge at your hotel can give you infor on the "to dos". Actually our hotel has a shuttle bus which would take you most anywhere you wanedt to go with a reasonable radius. Such much easier than driving. We parked our car at the hotel and didn't even use it the whole time we were there.

Have fun and congrats to your GS!!

The organization sponsoring this activity will probably be able to provide you with most of the info that you need. Use map quest to familiarize yourself with the metro area. Then you will have a better idea about what questions to ask.