Hi Guys
I will be making my first ever trip to the USA in May 2017. I will be visiting New York and Washington. Unfortunately, it will be mainly for work - with some limited but flexible spare time. I have always been a 'Grog' at heart. My military history interests - American Civil War and wars of the 20th and 21st Century. Interests in computer war gaming, CMx2 series, Graviteam products, VBS3, ARMA3, Command: Modern Air/Naval Operations, DCS Combined Arms and Steel Beast Pro PE4.
So, to those with local and on-the-ground knowledge in New York and Washington (and with the above areas of interests in mind), what are the places/exhibits I should be thinking of visiting? I have naturally googled the options (which seem overwhelming in terms of sheer numbers), but, I would be very interested in the thoughts of the Groghead members so I do not waste my limited time. You guys have certainly positively influenced my purchasing decisions games wise, so I am looking for any ideas and suggestions in this area.
Thanks in advance.
USS Intrepid museum, NYC. https://www.intrepidmuseum.org, as well as the National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC, https://airandspace.si.edu/visit/museum-dc.
If you have the ability to get down to Quantico for the U.S. Marine Corps Museum, it's about 20 minutes south of the DC area, and worth every second you can squeeze to spend in it.
Staggerwing beat me to it......
If you have any interest in military or civilian aviation you have to hit the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in DC. Any Smithsonian museum is worth your time. The Smithsonian complex is easily accessible via the metro which is one of the best subway systems I've ever used.
I don't know if you have interests in this area but one of the lesser known museums in DC is the Spy Museum. Lot's of great cloak and dagger stuff there!
The Intrepid museum in New York is good as well for military aviation.
I'm sure others will chime in here as well.
Enjoy your time here and welcome!
You can go to Camden, NJ (about 2 hours from NYC) and tour the USS New Jersey...I imagine you can get groggier than touring an Iowa class BATTLESHIP :bd:
Quote from: jamus34 on January 06, 2017, 10:45:45 PM
You can go to Camden, NJ (about 2 hours from NYC) and tour the USS New Jersey...I imagine you can get groggier than touring an Iowa class destroyer :bd:
You can if it's an Iowa class battleship. ;)
Udvar-Hazy Museum (it's part of the Smithsonian) that is near Dulles airport is a great place for aviation too. SR-71 is there, Concorde, space shuttle, bunch of WWII aircraft, etc. Really great place.
https://airandspace.si.edu/udvar-hazy-center
Quote from: Staggerwing on January 06, 2017, 11:06:22 PM
Quote from: jamus34 on January 06, 2017, 10:45:45 PM
You can go to Camden, NJ (about 2 hours from NYC) and tour the USS New Jersey...I imagine you can get groggier than touring an Iowa class destroyer :bd:
You can if it's an Iowa class battleship. ;)
Dammit...
It's late....
I'm tired...
Gahhh...
Nice play old chap!
Also I would advise not going anywhere else in Camden...it's not the nicest of neighborhoods.
Antietam, Gettysburg, and Manassas are all close to DC
Quote from: jamus34 on January 06, 2017, 11:18:59 PM
Also I would advise not going anywhere else in Camden...it's not the nicest of neighborhoods.
Are you from that area? I was born in Camden, Cooper Hospital, a long, long time ago, and lived in the area (but not in Camden) for much of my life. Not living there now though.
Smithsonian Air & Space Museum on Independence Ave. They have the original Star Trek TV USS Enterprise (no bloody A, B, C or D) on display just as you walk in the front door! What more is there to see??? :-"
If you are interested in US naval history, the National Navy Museum is inside the Washington, DC navy yard.
https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn.html
Has some very unusual materials, but very naval specific. Not for everyone.
If code breaking is high on your list of interests, North of DC is The National Cryptologic Museum.
https://www.nsa.gov/about/cryptologic-heritage/museum/
The National Security Agency was so super secret that many people never heard of it, and those in the know referred to it as No Such Agency. When they opened a museum, it was a real sea change.
Quote from: besilarius on January 07, 2017, 08:49:24 AM
If you are interested in US naval history, the National Navy Museum is inside the Washington, DC navy yard.
https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn.html
Has some very unusual materials, but very naval specific. Not for everyone.
If code breaking is high on your list of interests, North of DC is The National Cryptologic Museum.
https://www.nsa.gov/about/cryptologic-heritage/museum/
The National Security Agency was so super secret that many people never heard of it, and those in the know referred to it as No Such Agency. When they opened a museum, it was a real sea change.
The Spy Museum in Chinatown DC is also interesting.
Quote from: bbmike on January 07, 2017, 08:34:41 AMSmithsonian Air & Space Museum on Independence Ave.
Back in 2009, we took a road trip to DC with Bayonet Jr, and one of the things we went and found in there was the model of SEASAT.
It was a weather satellite that the Russians shot down because they were convinced it was a spy satellite.
It was designed by my wife's uncle, Walt McCandless
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F_21aDjSjUbQo%2FSdAWZUL-tUI%2FAAAAAAAAAjY%2FjE3_sQxLNd4%2Fs1600%2FKieran%2Bat%2Bthe%2BAir%2Band%2BSpace%2BMuseum%2C%2BMarch%2B09%2B-%2B1.jpg&hash=2630011a8157b7124b5d0c07cb1fa8f8c511652a)
That's pretty cool. O0
Quote from: challerain on January 07, 2017, 12:27:18 AM
Antietam, Gettysburg, and Manassas are all close to DC
Well, maybe close in terms of mileage (kilometer-age?), but time may be a factor when you take traffic into account. Really depends on when markh wants to try to get out to the sites. Manassas National Battlefield Park is about 50-55 miles from DC. Depending on time of day/day of week, that trip could be an hour or 2+ hours.
Quote from: Slim on January 06, 2017, 11:11:23 PM
Udvar-Hazy Museum (it's part of the Smithsonian) that is near Dulles airport is a great place for aviation too. SR-71 is there, Concorde, space shuttle, bunch of WWII aircraft, etc. Really great place.
https://airandspace.si.edu/udvar-hazy-center
Been to Udvar-Hazy Museum several times, lots of great planes there, including the Enola Gay, also several WW1 planes too. O0
Quote from: bayonetbrant on January 07, 2017, 10:09:00 AM
Quote from: bbmike on January 07, 2017, 08:34:41 AMSmithsonian Air & Space Museum on Independence Ave.
Back in 2009, we took a road trip to DC with Bayonet Jr, and one of the things we went and found in there was the model of SEASAT.
It was a weather satellite that the Russians shot down because they were convinced it was a spy satellite.
It was designed by my wife's uncle, Walt McCandless
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F_21aDjSjUbQo%2FSdAWZUL-tUI%2FAAAAAAAAAjY%2FjE3_sQxLNd4%2Fs1600%2FKieran%2Bat%2Bthe%2BAir%2Band%2BSpace%2BMuseum%2C%2BMarch%2B09%2B-%2B1.jpg&hash=2630011a8157b7124b5d0c07cb1fa8f8c511652a)
Cool! I'll have to go back and find it.
While your in Washington DC take a trip south to Fredericksburg. You can see the Fredericksburg battlefield and also Chancellorsville\wilderness. Both are in excellent condition and you can get your ACW grog on
Quote from: steve58 on January 07, 2017, 11:58:06 AM
Quote from: challerain on January 07, 2017, 12:27:18 AM
Antietam, Gettysburg, and Manassas are all close to DC
Well, maybe close in terms of mileage (kilometer-age?), but time may be a factor when you take traffic into account. Really depends on when markh wants to try to get out to the sites. Manassas National Battlefield Park is about 50-55 miles from DC. Depending on time of day/day of week, that trip could be an hour or 2+ hours.
Manassas is about 30 miles from DC. Gettysburg about 80 and Antietam about 70. All worth the drive if you are a Civil War buff.Just don't go during rush hour and traffic is fine.
Quote from: challerain on January 07, 2017, 01:45:21 PM
Quote from: steve58 on January 07, 2017, 11:58:06 AM
Quote from: challerain on January 07, 2017, 12:27:18 AM
Antietam, Gettysburg, and Manassas are all close to DC
Well, maybe close in terms of mileage (kilometer-age?), but time may be a factor when you take traffic into account. Really depends on when markh wants to try to get out to the sites. Manassas National Battlefield Park is about 50-55 miles from DC. Depending on time of day/day of week, that trip could be an hour or 2+ hours.
Manassas is about 30 miles from DC. Gettysburg about 80 and Antietam about 70. All worth the drive if you are a Civil War buff.Just don't go during rush hour and traffic is fine.
When is traffic ever fine in DC? ::) :P
When it isn't rush hour
Quote from: challerain on January 07, 2017, 02:11:16 PM
When it isn't rush hour
which starts around 0430 and ends around 1945 or so - assuming no accidents.
Quote from: challerain on January 07, 2017, 01:45:21 PM
Quote from: steve58 on January 07, 2017, 11:58:06 AM
Quote from: challerain on January 07, 2017, 12:27:18 AM
Antietam, Gettysburg, and Manassas are all close to DC
Well, maybe close in terms of mileage (kilometer-age?), but time may be a factor when you take traffic into account. Really depends on when markh wants to try to get out to the sites. Manassas National Battlefield Park is about 50-55 miles from DC. Depending on time of day/day of week, that trip could be an hour or 2+ hours.
Manassas is about 30 miles from DC. Gettysburg about 80 and Antietam about 70. All worth the drive if you are a Civil War buff.Just don't go during rush hour and traffic is fine.
Doh, yeah, I meant 30-35 miles :-[
Quote from: bayonetbrant on January 07, 2017, 02:45:34 PM
Quote from: challerain on January 07, 2017, 02:11:16 PM
When it isn't rush hour
which starts around 0430 and ends around 1945 or so - assuming no accidents.
LOL. Seriously, I used to work near Baltimore and had to drive to offices in Bethesda, Gaithersburg and Manassas. Would leave around 9:00 AM and assuming no accidents/weather/construction it was not a problem.
They aren't super-intellectual, but the two most powerful places I ever found in Washington, D.C. were Arlington Cemetery (premier national cemetary for fallen US soldiers) and the Vietnam Wall. Both are easily accessible by public transport (Metro--the train). Neither tells much history, but both very eloquently convey American feelings on our military conflicts.
Arlington is HUGE, and takes a couple hours to cover most of the interesting sites, but watching a changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier tops the list if you make it there. Taking a tour will give you a lot of the history behind the site (e.g., it was the home of Confederate general Robert E. Lee before he turned down Supreme Command of the Union Army in the Civil War to march south and lead the troops of the Confederacy in 1861) .
The Vietnam Wall is a shorter trip but every bit as powerful. It has the added benefit of being a 150-yard walk away from Lincoln Memorial, which houses the greatest military speech in American history (the Gettysburg Address), and isn't absurdly far from the WW II Memorial (which went in after I lived there), Reflecting Pool, and a bunch of stuff on the Mall. Washington Mall is about a mile-and-a-half long and runs from Lincoln Memorial at one side to The Capitol on the other (with Washington Monument smack dab in the middle). Numerous amazing museums (including the Smithsonian Air & Space musuem) line the mall on either side.
The Holocaust Museum takes a few hours, but it is also extremely powerful and has more of a "museum" feel to it. Admission there is limited so you need tickets in advance; the other places are all walk-up, I think.
It's hard to go wrong. There's a ton of history there. If you want a battlefield museum, Gettysburg is a couple hour's drive away but is the best such museum I've ever seen for history geeks. The Battle of Bull Run was fought in Manassas (an hour outside DC) and is much less impressive than Gettysburg, but also much more accessible. Unlike the other places I've mentioned above, you'd need a car to visit either of those battlefields.
Hope any of that helps!
Quote from: challerain on January 07, 2017, 01:45:21 PM
Quote from: steve58 on January 07, 2017, 11:58:06 AM
Quote from: challerain on January 07, 2017, 12:27:18 AM
Antietam, Gettysburg, and Manassas are all close to DC
Well, maybe close in terms of mileage (kilometer-age?), but time may be a factor when you take traffic into account. Really depends on when markh wants to try to get out to the sites. Manassas National Battlefield Park is about 50-55 miles from DC. Depending on time of day/day of week, that trip could be an hour or 2+ hours.
Manassas is about 30 miles from DC. Gettysburg about 80 and Antietam about 70. All worth the drive if you are a Civil War buff.Just don't go during rush hour and traffic is fine.
And with the battlefields in Fredericksburg, Chancelorsville and Spotsylvania, you have 5-6 battlefields within an hour of DC (outside of rush hour). Having been to all the ones in Va, I would recommend Chancellorsville and Manassas
Quote from: steve58 on January 07, 2017, 11:58:06 AM
Well, maybe close in terms of mileage (kilometer-age?), but time may be a factor when you take traffic into account. Really depends on when markh wants to try to get out to the sites. Manassas National Battlefield Park is about 50-55 miles from DC. Depending on time of day/day of week, that trip could be an hour or 2+ hours.
This isn't quite correct. Manassas battlefield is maybe 30 miles from DC, depending on exactly where in DC you're starting from. True, you have to take I-66W to get there, and if you try to do that in the evening rush hour it will be slow going, but it's a lot closer to DC than 50-55 miles.
Antietam is about 60 miles away from DC. Gettysburg is about 70 miles away. Fredericksburg is about 50 miles south, with Chancellorsville another 10 miles west of Fredericksburg. If you go to any of these places, you'll probably be leaving in the morning and will generally be going against traffic.
I've been to all of these battlefields. My first choice for a visitor would be Gettysburg. The park service has done a good job with this battlefield, and you can get a great overview of this important battle. Another way to spend the day would be to do Chancellorsville - Wilderness - Spotsylvania Courthouse, and maybe Fredericksburg in the same day. Each one of these battlefields is about 10 or 15 miles away from each other. I did the first three in one day, taking my time at each one.
As others have pointed out, the Smithsonian air and space museums are also great. There are actually two museums - one is downtown DC on the mall, and the other (Udvar-Hazy) is on route 28 just south of Dulles airport. For a more somber visit, the holocaust museum is also downtown, as are many other museums.
The USMC museum at Quantico is great. They have made improvements since the last time I was there, about six or seven years ago. Quantico is about 25 miles south of DC, about 25 miles north of Fredericksburg.
Arlington national cemetery is just across the river from downtown DC. The changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier is very impressive.
Although not strictly war related, Mount Vernon (George Washington's home) is about 10 miles south, and across Pohick Bay you can go to Gunston Hall, which is where George Mason lived. Presidential candidate Carly Fiorina supposedly lives in that area.
Thank you very much to everyone who has participated with their suggestions. Some great ideas - very much appreciated.