We did it, and had a great trip. Stayed at the Washington Plaza hotel on Thomas Circle - got a good enough deal that we could get two rooms, spread out a little, and not break the budget.
Walked around the White House the first evening we were there, right after dinner and got chased out by the Secret Service. They were closing off the sidewalk along the south lawn and you don't question guys that big, carrying weapons that big. There was 'something' going on, but the uniformed guards were pretty quiet about it, just telling pedestrians that the sidewalk was closed. One guy had a nylon case with a collapsible stock sticking out of it and his arm inside - another guy had on his black tactical gear and his weapon. Best quote of the night: we returned along the front of the White House, on Pennsylvania avenue, when a Secret Service guard was leaving through a gate. He closed the inner gate behind him, opened the outer gate and started to step out. A tourist said, "Hold the gate sir, please hold the gate!" The guard said, "Oh, I'll hold the gate ma'am, but if you get inside we're fightin'!!" Those guys are such kidders.
2nd day, walked the monuments in the morning. It's a great, sobering, and educational walk. I'm not sure what to make of all the Asian tourists, though. These are memorials to mostly ordinary Americans who did extraordinary things, it isn't Disneyland designed so you can make your kids run in front of the monuments so you can snap a picture before running to the next one. Went to the Natural History museum for the rest of the day.
Next morning, hit Arlington Cemetery - happened to be at the Tomb of the Unknown for the changing of the guard. Saw a lot of familiar names on a lot of the headstones (Rickover, Murphy, among a lot of others). Made the hike over to the Marine Corps memorial. Pictures do not do justice to that sculpture. You have to see it in person to realize just how big it is. Spent the afternoon at the Air and Space museum.
We were getting beat from walking, so we stuck to one museum the following day - the Holocaust museum. That one wore me out. I was numb before I got through the first floor of the main exhibit. I nearly lost it when a guy behind me was telling his kids a story about his own father that he'd never told them before.
Last day was spent at the International Spy Museum - a very neat place, and the Portrait Gallery across the street (they had a nice exhibit on Amelia Earhart - I really liked that art gallery). Finished the evening with that walk around the south lawn that we didn't get to complete the first night.
Metro was great - we got the Smart passcards preloaded with $25 worth of fares each and pretty much used them all up by the time we finished.
Dinners:
Tortilla Coast - best.tacos al pastor.ever
Ben's Chili Bowl - don't miss the half-smoke
Thai Tanic - best restaurant name (pretty good food, too)
Legal Seafood - had to get crab cakes at least one time.
There really is no way to even scratch the surface in a single trip.
