Then it was on to the Courtyard Embassy Row, an elegantly designed hotel catering to business travelers that, at $132 a night, was one of the most reasonably priced hotels in the city that weekend. By day's end -- which was topped off with ice cream -- we were more than ready to rest our tired feet.
Still the walking was well worth it; parking at the hotel is $32 a day.
Our Sunday began at the International Spy Museum, reputed as the only museum in the nation devoted to intelligence gathering. It's also one of few museums in D.C. that opens as early as 9 a.m. on Sunday.
The five-building collection of exhibitions and artifacts wows visitors with espionage themes from the moment they head to displays in an elevator with colorful fluorescent lights along its translucent floor.
Visitors who choose to be a pretend spy assume a fake ID and must memorize their age, city of origin, business and family information when asked by various computer programs. They may also take crash courses on how to catch a spy and how to elude capture.
The most popular attraction for kids is an overhead duct that they crawl through to advance to other rooms (most kids bang on the tin sides as they move along). Adults seem to enjoy the different types of James Bond-type guns that were once used by Soviet, British and U.S. intelligence operatives.
They include: a lipstick gun once used by the KGB; a glove pistol once used by the U.S. Navy; and a tobacco pipe pistol once used by British Special Forces.
Our final stop, the Marian Koshland Science Museum, was the most informative but least entertaining. It was just one floor and two rooms, and it mostly involved videos and presentations shown on flat-screen televisions.
The museum featured great displays that demonstrated where deadly diseases are ravaging the planet and how the universe is expanding, but it wasn't as interactive as the previous two stops.
Still, it helped make for a fun weekend in Washington, and we topped it off with a hearty meal at Ruby Tuesday near Verizon Center, just before a cold front settled in with a steady drizzle.
The Spy Museum and Newseum are so loaded with attractions that you likely won't absorb all there is to see in one trip. The Science Museum is ideal for those who enjoy a Smithsonian-type of atmosphere. And, because each of the venues is reasonably priced, it's possible to enjoy them without losing your shirt.
Holding onto your hat is another story.
