Washington & Philadephia

If you take a rental car into Philly there is an underground parking garage at the Constitution Center which is adjacent to Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. All of the historic sites are in this same area and it is an easy walk around to the NPS sites. Check in advance about tours in Independence Hall as tickets are required and are handed out on the morning for same day tours with a specific tour time. It is not always easy to get a ticket if you arrive later in the morning and tickets are gone by 1 pm according to NPS. No tickets needed in January and February. No advanced tickets available.

Stefonius wrote:
I would actually recommend taking the train to either DC or Philly. Parking (in Philly at least) is a drag, but you can come in by train and get a day pass to ride SEPTA trains, buses, subways and the "EL", which will take you to anything you want to see in the city.

This is not a bad suggestion. Amtrak comes right up into Philly at 30th Street Station, which is on the far western side of the center city area along the Schuylkill River, and Indep. Hall/Lib. Bell et cet are all more or less straight across town, down Market Street, along the Delaware. You can almost SEE Constitution Hall from 30th Street. Almost. :) However, it is confusing sometimes, since Philly is one of the few places where the subway runs above ground in spots. Last time I was in C/C (Dec 2011, admittedly) they were tearing up all the underground commuter area under City Hall at 15th/16th Street, so it made it difficult to get around - we kept having to come up to street level and then go back down again.

If you look at a Google Maps of the center city Philly area, you'll see that it's a straight shot from 30th Street Station to Independence Mall - it's actually not all that bad if you just hop a cab, either. I think I/M is between 5th and 6th Street. Much of the 'historical' stuff is down around there to. Back up towards center city is City Hall, The Franklin Institute, the Art Museum/B. F. Parkway, etc.

Traffic is not usually nearly so crazy as I've seen in other large cities, but parking can be expensive, as noted.

When I was in Philadelphia last year, I parked down by I-95 and walked up to Independence Hall and that area. It was about a 12 block walk for me. In Washington I got down there early on Sunday morning, found parking and just walked around (meters didn't work on Sunday), the next day I drove back in really early and found all day parking. Have a Great Trip!

Bob in Calif.

nomad2013 wrote:
accsys ,
We found your information & blogs very interesting. We have almost just finished a run around the eastern US, perhaps, a little too quickly.
Back to your comments on Washington. We were thinking of just hopping on that little old train just outside the gate, & be in Washington in no time. I hope that not all the spaces are taken by 7 am. However, you have provided a nice alternative. I think we will try the Gray line deal.
At Camp Meade, our first location was at the back, #29, & the bathhouse was okay. We then had to move up front,,#5, to stay longer, the bathhouse is the best I have ever seen on a military CG.
Thanks again!

We went to that train station just outside the gate about 8:00 in the morning just to check it out. There was absolutely no parking spaces empty, including handicapped spaces. It's been a year and a half so your mileage may vary.

Fort Meade is one of the best FamCamps we have stayed in and we really enjoyed our stay. The ticket office in the campground office is where we purchased our Grey Line tickets as well.

I would actually recommend taking the train to either DC or Philly. Parking (in Philly at least) is a drag, but you can come in by train and get a day pass to ride SEPTA trains, buses, subways and the "EL", which will take you to anything you want to see in the city.

accsys ,
We found your information & blogs very interesting. We have almost just finished a run around the eastern US, perhaps, a little too quickly.
Back to your comments on Washington. We were thinking of just hopping on that little old train just outside the gate, & be in Washington in no time. I hope that not all the spaces are taken by 7 am. However, you have provided a nice alternative. I think we will try the Gray line deal.
At Camp Meade, our first location was at the back, #29, & the bathhouse was okay. We then had to move up front,,#5, to stay longer, the bathhouse is the best I have ever seen on a military CG.
Thanks again!

You may want to read the two blog postings I made while at Ft. Meade last year. The first one is here. I discuss going into to DC from there and the decisions we made to do so.

I'll be interested in this. Going to Ft Mead or Andrews AFB to tour DC. Wondering which is best and how best to get around.