Here is a cache of travel ideas in Washington, D.C. and New York for your consideration this fall.
The Newseum in Washington, D.C. is the world’s most interactive museum where five centuries of news history meets technology. “G-Men and Journalists” opened June 20 and can be viewed through June 2009. There are 200 fascinating artifacts on display, from the truck crank shaft of the Ryder rental truck used to transport the explosives to the Oklahoma City bombing to the “Free John” baseball cap worn by union sympathizers in support of gangster John Gotti. Plan to spend the day so you can experience all six levels of the museum, from the Interactive Newsroom, First Amendment Gallery and the Big Screen Theater (where you can watch documentaries and breaking news on a 100-foot long video screen) to seeing eight sections of the Berlin Wall on display, along with an East German guard tower. The Newseum is opens from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. www.newseum.org
It’s time to take off and visit Chantilly, VA near the Washington Dulles International Airport and the National Aviation and Space Museum’s Steve F. Udvar-Hazy Center, a mega museum where many of the larger aircraft on exhibit are too large to be displayed in the National Mall Air and Space Museum building. This extraordinary museum covers 760,000 square feet in two hangars, the Boeing Aviation Hangar and the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar, home to military and commercial icons of aviation history. This space displays 120 aircraft and 140 large space artifacts, including the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay and commercial planes, such as the Air France Concorde. Planes are suspended from the ceiling and a series of skywalks and overhangs above the floor bring you “nose to nose” with it all, from the Boeing Stratocruiser to “Lucky Lindy” memorabilia commemorating Charles Lindbergh’s famous 1927 flight. www.nasm.si.edu/museum/udvarhazy/ When in New York’s hip meatpacking district near Chelsea check into the city’s only hotel with an authentic porthole in each of its 126 rooms! The Maritime Hotel was once the Maritime Sailors Union (it opened in 1961). That was until Sean MacPherson and Eric Goode took over and transformed this into a one-of-a-kind hotel with panache that would rival a private yacht. There are four penthouse suites and a rooftop suite with a superlative terrace. The nautical theme prevails from guestrooms that resemble a cruise line cabin to streamlined service. Rates range upward from $325. www.themaritimehotel.com
Across the street is the stunning Buddakan housed in a monolithic-looking black brick building that conceals a dramatically designed restaurant with a menu that equals the décor. A labyrinth of chambers and corridors anchored by a grand staircase leading to a stunning table accentuated by four spectacular chandeliers is just the beginning of this journey. Aside from their plump lobster rolls and dim sum there are stellar desserts. One bite of their Crying Chocolate (malted white chocolate ganache with coffee ice cream) creation will bring tears of joy to your eyes (www.buddakan.com). A few steps away is the inimitable Chelsea Market where locals breakfast at Sara Beth’s Kitchen for fresh baked muffins (www.sarabeth.com) and grab a few Fat Witch Brownies before hitting the pavement. Then there are the wooden barrels brimming with pickles at Friedmans Delicatessen …
The minute that classic melody from “Some Enchanted Evening” comes to mind, it’s best to order tickets in advance for Rogers and Hammerstein’s “South Pacific” at the Lincoln Center Theatre at the Vivian Beaumont. Transporting the audience to another time and place, this remarkable production has already won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival. Fifty-nine years after the Broadway premiere this production endures and continues to draw record crowds (www.SouthPacific-Musical.com). If you want to laugh nonstop “The New Mel Brooks Musical, Young Frankenstein” at the Hilton Theatre is the best seat in town starting with the opening scene, a village in Transylvania circa 1934 (www.Young-FrankensteinTheMusical.com).
For further details on what’s going on in NYC, visit www.timeoutnewyork.com.