WASHINGTON DC – Springtime Celebration


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Our eight-day Washington, D.C., Rally is a great opportunity to experience our history and heritage during the most spectacular season.  The best part of this rally is that Fantasy has the transportation covered, tickets reserved and special arrangements made! Put your politics aside and prepare to be impressed.

Our rendezvous park is just outside the District in suburban Maryland, where we get acquainted and review the plans for the week.  Of course we follow the business with a delicious Welcome Dinner. 

On Day 2,  we tour the beautiful art and architecture of the Library of Congress – totally steeped in our nation’s history.  We drive past the spiritual home of our country, the National Cathedral, and stop for photos just outside the White House. 

We follow the National Mall to the U.S. Capitol for a guided tour that features our country’s efforts to establish the world’s first truly representative democracy in this magnificent building. 

We look to the future on Day 3 when we travel to Annapolis for a tour of the U.S. Naval Academy, and learn how this tremendous institution trains young men and women to become Navy and Marine Corps officers.   We visit the crypt of John Paul Jones, considered America’s first naval hero in the Revolutionary War.  He never lost a naval engagement in his entire life and is remembered for his willingness to ‘go in harm’s way.’  We follow up with a visit to Fort McHenry

We board our luxury tour coaches bright and early on Day 4, traveling to the Washington Mall, home to memorials of our most celebrated leaders, as well as honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.  Here, we are awed by the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the World War II Memorial and the Martin Luther King Memorial. We top off the day with a cruise on the Potomac River and a crab feast dinner.  Neighboring Maryland is famous for its crabs, and there’s no better way to enjoy them than by leisurely cruising past our capitol’s famous landmarks.

After a delightful lunch in Mount Vernon on Day 5, we spend the afternoon touring the home of our first president, George Washington.  His beloved Mount Vernon home was originally built in 1735 by his father.  When George acquired the property in 1754, he spent the next 45 years enlarging it to the 21-room residence we see today.  He personally supervised each renovation, advising on design, construction and even the decorations.  On the property, we also visit the new exhibit, ‘Lives Bound Together,’ recognizing some of the slaves who worked on the plantation.  We’ll gain a better understanding of President Washington’s changing views towards slavery, culminating when he wrote in his will a provision to free the slaves he owned.

Every day we spend in Washington, D.C., is balanced with monuments, historic sites and tours. We spend the next day on a moving tour at Arlington National Cemetery, where we witness the Changing of the Guard as well as visit the Tomb of the Unknown and President Kennedy’s grave site. We stop at the Iwo Jima Memorial, commemorating the Marine Corps’ capture of Mount Suribachi in 1945.  An Associated Press photographer captured six Marines raising the American flag in the iconic pose that was later transformed into a sculpture with 32-foot tall figures raising a 60-foot flagpole.  The flag at the top of the pole flies at full mast, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by presidential proclamation. We have a short time to prepare for evening activities – a pre-show dinner and a performance at Ford’s Theatre, the site of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. 

There’s so much to do and see in Washington, that we’ve left the final day of the rally to you!  We’ll provide bus transportation into the District, and you have your choice of activities.  Visit the Smithsonian Museums: the Natural History Museum, the American History Museum, the American Indian Museum, the National Air & Space Museum, the National African American History & Culture Museum, the National Portrait Gallery or the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.  Take some time to smell the flowers at the National Botanical Gardens.  View magnificent artwork at the National Portrait Gallery or the American Art Museum …we guarantee you’ll find plenty to keep you busy!  Back at camp that evening, you’ll be treated to a farewell dinner.

The following morning, we bid goodbye to our new friends over a continental breakfast.  Together, we have seen and experienced our nation’s capital, learning about our history and understanding how our country shines in the world today.