Toonman, Smithsonian
So we did. Got off at one of the Mall stations and headed for the Smithsonian. Playing tourist in D.C. means a lot of walking. Heck, we're hikers -- what's a few steps? So we head over to the Natural History Museum, checked our packs at the coat claim station, and hiked a bit around town.
The museums themselves are fabulous. I spent much of my boyhood hanging out in the various buildings, particularly in bad weather (hot summers or dreary D.C. winters). They have climate control, they're free, and they are really, really fun. Natural History, Air and Space, the art museums, the 'Castle' (original Smithsonian, in the background of the picture). Then, there's the other free stuff: National Archives, Library of Congress, Capitol, the various memorials, even the administrative buildings like Treasury or the FBI.
I used to work on the other side of the glass on the FBI tour a few years before (visiting scientist). Talk about feeling like being on the wrong side of the cage in a pet store. And a couple of hikers got wind of that early on and gave me crap. Oh well.