My advice: if you're going to Washington DC don't bother not looking like a tourist. If you're not wearing a name badge or credentials of some kind, you're a tourist. That's how DC seems to roll, anyway. Nobody in DC wears confortable shoes unless they're on vacation. Or crazy. Or both.
The family rolled up on Washington DC about 1 a.m. EDT on July 15th, having followed the AAA TripTik, which is not a Google Map, for 15 hours. On time, in place, and surrouneded by a new city on the cusp of new experiences. The next morning, we took Gaia to McDonalds.

Monuments/Memorials/Buildings that were awesome to behold:

• Lincoln
• Washington
• Iro Jima
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt

We stayed, mostly, for reasons that are unimportant, at the Crystal City Hyatt in Arlington Virgina. It's lobby and lounge were not well airconditioned, but to be fair, it was over 95 most of our visit.
There is a duality in Crystal City, it is both part of the District of Columbia and not at all part of the District of Columbia, in that its in Arlington Virgina, practicaly within walking distance of Ronald Reagan national airport. There was a hotel-run shuttle that circulated from 6 a.m. to midnight between the hotel and the metro station.
I was struck dumb, at one point, overhearing someone complaining at the Crystal City Mall that "this is kind of a touristy mall," and that they'd take them to the good mall in the city where they could better shop for souvenirs.
Crystal City, according to the hotel concierge, for what it's worth, was named after the developer's wife, Crystal. Wikipedia disagrees. But then again, I think it's probably valid to trust the information gleaned from Wikipedia with about the same amount of salt as you would trust the concierge of a mid-level Hyatt within spitting distance of Ronald Regan Airport.
Anyway, point is, you'll never not look like a tourist in Washington DC if you're not wearing some kind of a badge that was issued to you by your employer. There's probably this great thriving scene in DC that I'm just unaware of, but that's OK. I'm from Milwaukee. I really only came out there to look at the monuments and stuff.