February 19, 1999

If driving the congested and confusing streets of Washinton, D.C., is not your idea of fun as you set out to visit the city's many cultural and historic sites, then leave the driving to the pros: APA is sponsoring 42 bus tours throughout the metropolitan area that will ensure you don't waste time puzzling street or subway maps. Here are some tour highlights:

A Star-Spangled Adventure will give visitors an overview of the city's best-known sites, including the Capitol, Supreme Court building, Library of Congress, Washington Monument, White House, and Embassy Row. Among the scheduled stops are the new Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial (see page 22), John F. Kennedy Center, Washington National Cathedral, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and Lincoln Memorial. The tour includes a picnic luncheon.

Family Day at Mount Vernon will take visitors out of the city hubbub and into the pastoral tranquility of George Washington's plantation at Mount Vernon. As visitors boat down the Potomac, they'll enjoy views of Old Town Alexandria and the lovely homes overlooking the river before docking at Mount Vernon. In addition to touring the mansion and seeing the bed where the retired general and former president died, visitors will learn about life on a Virginia plantation and see Washington's tomb. Newer attractions include a slave memorial, the Mount Vernon Forest Trail, and a replica of Washington's unique 16-sided barn.

Beyond the Monuments shows visitors another side of the city-one with which its residents are more familiar. Visitors will tour three of the city's most interesting neighborhoods: Capitol Hill, Georgetown, and Adams-Morgan. The guide will point out the homes of prominent residents and discuss the notable architecture. There will also be a tour of one of the lovely private homes. Visitors will eat lunch in Adams-Morgan, the city's most ethnically diverse neighborhood.

The Space Age tour will appeal to anyone who's ever nursed dreams of becoming an astronaut-or working with one. The first stop of the tour is the Challenger Learning Center, where everyone above the age of 10 can fly space missions. In an environment that resembles NASA Mission Control, visitors work in teams to monitor life support, conduct experiments and investigations, and implement navigation orders, among other duties. Next stop is the world's most popular museum, the National Air and Space Museum, followed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, the first center dedicated entirely to the exploration of space.

Washington's African-American Heritage tour will take visitors to the many sites associated with African-American history in Washington, D.C. The tour begins with a visit to the home of Frederick Douglass, the ex-slave who led the abolitionist movement, and continues on to Howard University, which has graduated some of America's greatest leaders in many fields, and LeDroit Park, a gracefully restored Victorian neighborhood that has been home to such prominent African-Americans as General Benjamin O. Davis. There will also be a stop at one of Washington's newest memorials-the African-America Civil War Memorial, which honors the 200,000 African-American soldiers who fought for the Union and their white officers.

Glorious Gardens I gives visitors a chance to take a deep breath and smell the flowers. Visitors will tour Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, home of 14 acres of water-loving flora and fauna separated into 44 display ponds, and the National Arboretum, which in the spring features 70,000 azaleas and rhododendron in various stages of bloom. The tour Glorious Gardens II covers the Washington National Cathedral, which has 57 acres of special gardens, woodland paths, and two perennial gardens with flowers found in English church gardens, and Dumbarton Oaks Gardens, which feature formal gardens with reflecting pools, winding paths, and broad terraces.

A Peek at the Animal World will introduce visitors to the 5,000 animals that live at the National Zoo (see page 29). In addition to the remaining panda, Hsing-Hsing, the zoo's outstanding features include Amazonia, a microcosm of the world's largest rain forest, and the Think Tank, which explores the concept of animal cognition. Next on the tour is the newly renovated National Museum of Natural History, where visitors can see the Hope Diamond in its new home in the Hall of Gems and Minerals.

Diplomatic Washington begins with a morning tour of the State Department's diplomatic reception rooms, where the Secretary of State entertains foreign dignitaries and members of the local diplomatic corps. Visitors will then drive along Embassy Row, home of Washington's large official diplomatic community. Other sites include the U.S. Naval Observatory, the official residence of the Vice President, and the Anderson House, a National Historic Trust Landmark.

In Tribute to Jackie celebrates the contributions to and role played by Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis in contemporary America. In addition to seeing sites linked to her personal interests, such as the historic homes that she was responsible for saving along Lafayette Square, visitors will tour the First Ladies exhibition at the National Museum of American History; Georgetown, where the Kennedys lived in four different houses; and Arlington Cemetery, where her body now rests near her husband's.

To sign up for tours, see page 27 of the "Leisure Time Activities" section of the Annual Meeting Advance Registration Information Packet. Reservations must be made by April 20, with the exception of the Diplomatic Washington tour, whose deadline is April 9 since security clearance is required.