DC Diamond Circulate Tours
DC Diamond Circulate offers a number of tours while you enjoy the attractions of Washington DC during the 2009 Convention. You can register for these tours online with a credit card (click on the Click here to register online now link), or you can download the registration form and mail it with your check to:
DC Diamond Circulate
Att'n: Convention Tours
P.O. Box 57270
Washington, DC 20036
All tour registration must be received by March 1, 2009. If you have any questions about the tours, please contact .
Sunday, April 5
Guided Walking Tour of Dupont Circle
Take a walk through our history! The Dupont Circle area has been a center of social life for Washington's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community since the early 1970s. Our Rainbow History Project tour guide will take you on a 90-minute walking tour of the Dupont Circle neighborhood that will show and tell the evolving history of our community. You'll visit the locations of bookstores, community centers, nightclubs and public spaces -past and present - where our community gathered, celebrated, and protested. You'll learn how these places (famous, not so famous, and occasionally infamous) shaped - and continue to shape - our diverse community.
- Price: $7 per person
- The tour will begin and end at our hotel on Sunday afternoon. The departure time is tbd - check back for updated information.
- If there is sufficient demand, we may be able to offer this tour again on a weekday evening or as a Widow's tour during the convention. If you would be interested in taking this tour on a different day, contact us at tours@dcdc2009.org.
- For more information visit the Rainbow History Project website.
Tuesday Day/Evening, April 7
Architecture, History and Dancing in Baltimore
Are you a serious urban adventurer? Do you love History? Architecture? Urban transit? Then this tour is for you, hon! Take a day-long guided walking tour of the historical and architectural gems that have earned Baltimore the moniker of "Charm City." With your tour guide (a well-known Baltimore expert and fellow square dancer), you'll explore noteworthy churches, historic sites and neighborhoods. The tour will visit sites such as the first Basilica in America, the childhood home of the Duchess of Windsor, and the Mount Vernon Square neighborhood. Stick around for dinner at one of Baltimore's many fine restaurants, then join Chesapeake Squares at their weekly square dance club night.
- Price: $20 per person
- Your registration fee covers urban rail transportation to/from Baltimore.
- Lunch, dinner, Chesapeake Squares club night door charge and any other expenses are pay-as-you go.
- This tour covers a lot of ground; not for the faint of foot!
- The tour departs our hotel approximately 8:00am. If you can't stay the entire day, you can return after the walking tour or after dinner.
- If you stay for square dancing, plan on arriving back at the hotel around midnight.
Tuesday Evening, April 7
Washington Monuments After Dark
See our national monuments by night, flooded in lights, on this three-hour narrated coach tour. The tour stops at the Jefferson, Lincoln, Vietnam War, Korean War and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorials, where you can experience their majesty up close, in person. Along the tour, you'll also see the Kennedy Center, The US Capitol, The Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, The White House, House and Senate Office Buildings, the Capitol Reflecting Pool, Pennsylvania Avenue, Georgetown and the Marine Corps (Iwo Jima) Memorial. If you're looking for one tour covering the monumental highlights of our Nation's Capital, this is for you!
- Price: $60 per person
- The tour departs our hotel at approximately 7:45pm and returns to the hotel at approximately 10:45pm.
Wednesday, April 8
Potomac River Lunch Cruise
Step aboard the Odyssey for an unforgettable perspective of Washington from the Potomac River. Spectacular views drift past as we cruise up the Potomac, past the monuments and the Tidal Basin to Georgetown. (If the Cherry Trees are in bloom, you'll see a spectacular panorama!) Enjoy the Odyssey's attentive staff service as you order your three-course lunch. Their creative menu offers a variety of first courses and entrees to choose among. Stroll the open-air deck, or just sit back, visit with old and new friends, and take in the sights from our private, glass-enclosed dining room.
- Price: $65 per person
- Your registration fee includes a three-course sit-down lunch.
- The tour will depart our hotel around 10am and return to the hotel around 2pm.
- The Odyssey is fully handicapped accessible. We'll be travelling to and from the boat via Metro (subway), which is also fully accessible. The Metro stations are approximately two blocks from the boat and one block from the hotel.
Thursday, April 9
Spy Museum
Spy City Tour and the International Spy Museum
Blow the cover off some of the most notorious spy cases ever to unfold in the nation's capital! This two-hour tour is your chance to go deep undercover into the realm of espionage, intrigue, deception, and betrayal in the spy capital of the world. As a recruit in "Spy School 101", you'll participate in an interactive undercover mission. Your spy skills of observation, evasion, and code-breaking will be put to the test as you strive to outwit the enemy. High-level former intelligence officers provide video briefings and tradecraft secrets as the tour winds its way through the city. Your tour also includes admission to the internationally-renowned Spy Museum, featuring the largest collection of international espionage artifacts ever placed on public display. Spend the afternoon tracing the evolution of espionage, through interactive exhibits with state-of-the-art audiovisual effects, film, and hands-on components.
- Price: $80 per person
- Your registration fee includes the Spy City Tour, admission to the International Spy Museum and return transportation to the hotel via Metro (our subway).
- The Spy City Tour departs our hotel at approximately 10am and drops us off at the International Spy Museum around 12:30pm.
- There are numerous dining options in the immediate vicinity of the museum.
- You'll be able to spend as much time as you wish at the International Spy Museum. You can return to the hotel at any time.
- The museum closes at 8pm, but we know you won't want to miss the Trail-In dance at the hotel Thursday evening!
- For more information visit the International Spy Museum website.
Monday, April 13
Courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association
George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate
Spend the day at the most popular historic estate in America! Mount Vernon was the beloved home of George and Martha Washington from their marriage in 1759 until General Washington's death in 1799. Visit the brand-new Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Ford Orientation Center; their 25 theaters and galleries, more than 500 original artifacts, and eleven History Channel videos illuminate the remarkable story of the first American hero. Enjoy a one-hour guided walking tour of the plantation grounds, gardens, greenhouses, slave quarters and stables.
Tour the Mansion house, filled with 18th-century treasures, many of them owned by Washington. The Mansion house sits high above the Potomac River with a stunning view of the Maryland shore. Take time to further explore the grounds on your own. The gardens showcase heirloom plants known to have been at Mount Vernon in the late 1700s. Washington himself designed the landscape which includes 13 trees that stand today as the last living witnesses of Washington's lifetime.
Hike the Forest Trail, and explore the George Washington: Pioneer Farmer site, a four-acre working farm. When it's time for lunch, enjoy a variety of menu choices at the food court; idyllic pastures and a sunken garden surround the glass-enclosed pavilion, providing a scenic dining experience. Along the way to and from Mount Vernon, our coach will pass through historic Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.
- Price: $75 per person.
- Your registration fee includes transportation, admission to Mount Vernon Estate, a guided tour of the estate grounds, and lunch at the food court.
- The tour departs our hotel at approximately 9am and returns to the hotel at approximately 3pm.
- For more information on Mount Vernon Estate, visit their website.
Tour Cancellations and Refund Policies
Space on most tours is limited - book early to guarantee your space. We must receive your registration and payment by March 1, 2009. Availability and pricing of tours are subject to change. On the outside chance that we must cancel a tour, you will receive a full refund. If you register for a tour that has already been filled, we may put you on a waiting list. If we cannot subsequently book you on the tour, you’ll receive a full refund. No refunds can be granted once you’re registered and confirmed for a tour. You can sell or transfer your tour registration(s) to someone else, but let us know if you do so.