Traveling to D.C.

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by xspecimen, Dec 3, 2011.


  1. xspecimen

    xspecimen Monkey+

    I am going to DC in a few weeks. Staying in the suburbs and I will be taking the Metro on two days into DC . Going to Arlington and one museum. I would like to carry some type of self defense tool. I know that guns are out of the question.

    Is there a blade size restriction?
    Can I carry mace?

    Wish that I would have went ahead and got one of those Cold Steel sticks.

    On the day trips into D.C., I plan on taking a backpack with water, food and medicine kit. Also a folding map and cash. I don't want to rely on the smartphone and credit cards in case of disaster. I am thinking post 9/11 as worst scenario.

    Any thought or suggestions, I would appreciate.
     
  2. -06

    -06 Monkey+++

    Went to the "Wall" a few yrs back on a cold drizzly day. The family and I walked all over the place and I was carrying a 45 at the time. I was very foolish for doing so and would advise against anyone doing the same. One should not travel alone anywhere if possible. There is safety in numbers but not a guarentee. Why not carry a walking cane--no one need know that you do not need it and it is a good weapon. A Bic pen pushed into a hole in the handle makes a terrible hole puncher.
     
    Georgia_Boy and BTPost like this.
  3. Wolfgang2000

    Wolfgang2000 Monkey++

    DC has all sort of weapon restrictions. I don't know about blade length, but I know pepper spray and other stuff like that illegal.

    Your best bet is to go to DC city web site and see what they say. I would really hate for my defense to be "someone on the Internet told me...".
     
  4. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    I have a stoutish three-piece walking stick that I can reduce to two pieces for 'cane' length - a hard wood ball on top, and a semi-sharp brass tip below. Makes a good cudgel and stabber, if the need arose. One good thing in getting older and grayer - a walking stick/cane is not 'out of place'. I have gotten good at feigning a limp - sometimes when the joints are stiff, it's no feign...... ;)

    In my younger&stupiderdays, when my ship was in Brooklyn Navy Yard for repairs, I carried my British F/S Commando Dagger under my jacket - stupid, but the way the 'hoodrats were watching us (five sailors new to the town) and seemingly 'sizing us up', I felt much better. Still, it could have gotten me some jailtime.......
    A buddy actually wore a civilian 'bullet-proof' vest made to look like a regular winter vest.
     
  5. xspecimen

    xspecimen Monkey+

    Thanks everyone. I think that my arthritis will be acting up so walking cane will be needed. I heard that the wasp were bad this year. Maybe a can of RAID also!!!
     
    Seawolf1090 likes this.
  6. xspecimen

    xspecimen Monkey+

    I am back from the trip. Everything went find but I had one problem.

    Wife and I stopped at the Archive to see the Constitution and a Bill of Rights. I had cargo pants on with two of my tools, pepper spray and a kubaton. We had to go through a metal detector and they scan our pack like at the airport. Pepper spray alerted the guard and I got stopped. I told them what I had and the lady guard was not happy. She called the Sargent over and he pulled me to the side. He said he understood but I had to take my equipment off property. I did so and after the viewing I went back to the tree that I dropped them at and went on my way like a nice tourist!
     
  7. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    Glad you survived DC! I'd like to visit the Smithsonian and other sites there, but am not up to a lot of walking. Have always heard horror stories of the traffic - is it that bad or over-hyped?
     
  8. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Yep, it can be that bad, and there is only a short window between morning and evening rush hours. Park the car at the hotel/motel, whatever, and learn the public rail system, it goes close enough to everywhere you want.
     
  9. xspecimen

    xspecimen Monkey+

    Yes, the traffic is bad and the streets can be also. Ghirt is right, use of the Metro is the best way to travel but not late at night. Stay off the Blue. We were on the Orange and Yellow never felt uncomfortable. We have family there so they drive us around.

    I saw the flag that flew at Ft. Henry that inspired Key to write the Star Spangled Banner. Very moving and a large flag at that.

    Seawolf if you every want to plan a trip, I can help with suggestions with locations, routes and such.
     
    Seawolf1090 likes this.
  10. Byte

    Byte Monkey+++

    Be wary of travel to DC. Make no mistake, you are LEAVING the union of states and entering a federal territory and will be subject to all the best that Big Brother, Inc has to offer you. Sure DC appears to be just like any other metroplex but it's anything but. Everybody residing therein is a 'federal person'. Including their police...

    Byte

    PS Glad you made it out seemingly unscathed!
     
    xspecimen likes this.
  11. Jay Tx

    Jay Tx Monkey+

    I made visit to DC in Sept. Was just a one day whirl wind tour, the first time I'd been there. I had a down day while on a project in Maryland and decided I wanted to see the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum (kind of a disappointment). I drove into town on that Saturday, drove around a bit til I found a parking lot a short walk from the Capitol area. Since I had flown to Md with my tools, I had my pocket knife with me, and that's all I took for "protection". My trip was rather uneventful, and even enjoyable overall. The tourist area I was in definitely had a large police presence, I saw nothing that made me feel too concerned. But could certainly see plenty of people and situations that made me consider my surroundings seriously.

    About noon the traffic in the area started getting really bad, so I decided to retreat from the area and ended up going to Manassas, Va battlefield for the remainder of the day.

    A few days later I had to take one of our guys back the Baltimore to put him on a plane home. We were running ealry so we decided to go eat on the Harbor. What we saw on the way through Balt. while getting to the Harbor wasn't unlike a third world country. Massive amounts of slums, and unsavory characters out seemingly just looking for someone who wasn't paying attention to their surroundings. I'll be heading back up to that same project again in a few weeks, and will just stick to the Md countryside from here on out.
     
  12. prepperdad

    prepperdad Monkey+

    I wouldn't

    Unless it's a full on collapse scenario, I would not be carrying any weapons to D.C. The cops are so out of control in that city, they might put you away for years for that.
     
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