Love luxury but on a budget this summer? Consider a staycation at Washington’s five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel, where rates for deluxe city-view rooms have been slashed from $500 to $235 a night over Memorial Day weekend as well as all four weekends in August and Labor Day weekend. Within walking distance of the Smithsonian museums and the National Mall, the hotel has three restaurants (including Eric Ziebold’s CityZen), views of the Tidal Basin, yoga classes, a pool, and a luxury spa—so there’s really no need to even leave the premises.
Freshman Senator Scott Brown’s commute just got a lot easier—JetBlue announced this week that starting in November it’ll operate seven daily nonstop flights between Reagan National Airport and Logan International Airport in Boston. To celebrate, the airline is offering introductory one-way fares for $39 if booked before May 5.
Today marks the opening of a new interactive Civil War exhibit at the National Archives. Researchers have gone through hundreds of millions of documents to choose some of the most interesting records left by participants, including an 1861 unratified version of the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, letters home from soldiers on the battlefield, and the original Emancipation Proclamation. Visitors are encouraged to explore the documents and draw their own conclusions about the Civil War from the items on display.
We don’t like to brag, but Virginia now officially boasts the tallest, fastest rollercoaster on the East Coast. The Dale Earnhardt-inspired Intimidator 305 opened at Kings Dominion earlier this month, and the $25 million ride has already made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for its 300-foot drops and speeds of up to 93 miles per hour. More importantly, it has more than 1,000 fans on Facebook. For the fainter of heart, Kings Dominion also plans to open a new waterpark May 20, with access included in the park’s general-admission ticket.
