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Welfare banks are on the other side of the mall (south side) by
googled these this morning. dear heavens. these are amazing looking. whats the bust factor on those? can i get in a full solo sesh on that?
based on what you are telling me how does the run sound
bottom of 14th head north push and hit some places up until i get to franklin square. hook a right and and another right and come back down 12th and 13th street stopping at archives and return to my hotel?
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There’s a few parks in the city you can skate or take the metro to, but I’ve never been hassled at archives.
whats the best park close to the metro?
Your itinerary is a good but a few things. The way north is a not that exciting. The first block or so is a pretty steep hill then the next blocks are all very tall office buildings. As a result, if it's around morning rush, the sidewalks will be pretty full and the roads will be packed (and the road is pretty rough). There's not a lot to skate on those blocks either (but you can see the Press Liquors that is still in business due to the folks at Pulaski). That said, if you want to bomb a hill, take the walk and do 13th. It spits right out into Pulaski and it's one way. That said, it's heavily trafficked. You might just want (as many said) to get to Pulaski then push down Pennsylvania to the courthouse. Again, there's plenty of spots along the way and you'll end up at a park with a bunch of downhill ledges and the aforementioned long stairs/ledges across from the National Gallery. Walk a little further and there's the Japanese memorial and that really long ledge. Alternatively, walk across the mall and you're at welfare banks. It's really really compact.
Your hotel is about a five minute walk from L'enfant Plaza. It's a metro hub with access to the green/yellow/silver/orange/blue lines. That's good for getting around. To get to Pulaski, either take the green/yellow to archives and skate down Pennsylvania or take the blue/orange/silver to metro center and it's a block down. That said, you're close enough where (if you have the time) you can rent a bike or walk. You'll walk across the mall and get to see the sights on the way.
For actual skate parks: As aforementioned you can take the green/yellow line to Shaw for the Shaw skatepark. Or take the orange/blue/silver to Stadium Armory for the Maloof Park. Both are about a five minute walk from the respective station. Outside of that, you're looking at a hour plus commute one way on multiple forms of transportation to get somewhere and the cost/benefit isn't worth it.
If you head to Pulaski around 10:00 there might be one or two folks. The later it gets, the more folks show up. Park Police are not like they used to be at that spot. The days of swarming and chasing are over. You'll get booted if anything but that's it (barring an open container and even that is sometimes just a stern warning). However, even that happens with less and less frequency.
One more kind of dad like thing to say is that you're right by the Smithsonian and should take advantage of that fact. It has a variety of things to see, is free, and is really awesome. it opens up at 10 every morning.