Spot Hero App

When we lived on Capitol Hill we had parking stickers for the car so we could park on the street and not have to worry about tickets. We also had passes that we could give to people visiting to avoid the over two hour penalty. We no longer have either. So if we need to park for over a two hour period of time in DC the options are garages and lots. There are meters for three hours but we needed to spend four or five hours on the mall yesterday to visit with friends who were arriving at the WWII Memorial on an Honor Flight from Milwaukee.  And it was 1:30 in the afternoon - the busiest time on the mall. We usually park on the mall or the tidal basin, but this was Saturday and a very busy time of the day so I wanted a sure thing. Rather than take Uber or the metro, I found a great place to park using the SpotHero App. I just stumbled upon it when I was searching for parking on Capitol Hill. The space was in an alley right across from the Library of Congress where I worked for ten years. Because we are familiar with the area it was a no brainer to book the space. The best part is that it was only $2.75 for five hours. Typically these are slabs located behind the rowhouses where homeowners rent out extra places and make a few bucks. I’m sure during the week it is much more expensive because it is right behind the Republican Hill Club across from Capitol South Metro. The space was very tight and we almost knocked over a few garbage cans getting in to it. But it was well worth the price and we liked being in our old neighborhood. On Sunday you can park on the street for any length of time so this is a great idea for Saturday. After we parked we walked to the metro and got out at the Smithsonian stop and walked to the meeting place. It was actually very convenient.