Come face to face with the real world of spy gadgets, “bugs” and disguise techniques developed by Hollywood for the CIA, and go on a Scavenger Hunt to decode messages, interact with spies and navigate your way through the International Spy Museum. Walking through a few of the Smithsonian Institution’s many museums on the National Mall may bring about dejá vu for those who saw the movie, Night at the Museum, which was shot on location. Included in the same movie, and also visited by Grandtravelers, is the National Air and Space Museum, where Amelia Earhart’s bright red, history-making Lockheed Vega 5B flights is on display, and where the new “Moving Beyond Earth” exhibit asks visitors to consider the future of space travel, using historical artifacts and interactive displays. A special dinner along the Potomac is followed by an evening tour of the city’s most impressive illuminated memorials -- the Lincoln, Vietnam War, Korean War and World War II.

A special private tour of another movie location, George and Martha Washington’s Mount Vernon home, used for the film, National Treasure 2: Book of Secret, offers grandchildren a wonderful opportunity to learn more about our first president and his life outside the presidency as they explore the home, gardens, slave quarters, stables and reconstructed 16-sided barn.

In Annapolis, Grandtravelers walk along cobblestone streets on a tour of this historic city, taking in the City Dock and the country's oldest statehouse - Maryland State House -- before visiting the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy and meeting with a cadet to hear about life at one of the nations’ prestigious military academies.

A full-day is devoted to visiting Colonial Williamsburg, where 3,500 archaeologists, historians and interpreters have preserved remnants of one of America’s earliest towns -- including 88 original 18th-century structures and hundreds of houses, shops and public buildings reconstructed on their original foundations -- spread over 300 acres. This was the training ground for many prominent leaders of the American Revolution, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry, all of whom belonged to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Grandchildren meet and interact with people of the past --blacksmiths, shoemakers, gunsmiths, printers, cabinetmakers, and wigmakers -- and can help with meal preparation or sing songs. An 18th-century-style lunch is enjoyed at the elegant King's Arms Tavern.

All Grandtravel tours combine the enriching experience of travel with the lifelong building block of education through hands-on adventures while focusing on the bond between the two generations. Prices include deluxe or best available accommodations with private bath, most meals, transportation, admission to all scheduled attractions and events, en route activities for children, pre-departure guidance, the services of a professional tour manager, a Grandtravel Activity Director (always an experienced educator or youth counselor), and service charges and hotel taxes.

Further information, brochures and reservations can be obtained from Grandtravel, 1920 N Street, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036-1601; telephone, (800) 247-7651, (202) 785-8901, web site www.grandtrvl.com.