We are planning a summer road trip that will take us through Washington DC. We would like to visit the city but we will not be in a position to stay in town-- we'll have a truck loaded down with camping equipment. So we're wanting somewhere close to a public transportation stop with plentiful parking and easy car navigation. Do you have any suggestions for towns or even hotels that would work well for this? Thanks!

For reference, if I were answering this same question for Atlanta I would probably say Alpharetta... Lots of standard good hotels for families with parking, safe, but close to a good railway line (North Springs MARTA).