Sunday, March 26, 2006; M08
Where: Espionage-related sites from Washington to Williamsburg.
Why: Deep woods, high-octane milk shakes and darn good barbecue in the shadow of the CIA's legendary training camp.
How Far: About 160 miles or 3 hours.
Back in the mid-'80s, if you thought spies were tailing you, it helped to know a good lesbian bar -- since most of the surveillance teams were all men.
This is according to Robert Baer, the ex-CIA officer whose memoir inspired the recent movie "Syriana."
"Any man walking through the door would get a lot of hard stares," he says. "He'd feel like a nun in a slaughterhouse. Probably turn around and go back out."
Baer had a choice club of his own that he used when training spies on the streets of Washington and Northern Virginia, but he can't locate it anymore. "Look, this happened 20 years ago," he explains.
However, one thing is clear: Washington and Virginia are littered with espionage sites. Just after the Army created Delta Force in 1977, it conducted a series of drills with the FBI through the city's streets -- an elaborate game of hide-and-seek with the G-men. Eric L. Haney, who was in the first class of Delta and is now a writer and producer for the new CBS series "The Unit," remembers setting up clandestine meetings across the area. After he retired and went into business for himself rescuing kidnap victims and protecting diplomats, Haney's favorite spot to meet new clients was the swank Willard Intercontinental, a fitting start for your tour.
"I have used its bar as a meeting place for 'operations for hire,' " he says. His cocktail there?
"My drink is the same everywhere," he says. "Salvador Libre -- rum and tonic with a twist of lime."
After a visit to the Round Robin Bar, take a stroll over to Lafayette Square, where Thomas Nelson Conrad sat on a park bench during the Civil War and secretly kept track of President Lincoln's daily movements for the Confederacy. Then drive down Route 1 to the Afghan Restaurant, a nondescript joint that's a favorite of intel operators, according to Julie Sirrs, a former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst who specialized in Afghanistan.
"There've been quite a few farewell lunches at their cheap buffet," she says, "including my own." The $7.99 price tag attracts people in the spy trade. They're civil servants after all, and they like a good bargain.
As you head south to the woods at Prince William Forest Park, you might find it hard to believe this peaceful, scenic area was an espionage hotbed. But in the early 1940s, the U.S. government sent operatives here to take spycraft training. If your car stereo starts squawking with interference, just hit the gas and keep driving.
Once in Richmond, it's time for an anecdote from the memoirs of ex-CIA head Robert M. Gates: Spooks in his spy school class did surveillance drills here in the early morning hours -- and actually were flagged by local cops who didn't know what to make of them. Take our advice and head to Shockoe Espresso and Roastery for a chocolate-chunk scone and a cup of joe. Leave stalking to the pros.
Finally, head toward Williamsburg to the granddaddy of espionage spots. Squeezed next to the highway and the York River is Camp Peary, a roughly 9,000-acre military facility that opened in 1952 and is known to spy aficionados the world over as the Farm. New recruits complete training that's said to include everything from parachute drills to basic weapons handling. According to the CIA memoir "Blowing My Cover," author Lindsay Moran conducted one exercise wandering through Colonial Williamsburg disguised as a pregnant woman. You can learn about a distinctly colonial coverup at the wigmaker's shop, or just hop over to Pierce's Pitt Bar-B-Que -- to chow down on some smoked Porky. You can take your wire off now. It's quittin' time. Paul Bibeau
Road Trip maps are available online at www.washingtonpost.com/roadtrip, as are addresses and hours of operation (be sure to check before you go). Have an idea for a trip? E-mail roadtrip@washpost.com.