Washington DC Here I Come
 

Looks like I'll be attending a conference in Washington November 7 through the 12th. I think my days will be sucked up by conference-like things but any suggestions out there on how I might be able to spend my evenings?

Anthony Bourdain visited on an episode of No Reservations. I'm going to be there the weekend of Halloween, and we're going to eat at Oyamel. I'll let you know what we think!

I hear they have a museum or two.

No no no. You can't sing "Washington DC Here I Come" to the tune of "California Here I Come". Too many syllables.

Are they open at night?

One night we got the National Archives just before they closed - and it had been dark for a while, so it was either open kinda late or it was during winter ... but I don't remember it being cold.

I remember that, because it was so late, we were the only ones there ... just me, my two friends, a guard .... and the original Declaration of Independence and first page of the Constitution. It was awesome.

Go say hi to Barrack

We got to see the President land via Helicopter on the South Lawn of the White House. That was pretty cool.

Of course it was a long time ago, and that president was Bush.






The first one.

Generally no, but there are special events you can sign up for via the Smithsonian website. Also the outdoor memorials (Lincoln, Jefferson, Vietnam, etc..) are always open and quite dramatic at night with fewer people.

Georgetown, Adams Morgan, and Downtown offer gobs of swanky venues for food drink and music.

Even early December in DC isn't cold. The roses can be in bloom and you can typically make do with a sweater or a light raincoat.

For nightlife, I really don't know because I'm more of a crotchety old lady who visits the zoo. The pandas are great and so is the elephant house.

Perhaps there will be some good shows on TV.

I haven't been to DC since I was 15. I don't know why, I absolutely LOVED DC when I was there. I would love to spend the days wandering the Smithsonians.

This is a dream of mine. If I were stuck in conferences I would make sure to have at least one weekend to visit the Smithsonian, after visiting all the monuments on weeknights, of course.

This season's Top Chef is in DC. Tamesha Warren, a contestant (she's out but she was good), is the sous chef at The Oval Room. I also happened to notice that Spike Mendelsohn, a major contender from another season, has an upscale burger place called Good Stuff Eatery, if you're in the mood for that.

Other the other hand, we've been up to our keisters in snow as early as Veterans Day so you should probably check before packing....

As of last month, the Elephant house was closed for renovations, It might be back open by now, I can check on it for you if monochromatic pachyderms are your thing.

You could always head to Dupont Circle and get freaky with a closeted Republican.

Seriously tho you should tack on a few extra days to sightsee, and you don't even need a car. Arlington Cemetary, the Vietnam and WWII memorial, the capitol building, supreme court, white house, etc. can all be seen in a day or two, and you don't need a car due to the awesome metro system.

This all reminds me of how much fun Bill and I had when we were there last year. I'd love to go back; there's so much we missed!

Just stay off the green and yellow lines! ;)

€uro, is there any chance you can stay on for the weekend following your conference? You really have to get a gander at some stuff around town.

You can do that while I learn about software

If you visit the National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall, you can look for the names of hubbo and myself on the Honor Wall. Much more interesting, you can have one of the nicest cafeteria meals anywhere in their restaurant.

I also recommend the cafeteria in the Capitol Visitor's Center. (And the Capitol Visitor's Center is worth a visit even if you don't tour the Capitol itself.)

Have you ever visited Thrillist.com? They have a site for DC that might be useful to find nighttime activities.