Okay, let's get the political part of this out of the way. We inadvertently went to Washington D.C. as Congress was going into recess, so all of the politicians and much of their staff left town as we were arriving. That was awesome and I highly recommend it. Congress actually publishes their scheduled recesses, so you can plan your trip around it. Do that.
I am by no means an expert on visiting our nation's capital, but after doing it again, and enjoying it literally every time, I decided it was a recommendation worth making. Here, in no particular order, are the consistent pros:
- Smithsonian museums are free. Here's my second bit of pseudo-politics...nothing is free. Our taxes actually fund the work going on at the Smithsonian museums. But if you want to rank order what I want my money to go to, preserving and displaying the range and depth of information they have would rate pretty high.
- The city is really accessible. The National Mall is very walkable, though the heat did become a bit prohibitive in August. The metro is pretty user friendly, and gets to a lot of the fun stuff available. And if you feel really lazy (spoiler alert: almost always), there is never a shortage of cabs and rideshares available.
- The variety of food is incredible. On this trip alone, we ate farm-to-table, had a cross-country Mediterranean tasting menu, and had ramen at a Charlie Chaplin themed Japanese restaurant. There was also a really nice, local coffee shop a short walk from our hotel. And of course we did not scratch the surface.
The cons are not going to get a list like the above, because that's not what this is about. But, August is hot and steamy. Going into air-conditioned museums/restaurants frequently is highly recommended. Also for some reason every city has embraced the stupid electronic scooters and e-bikes, and people ride them on the sidewalk with reckless disregard. Whenever Congress gets back, they should do something about that (ha. ha.).
If you go for a long weekend, and you haven't been before or haven't been in awhile, here's what I'd do. Get a reservation in advance to see the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Maybe do those on separate day, if nothing else because the time commitment is a lot. But also, you know, it gets a little heavy. Do the DC at Night monuments tour. It will take you to the MLK and FDR monuments, the Lincoln Memorial (and the incredibly well done Korean War Memorial, as well as the Vietnam Wall), and the Marine Corps Memorial statue from Iwo Jima. Definitely do NOT vandalize the reflecting pool. I know you were thinking about it. Don't do it, hippie.
While all the food we had was good, the places I think I'd recommend to anyone are Warka Coffee and Chaplin's Japanese restaurant. If you want to get really specific, I recommend the curry ramen. Thank me later.
But I think the over-arching thing I'd say is, as much as we (appropriately) talk about D.C. from a purely political perspective, and as many truly maddening things come out of that place, the city itself is actually an American treasure, and we should not hold the politics against the place. Go check it out sometime, ideally when Congress has vacated the city, and reconnect with some of the very best things the country has to offer.
