Eastern Market

Looking for something to do on a Saturday or Sunday when the weather is nice?  Consider going to Eastern Market.  

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Eastern Market is part farmer's market, part meat market, and part "flea" market.  Flea is in quotations because it's not what one might normally consider a flea market (cheap stuff).  This stuff is, like, made by artisans and what not.  Historical maps. Jewelers (including Scrabble jewelry!).  Handmade clothes.  Note that this is a nicer part of DC, so nothing is really cheap.

 

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Outside and also insider the main mall are farmer's market booths (again, not cheap), and inside are some meat vendors.

So come out and browse around one weekend on your way up to the national mall.  Have a crepe or a lemonade in the summer. Did I mention that there is usually someone there that sells scrabble jewelry? Lego cuff links too.

PS. Capitol Hill Books is right around the corner, if you want to browse a house literally filled with books.

Annapolis

Like I said in an earlier post, one of the reasons DC is great is because it is close to other cities. One place that is nice for a day trip is Annapolis.

 

Annapolis is a quaint city, home to the Naval Academy.  In fact the whole town is very Go-Navy. Stroll around St John's College, then down Main St. and browse the shops.  Catch a show at Rams Head Tavern, eat dinner by the water.  

Oh yeah, and go back in August and run/cheer for the Annapolis 10 miler.

DC United

Washington DC is actually pretty big on sports.  For football there are lot of Redskins fans, basketballs fans have the Wizards, baseball is the Nationals, and hockey fans (which is VERY popular) have the Capitals.  Unfortunately, tickets to these games (minus baseball, usually) can be quite expensive.  A cheap hockey ticket is $40 to be up in the nosebleeds. 

One often overlooked sport is outdoor soccer, which is the venue for the DC United.  You may have to trust me on this, until you go to a game, but outdoor soccer has gotten a bad rep as being really boring.  It is actually a really good time!  And tickets are not that expensive, and easy to get.  DC United plays in RFK stadium (blue and orange lines).  The first home game of the season is March 10.

 

PS. that huge section of chanting fans? They are the Barra Brava, DC United's "12 man".

Madame Tussauds

In my opinion, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum is pretty over hyped and over priced.  But every once in a while you will find a coupon for it, such as HERE.

If you're on the fence about wanting to go, don't bother.  If you really want to go, only go with a 2-for-1 coupon.

Mini golf

Now that it's getting warmer and you can actually stand to be outside for longer than it takes to get from the metro to home, it's time for some outside activities!  Try some mini golf.  A couple location in northern Virginia include Cameron Run (which also has a small water park and batting cages) along Eisenhower Ave and Top Golf  by Kingstowne Towne Center.

 

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In the city? Try some mini golf at H St Country Club.  It's also a pretty decent restaurant and skee ball!  It's mini golf is very DC specific and has a lot of little details built into the course.  H St NE is a little out of the way to get to, but it is an up and coming night scene.

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National Museum of Crime and Punishment Groupon

HERE.

Deal ends 11:59pm on Feb. 6th.

Baltimore

Not only are there a bunch of great things to do here, but another perk of living in DC is that it is close to many other cities.  The first one that I'll talk about is Baltimore, MD.  (I'm not going to go into the whole gamut of things to to in Baltimore, but I'll point out a few highlights.)

First off, getting there is pretty easy/cheap whether you have a car or not.  With a car it's about an hour drive from DC on the BW parkway.  If you don't have a car, you can:

• Use the MARC train, but that does not run on weekends.
• Use AMTRAK
• Use a bus service.  Some of these services have been dubbed the "Chinatown Bus", as these routes were probably set up by Chinese to go between cities, though now they are open to everyone.  They go from the Chinatown in one city to the Chinatown in another.  

With Baltimore you do have to be somewhat careful to avoid the high crime areas.  Just watch The Wire, you'll get the drift.  Inner Harbor is a pretty nice part of the city.

I have two recommendations for things to do while in Baltimore:

1. American Visionary Art Museum.  Don't be fooled by the very cheesy/kid looking website.  This is an art museum for the... off beat.  I don't usually like art museums, but I definitely liked this one.
2. If you have a chance, and it's in season, check out the Baltimore Blast! (indoor soccer.  more fun than it sounds, promise.)  

Both the Baltimore Blast and American Visionary Art Museum have coupons in the entertainment book here and here.

 

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