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.

 

{Top Golf}                                   {Cameron Run}

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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Take a Class

... you mean, voluntarily? 

See, now that you've graduated school you can take the classes that you want. And you don't have to learn useless stuff. Like, the name of Beowolf's mother. So what do you want to learn? Cooking? Art? Something else?

Classes can be somewhat expensive, but here are a few options...

Cooking:

• What's Cooking (Dupont Circle), about $60 a class.
• Cake Love (various locations).  I can't get the classes page to load, but it seems like a cool concept!
• L'Academie de Cuisine (Bethesda), about $85 a class
• Sur La Table (various locations), um Ultimate Bacon Menu class? Yes please.

Art: 

• Washington Studio School (Dupont Circle), drawing, painting and sculpture
• The Torpedo Factory (Old Town Alexandria), lots of different classes including photography, ceramics and jewelry.

Something not art or cooking? Try looking at a community college like University of DC (Van Ness Metro, on the red line) or NOVA community college (multiple campuses, though not metro accessible).

 

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Go Skiing or Ice Skating

One of the good things about DC is that it is close to a lot of other cities/stuff. This includes (and will be future posts) Annapolis, Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC, and...

Skiing!

Well, I am no ski buff.  I did try snowboarding once, and if I could give any advice it is this: when deciding between snowboarding or skiing for the first time, choose skiing.  Looking down the hill you'll always see snowboarders sitting, but you'll hardly see any skiers.  I henceforth conclude that skiing is much easier.

(Whitetail Ski Resort)

Anyway, here are some ski resorts within driving distance from DC.

~1.5 hours: Ski Liberty, Whitetail

2 hours: Ski Roundtop, Bryce Mountain Resort

3.5 hours: Canaan Valley Resort, Seven Springs, Wintergreen Resort

Not into skiing? How about ice skating?

There are a couple indoor ice rinks in the area, but several outdoor ones as well!

• During the summer it's Jazz in the Garden, but during the winter the pond in the sculpture garden is transformed into an ice rink.  Skate just a few blocks from the Capitol!
• In Northern Virginia? Go ice skating outside at Pentagon Row (by the mall).  Looking for classes, year round skating or just a bigger rink?  The Capitals (DC's hockey team) practice at Kettler Ice Plex, but there are public skating sessions too.
• In MD? Try Silver Spring Outdoor Ice Skating, Herbert Wells Ice Rink in College Park, Wheaton Ice Rink,  or outdoor skating in Rockville Town Square.

{Sculpture Garden}                          {Silver Spring}