DC

HMP

HMP

Well-Known Member
2A Bourbon Hound OG
Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2016
Messages
39,512
Location
TRIAD
Rating - 100%
28   0   0
Going to DC soon, not much of an agenda, dont really know how much time I'll actually be in the city (will be staying in Fredricksburg, VA).

Places to check out?
Not looking for the 'typical' places like Smithsonians etc, Ive been to the museums and monuments multiple times, may go again, may not on this trip.
But Im looking for THE OTHER spots. Good restaurants, cafes, things to see that arent as touristy.

I know Im going to the 930 Club on Sunday night to see some bands play, and I havent yet googled where that is in the city yet
Taking bicycle up, so traveling to different parts will be quick and fairly painless.
 
We thought tours of the WH and Congress were extremely cool, albeit terribly touristy. Congressperson can arrange but it takes time.
 
Second the Capital tour if you have not been. We did a school trip so pretty touristy. We hit the Marine Corps museum on the way up and it was really nice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Itā€™s not an A typical place but please check out Old Ebbit Grill. One of the oldest restaurants in DC. Still have the original lamps at the bar and the old section of the restaurant.
 
You gotta go to Comet Ping Pong in northern DC just before the MD border. Ask for their ā€œSpecial Cheese Pizzaā€ ...
 
Restaurant: Founding Farmers on Pennsylvania Avenue - couple of blocks from the White House
I know you said no typical museum but Holocaust Memorial Museum is nothing typical.
 
Again, Ive been to the museums...multiple times each.
Im not saying anything bad about them, but I was at them last April, and I'll be there this coming up April too. So while I MIGHT spend some time in one or two, it isnt likely.

Have done a tour of the Capital, as well as LoC.

Thanks, a ton, for the restaurant suggestions.
 
What to visit? Holy cow, that's a big ticket!

Take the Metro, by the way. It's an AWESOME way to get around D.C.

The NRA Firearms Museum is close by and well worth the visit:

11250 Waples Mill Rd, Fairfax, VA 22030


Always wanted to visit the zoo in D.C., but haven't yet. (Brew at the Zoo is July 20th this year.)

The historic churches in the area would be a nice thing to check out.

Catch a game at Nats Park.

Georgetown Sunset Cinema every Tuesday night.


I've always wanted to go to the Navy Yard. There's a hunk of 26 inch thick Japanese battleship armor we did some post-war testing on with one of our 16 inch guns. I've always wanted to see it:

Japanese Battleship Armor Navy Yard.png
 
You may already know, be sure to check your vehicle for any ammo live or spent, any shotgun hulls, etc,
if you get pulled over and they notice any of this, you will be arrested because you don't have a FOID card
to have ammo, DC government considers any and all components of ammo, new, used, or spent as ammunition.
 
Button Pusher said:
You may already know, be sure to check your vehicle for any ammo live or spent, any shotgun hulls, etc,
if you get pulled over and they notice any of this, you will be arrested because you don't have a FOID card
to have ammo, DC government considers any and all components of ammo, new, used, or spent as ammunition.
Click to expand...

My car will be parked in Fredricksburg, so I'm safe there. We'll take a train in or my buddy will drive.

As far as a baseball game - it's actually All Star weekend, I believe (pretty sure, think a co worker is going up that weekend for it).
NRA Museum - didn't know about that one, thanks!
 
Thereā€™s an Ethiopian restaurant in Crystal City thatā€™s pretty good and its actually authentic. If youā€™ve never had it, Ethiopian cuisine is kind of like Indian in that itā€™s a spiced ā€œcurryā€ like meat that is served rare to raw (not quite to my tastes). You eat it with these grey pancake like bread rolls called anjara (spelling) which you break off and use to pick up the meat eating with your fingers.

The last time I was there, this group of guys in white shirts threw their ties over their shoulder, picked up the dish of meat and ate it with a fork while ignoring the anjara. They were giving me odd looks for eating with my hands when I was the one that was being culturally appropriate.
 
A buddy of mine went to the real Smithsonian air and space museum. Not the tourist trap on the mall.

The one that's a giant hangar with all the really cool stuff.

I think he said it was at the air port or something.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
 
Arlington.

If you ever need a reset into the majority of First World Problems we face here day to day, Arlington will get you refocused.

We spent almost 6 hours there last time....just walking among the sea of white stones that bear out the true Price of things.

The thing that struck me the most was how few were the Citizens that made their way into the place beyond the Tomb. I saw a few fellow veterans, a handful of active duty folks....and sole wives, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters seemingly at random and alone, visiting the departed.

And that was it. A grave landscape where too few pay their respects.
 
Last edited:
Ford's Theater and the house across the street where Abe shuffled off his mortal coil. That advice about the NRA Museum is spot on. I have only seen pictures but the Petersen stuff would be enough to try to take in on a day trip.
 
BatteryOaksBilly said:
Ford's Theater and the house across the street where Abe shuffled off his mortal coil. That advice about the NRA Museum is spot on. I have only seen pictures but the Petersen stuff would be enough to try to take in on a day trip.
Click to expand...
Been there a few times already, might be back there in April.

Taking my bike up (bicycle), so we're going to pedal our way around and be able to cover more ground more quickly and more easily.

Speaking of - what the hell...I took both the wheels off of my bike and its not THAT much more compact in the cargo area of my car than with only one wheel off...
If only my roof was about 4" taller and it could stand. But its not.
I'll mess with positioning more tomorrow and getting everything packed up.
 
Well you might have noticed, Im back.
Left out Wednesday after finishing my CDL test and got home yesterday afternoon.
Overall a good trip, but...different.
Family dynamic has changed, he's got a kid now (7 mo) and that just changes everything.

Anyway
Got there about 6pm Wednesday and enjoyed relaxing and talking with my friend who I only get to see once a year.
Thursday we went into the city because he had to do a fitness exam for his job - he works for the parks service/usda.
So this was the day that I was most excited about: go to the city, take bikes, and explore. His stepson was coming with, he's 11 and a half.
Well they dont have bikes, but there are tons of rental bikes there and it's 8 bucks for a 24 hour rental, with one caveat that they have to be 'checked in' every half hour...still not bad because there are a lot of stations.

Well his stepson cant ride a bike.
I want to repeat that - HIS BOY CANT RIDE A BIKE.
I mean, he can get moving and all, and by the end of the day it wasnt bad, but he fell over so many times. Into bushes, into curbs, just hitting inanimate objects, and even hitting one guy in the back of the leg. He cried, stated this was too hard.
Also, those rentals are treated/can be treated pretty rough (hell,I saw his boy on them and it was bad) and my buddy had a flat one time about 5 blocks from another station.
So little snags and big snags with that and it just didnt go well.
We just didnt cover all that much space, which was a reason for taking them.

BUT
ate some good food in the city, had some good coffee at Peets, and checked out some cool record shops and picked up a West German album of a punk band I'd never heard of, just the cover caught my attention and I noticed all the type was in German so I picked it up for 8 bucks.

Friday we went into historic Fredricksburg for a while, neat little city/town!
Had breakfast at the Mason Dixon Cafe - very good, but not cheap.
Ice cream at Carl's that night, an establishment since the 40s

Saturday we went down to the river there, I cant recall the name. We swam and ended up renting paddle boards, I tried that, I liked it pretty good.


Sunday we had a show to see that night, bands we liked.
We headed that way towards downtown DC early, stopping at the Marine Museum - WOW! That was awesome!
I didnt know what to expect. I didnt serve and didnt know what it'd be like, but i was blown away. A great war history museum!

Before leaving to come back I stopped at a local (Fredricksburg) diner, Titos. Eggs Benedict and some scrapple - a great end to the trip.

Good trip overall, but we just didnt get to hang that much because of his parental duties.
The 11 year old is fine, he can be home alone for a while and no worries. But having a baby is different. Kid is getting fussy by 730ish and asleep around then, so we were in early, unfortunately.
It was just different.
 
You mean...his stepson COULDN'T ride a bike.

Thanks to you, he knows he can now.

Good job!
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
You mean...his stepson COULDN'T ride a bike.

Thanks to you, he knows he can now.

Good job!
Click to expand...

His stepson is hardheaded as hell. We were both trying our hardest to teach him.
Apparently he's had bikes before and he's SEEN HIM RIDE A BIKE BEFORE...but it's been about 2 years and he just forgot.
Couple that with the hardhead and him not taking our advice time after time after time...

Eventually he was not as terrible.
But that first hour... lots of him pushing the bike, slamming it down in frustration, and tears.

A lot of it was him just wanting to sit on the bike and 'walk' it, but he couldnt flat-foot it, so he'd get off balance and fall.
It was a lot of "PEDAL! KEEP PEDALING!"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom