I’ll be moving to a suburb fairly close to DC on public transport for my summer internship. I lived in DC very very briefly in the early aughts, but haven’t really spent much extended time there since-I had to come in a couple of times every year to HQ when I was working as a Fed, but my priority was to get in and out as quickly as possible after my meetings.
The company that hired me is setting up my housing, so I don’t need any assistance there…I’m more curious about the must-do highlights of DC over the summer. What should I absolutely not miss? I’ll be there from the beginning of June to the end of August. I’ve already downloaded the National Geographic guide but was wondering if there any experiences, restaurants, clubs I should try to pack in before I leave.
Could you give us a rough idea of interests that might occupy you? There are millions of things to do in the area, so some guidence might be helpful.
For example, do you like history, museums, athletics, clubbing, arts, etc?
Without knowledge of any particular interests, I would first suggest a round of visits to the Smithsonian Institutions. Get online and look up all the summer festivals on the Mall, many may interest you. Also do the same for Old Town Alexandria, Arlington, and anywhere else the Metro may take you.
After the main museum tour, check out all the smaller private ones - Spy Museum, Newseum, Crime & Punishment, etc.
Check online for open houses at various embassies - often very interesting.
In two and a half years living in a DC suburb, I almost finished the Smithsonian. You’re there for, what, two months? Should be plenty to keep you busy.
The concerts on the Capitol lawn are great! Plan to get there real early, take a blanket and a picnic basket, and relax until showtime.
I’m supposed to be there for three months but they’re also doing a project launch in Europe and I may have to go there for a while as well. This is why they’re doing the housing.
My interests are mostly in history, museums, farmers markets and good ethnic food restaurants. In terms of the clubbing scene, I don’t know, I guess I’ll rely on the other interns and my other classmates in the area and NYC etc.
I’ve been to the bigger smithsonian museums etc, so while I will be doing them again, I am also looking for some off-the-beaten path experiences and day trips from the area. I’m also interested in outdoorsy stuff/hiking.
will you be in maryland or northern virginia? on a metro line or off? are you pretty mainstream or more hipsterish?
a national’s game is a must. orioles if you can get up to bmore.
bmore aquarium/ft. mchenry but that could get pricey.
national art gallery (EAST WING!)
chinatown eats
i have a “scavenger hunt” list hiding around somewhere on my hard drive that was really fun. if you’re interested i’ll PM you or put it up on google-docs or something. It’s pretty intensive and slightly obscure so i hope you’ve got a smartphone, and/or resourceful friends.
I’m on the Maryland side, and there’s a metro station in the town but I have no idea where they’ll house me. I’m guessing putting me near a train station isn’t really a high priority since I told them I’m willing to bring my car and I don’t think the company has a metro station close to it. In any case, I’ll be on the red line, a little bit past Bethesda, and I can certainly drive to the station (they usually have parking, right?).
These are great suggestions guys, thank you so much! I am very excited about all the things to do-my only worry is about being isolated all summer, though work should take up a good deal of time. There are only 5 of us total and they spread us out between marketing/strategy, strategy, finance and operations.
pancake3, I would not describe myself as a hipster. I’m fairly nerdy, though.
You’ll be in a great spot for the Billy Goat Trail which is right off the canal. It’s probably the best hiking in the area.
Other things, aside from the mall, are the Old Post Office Pavilion, Union Station, Old Town Alexandria (which also has a scavenger hunt, which we never did), and Eastern Market since you like farmer’s markets.
You won’t be far from Baltimore. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra does a series of outdoor concerts at Oregon Ridge State Park during the summer; it’s very relaxed. There’s offsite parking, then they have shuttle buses; everyone brings folding chairs and/or blankets, picnic dinners, bottles of wine, etc. The concerts start around 7PM and then after the concert, when it gets dark, they have fireworks. My hubby and I always take our still-at-home daughter to the Fourth of July concert they do, and often to at least one more as well, if we like the theme. Every concert has a theme. We attended one that featured the music of John Williams, one that featured music from ‘space’ movies (Superman, Star Wars, E.T., 2001 Space Odyssey, etc.)
These concerts are always on weekends, and a great, relaxed time. Also, with tickets selling for around $20.00 or so for adults, it’s a very affordable way to see the BSO!
If you’re worried about being isolated, that’s all the better reason to come to a Dopefest for you. If you’re going to be in Bethesda, we can do it at one of the restaurants in downtown Bethesda.
Thanks Wendell, that’s really generous of you to offer. I’ll keep you abreast of when I get there and stuff.
Thank you for all the suggestion you guys. I’ll upload some photographs at the end of the summer-I think the stuff you’ve suggested will keep me busy for 12 weekends, minus whatever travel I’m required to do.
Oh, one more thing! The MD ren fest starts late summer, and is held down in Crownsville, MD, near Annapolis. Don’t know if that’s your idea of a good time or not, but we always enjoy it, and have found MD’s to be one of the better ones.
Honestly, I chose this internship because of the company. Historically I haven’t been a big fan of this geographic region, though I’m sure once I get there I’ll be fine. I’ve just moved a lot of times since the age of 18 for school and jobs and I think everytime I think of moving somewhere new at this point I start getting all negative about the location, but once I’m there I’m usually pretty happy. Plus, my classmates are mostly concentrated in NYC and Chicago, including all my good friends, and I think I’m the only recruit from my school at this point.
Anyway, I’m just holding on to the fact that it seems like there’s a lot to do on the weekends, I can always abscond to NYC or Boston as necessary and I no longer have to do any federal lawyering shit there anymore, which is a big part of what used to irritate me about the whole place before.
