# Need DC Dopers Help - Sister coming to town! Raise Shields! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 21, 2008, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758 "2008-08-21T03:09:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/1 "2008-08-21T03:09:22Z")
Okay, so my not-so-little (24 y.o.) sister is coming to town. I live in the DC metro area. Mom is shipping her off to me because lil sis will be “bored” during Labor Day. (DAMN! There goes my holiday, eh?). My response: typical PITAss teen who has not yet grown up…Never mind - I digress. (Although I saw the other tourist post get bounced elsewheres, I do not recall where the mod sent it, so I am posting here. Please pardon me if this is the wrong forum.) I need suggestions on where we can go that are Metro / walking-friendly. I don’t drive (due to medical reasons) and want to make sure she sees more of DC than my regular dives and haunts ( I will not include names of aforementioned commercial haunts because I didn’t read the acceptance agreement in the front and don’t want to give away free plugs, except a bit of a shout out to my friends and comrades at American Legion Hall Post #86 in Rockville, MD! LOVE YA GUYS.) I know the National Mall. The monuments are always a good tour. But walking and picture taking all day is tiring. If it is too hot, we can always jump off at Union Station and get the moonlight bus. I’d rather not do a pubcrawl in Georgetown. Tho she might like it, I’d rather not try to carry her home. She’s just a pup, eh? Smithstonian is always a good choice - many selections to choose from. I could (and have) been lost in one building all day and having to be shooed out) but she’s “24, and not interested in hanging out in a building all day”. \* - I would be, especially in the humidity we have forecast for these days! SO: Where do we go? I don’t mind buying her lunch (where a 3-taco plate in Bethesda costs $10 but in (honking up nose) “the city”, the same aforementioned plate costs $17??? WTF?? I can pay admission fees and what not. Please provide ideas that would not only put a smile on her face, but buy me cred in “Big Bro knowing the cool places in DC - and he rocked!”.\* So she can go back to TX and tell all her friends how cool her brother is. Thanks in advance for any help, and coolness for the “ya gotta know somebody” places 🆒 “…Gretzky gets the ball. He’s rounding third, going for the dunk, aaaannnd - TOUCHDOWN!” ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/2 "2008-08-21T09:54:46Z")
My band’s playing on the 30th at DC9, and it’s Metro accessible, but maybe or maybe not her thing. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/3 "2008-08-21T12:53:57Z")
The [International Spy Museum](http://www.spymuseum.org/) is a good choice. And not too far from Fords Theatre. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/4 "2008-08-21T14:03:03Z")
Not much to see in D.C., honestly. Especially if you don’t want to get drunk. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/5 "2008-08-21T15:30:57Z")
Second the Spy Museum. Haven’t been myself but it got an enthusiastic “Kewl!” from some 18-19 years olds I know recently. A double decker bus tour. Get tickets to tour the capital. Not exactly the hippest place but pretty awesome. Georgetown pub tour - Oh, wait, you already rejected that. Well, if I was 24 again (sigh) I’d love to be let loose in Georgetown. All day AND all night. ---
**Author:** ![Navy\_Brett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@Navy\_Brett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Navy_Brett)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/6 "2008-08-21T17:41:34Z")
[QUOTE=Gadarene] Not much to see in D.C., honestly. Especially if you don’t want to get drunk. [/QUOTE] I definitely disagree. If you’re looking to grab lunch in a cool neighborhood- one of my favorites is Cleveland Park Bar and Grill- cheap food (awesome brick oven pizzas), and lots of beer on tap- good to catch a game- the SW waterfront is decent too, and the new stadium is awesome so maybe checking out a game would be fun- Waterfront in Georgetown can sometimes get a bit touristy for me, but if you’re into paying $10 for a beer, more power to ya. It gets a little quieter up towards Glover Park but you’ll have to cab it ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/7 "2008-08-21T17:45:12Z")
Ah yes, beer/pizza and a rundown waterfront in SW. D.C. rocks. ---
**Author:** ![Cowboy8467](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Cowboy8467](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowboy8467)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/8 "2008-08-21T17:46:43Z")
To go along with the International Spy museum there is also the [Crime Museum](http://www.crimemuseum.org/) and the [Newseum](http://www.newseum.org/) which are both very interesting and similar to the International Spy Museum. Unlike the Smithsonian museums however, they are not free. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/9 "2008-08-21T18:11:04Z")
[QUOTE=Gadarene] Not much to see in D.C., honestly. Especially if you don’t want to get drunk. [/QUOTE] Huh? Schedule a vist with your congressperson and ask her/him to increase funding on Bigfoot research! Go visit the Supreme Court building with a spray can and tag it with the words “Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!” Get a Dick Cheney Halloween mask, have one person dress up like Dick Cheney and the other like a secret service agent (dark suit, sunglasses) and stand in front of the grocery store asking people to sign a petition to stop the war in Iraq and bring the troops home right now! Get a remote control plane, stand behind the fence and have the plane swoop around the White House (make sure you get this on camera). Go to the Pentagon and distribute leaflets explaining how Pentagon = Pentacle = sign of Satan and demand that the Pentagon be rebuilt as a Hexagon. I’m sure the creative minds of the Straight Dope can come up with tons of ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/10 "2008-08-21T18:35:16Z")
> [@](#): > > Huh? Schedule a vist with your congressperson and ask her/him to increase funding on Bigfoot research! Go visit the Supreme Court building with a spray can and tag it with the words “Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!” Get a Dick Cheney Halloween mask, have one person dress up like Dick Cheney and the other like a secret service agent (dark suit, sunglasses) and stand in front of the grocery store asking people to sign a petition to stop the war in Iraq and bring the troops home right now! Get a remote control plane, stand behind the fence and have the plane swoop around the White House (make sure you get this on camera). Go to the Pentagon and distribute leaflets explaining how Pentagon = Pentacle = sign of Satan and demand that the Pentagon be rebuilt as a Hexagon. But once you’ve done all of those things – and who hasn’t? – that’s pretty much it, fun activity-wise. Oh, and sleeping with the homeless in Lafayette Park. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/11 "2008-08-21T19:00:58Z")
Even if I were going to do a barcrawl, I don’t think Georgetown is the place to do it. Its been a while since I was into the idea of a late night bar crawl, but when I was Adams Morgan to me was the better option. It has a good ratio of bars and restaurants and the majority of them are on 18th Street so you don’t have far to go. Alternatively, the U Street area would be a good spot as it is a less rowdy and has some pretty cool spots such as DC9. You can take her to dinner at one of the Ethiopian places nearby. Etete and Dukem have pretty good reviews. \*Best of all U Street is far more metro accessible than Georgetown. I wouldn’t take someone from Texas out for Mexican in DC since the results will probably be disappointing, but there are a lot of good Indian places in the area. Are there any bars on the SW Waterfront other than clubs like H20? I can’t think of any restaurant there that I would take someone since for the most part, they tend to be tourist traps. If you are looking for something a bit more out there, I would take her to the [Palace of Wonders](http://palaceofwonders.com/home.html). There are a few bars and restaurants nearby and there are more opening up all the time. I would stick to things like the Smithsonian but if she really doesn’t like Museums you can take her to the National Arboretum or better yet, the National Zoo. The museums are pretty impressive so I can’t imagine not wanting to see at least the Air and Space Museum. \*I’m not all that fond of Ethiopian but those that like it highly recommend those places. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/12 "2008-08-21T20:03:28Z")
The Hirshhorn and the National Gallery of Art (West Wing) are great ways to while away the daylight hours. Skip the cafe and gift shop and it won’t even cost you anything! A few blocks north, there’s the National Portrait Gallery/Museum of American Art (They’re sort of combined). Also free, but the surrounding restaurants get pricey. The 9:30 Club, a Mecca for hipsters, is sold out that Monday, but not Saturday or Sunday yet. My nieces zero in on it when they’re in town. Would the National Museum for Women in the Arts be up her alley? Consider Old Town Alexandria. It will devolve into a pub crawl, but there’s other stuff too, especially near the waterfront (Torpedo Factory, Gadsby’s Tavern, Lee’s boyhood home, Old Christ Church, graveyards where headstones still say “Alexandria DC,” etc). ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/13 "2008-08-21T20:05:38Z")
> [@](#): > > The 9:30 Club, a Mecca for hipsters, is sold out that Monday, but not Saturday or Sunday yet. My nieces zero in on it when they’re in town. Black Cat and (as **An Arky** says) DC9 are also good for this, and if you venture over into the Atlas District, which isn’t Metro-accessible, you’ve got the Rock and Roll Hotel and The Red and the Black, as well the aforementioned Palace of Wonders. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/14 "2008-08-21T20:13:55Z")
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried] Huh? Schedule a vist with your congressperson and ask her/him to increase funding on Bigfoot research! Go visit the Supreme Court building with a spray can and tag it with the words “Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!” Get a Dick Cheney Halloween mask, have one person dress up like Dick Cheney and the other like a secret service agent (dark suit, sunglasses) and stand in front of the grocery store asking people to sign a petition to stop the war in Iraq and bring the troops home right now! Get a remote control plane, stand behind the fence and have the plane swoop around the White House (make sure you get this on camera). Go to the Pentagon and distribute leaflets explaining how Pentagon = Pentacle = sign of Satan and demand that the Pentagon be rebuilt as a Hexagon. I’m sure the creative minds of the Straight Dope can come up with tons of ideas. [/QUOTE] Drop waterballons out of the Washington Monument. Sit in Lincoln’s lap. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/15 "2008-08-21T20:23:52Z")
[QUOTE=Gadarene] Black Cat and (as **An Arky** says) DC9 are also good for this, and if you venture over into the Atlas District, which isn’t Metro-accessible, you’ve got the Rock and Roll Hotel and The Red and the Black, as well the aforementioned Palace of Wonders. [/QUOTE] Don’t forget the Pug and the Argonaut. There is a shuttle service that runs intermittently as well.\* **Krokodil** , I have to disagree on Old Town. There are a few bars there but to me there is something about Old Town that doesn’t lend itself to a bar crawl. Also there is no Metro that is all that convenient for a night of drinking in Old Town. \*I’ve never taken it since I can walk to those places. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/16 "2008-08-22T01:09:12Z")
Wow! So many good ideas and leads! Thanks, everybody! I remember the first thing I did when I hit DC was to drive to the IRS building and did several drive-bys while flipping them the bird. 😃 …and I guess I made a serious faux pas when I mentioned a taco plate. It would be a sin to offer a person from San Antonio mexican food. It is a universally known fact that San Antonio has the best mexican food in the universe (hence, the definition). _Art museum???_ I wish. This is going to be semi-awkward. Haven’t seen her since she was 7, but we totally adored each other then. I have no clue what she is into now. This will be more like a re-introduction to a cousin you haven’t seen in forever, but we’ll see how it goes. Thanks again, everybody! Keep those ideas coming, eh? ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/17 "2008-08-22T01:36:22Z")
I’m sure you’re aware of it, but since you didn’t mention it, I thought the zoo was pretty damn cool. They had pygmy hippos, and they let the GLTs run free throughout the trees. ---
**Author:** ![Vlad\_Igor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Vlad\_Igor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vlad_Igor)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/18 "2008-08-22T01:46:57Z")
Take the Red Line to Cleveland Park station. Go south on Connecticut Ave to Macomb Ave. There are some nice shops and a great Greek restaurant in that block. From there it’s a 15 minute walk to the National Cathedral, which you could spend the day at anyway. The neighborhood between the Metro stop and the Cathedral is very nice and quiet. Go further south on Conn. Ave. and you’ll be at the (free) National Zoo. Vlad/Igor ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/19 "2008-08-22T01:55:47Z")
Is she cute? Just askin’. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758/20 "2008-08-22T02:14:55Z")
My canned answer below. Not all of these apply but it’s past my bedtime so no editing. Geographic & Technical Data [NOAA Weather for Washington DC](http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?zoneid=DCZ001) Government & Politics [DC Home Page](http://www.dc.gov/) [Washington DC, The American Experience](http://www.washington.org/) [FirstGov - Your First Click to the US Government](http://www.usa.gov/) [DC Watch - The self-proclaimed “watchdog” on the city’s government](http://www.dcwatch.com/whatis.htm) Newspapers [The Washington Post](http://www.dcwatch.com/whatis.htm) [USA Today](http://www.usatoday.com/) [Washington Times](http://www.washtimes.com/) Washington Business Journal [Roll Call](http://www.rollcall.com/) (Congressional News & Info) [Washingtonian Magazine](http://www.washingtonian.com/index.html) [Washington City Paper](http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/) [The Intowner](http://www.intowner.com/) (Neighborhood news and information in Adams Morgan, Mt. Pleasant and Columbia Heights, Dupont, Scott, Thomas and Logan Circles Dupont East, U Street, Shaw & Mt Vernon Square) Getting Around DC [Metrorail System Map](http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/systemmap.cfm) Eats [Washington Post Restaurant Guide](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/searches/restrant.htm) [DC’s Favorite Restaurants](http://www.alacart.com/) (according to A La Carte Delivery Service) Arts, Culture & Education [The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts](http://www.kennedy-center.org/) [Wolf Trap](http://www.wolf-trap.org/), America’s National Park for the Performing Arts [Ford’s Theater](http://www.fordstheatre.org/) [Arena Stage](http://www.arenastage.org/home1.shtml) [Shakespeare Theatre](http://www.shakespearedc.org/) [Studio Theater](http://www.studiotheatre.org/) [Smithsonian](http://www.si.edu/) [National Geographic](http://www.nationalgeographic.com/) [National Science Foundation](http://www.nsf.gov/) General DC Info & links [DC Pages](http://www.dcpages.com/) [Area Post Offices](http://mapsonus.switchboard.com/bin/maps-lastfindres/usr=%7E3d5282f5.b6cba.f13.5/c=1/refsrc=USPS/isredir=1/) [The Embassies of Washington DC](http://www.embassy.org/embassies/) [Whitman-Walker Clinic](http://www.wwc.org/) The Great Outdoors [US National Arboretum](http://www.usna.usda.gov/) [National Park Service Guide to Rock Creek Park](http://www.nps.gov/rocr/) [Dumbarton Oaks Gardens](http://www.doaks.org/) Grocers/Markets [Fresh Fields Whole Foods Market](http://www.wholefoods.com/stores/list_DC.html) [Marvelous Market](http://www.marvelousmarket.com/) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-dc-dopers-help-sister-coming-to-town-raise-shields/460758.md?page=2)