November 10, 2004

12:24 AM

I want to take my new-ish girlfriend out for a day on the town (Washington, DC) this Saturday or Sunday, but I have no idea what to do. We've both done the monument and museum thing to death, so I'm thinking about some kind of show or something, but I'm open to any suggestions. Ideally I'd like to spend $50 or less, not counting food.
posted by Tacodog to (12 comments total)

This question is from narre in #mefi who asked real nice-like to post this.
posted by Tacodog at 12:25 AM on November 10, 2004

Aww...just take your girl out for a nice meal and a strong drink. Just take her out for a nice time, she'll love it...heck...ha the same boys LOVE it, too!

Every boy or girl enjoys a little extra effort.

Stop being a guy...START being a nice guy! Give her a box of chocolates (Seriously...it works!) Ask her about what she's reading. CARE about her.

STOP being a guy...we're all good at that, but it doesn't make us any good.We're dumb guys, and we're stupid.
posted by red cell at 1:34 AM on November 10, 2004

Apologies if this is too obvious, but the post has a good entertainment guide. You can check out the City Paper too, although they don't update online until Friday.

For shows, don't assume the Kennedy Center is out of your league. You can sometimes get good last-minute deals on tickets, especially if you are a student.
posted by JoanArkham at 5:21 AM on November 10, 2004

how's the weather? I've lived in DC for a while and I loved to walk around Georgetown. I think Alexandria's Old Town -- if it's not tourist season -- is very pretty as well.
in Georgetown, you can have brunch at the Peacock Cafe, I used to know the owners pretty well. they were very nice guys, and the restaurant's quite cool. or if she likes fireplaces and skylights take her to Clyde's. you can browse books and cd's at Olssons in Alexandria -- it's cute
posted by matteo at 6:31 AM on November 10, 2004

If DC's done, ditch it for Baltimore or Annapolis. The drive isn't too bad, both have nice harbor areas to wander around, and each have decent restaurants for foodage.

The only downside is limiting alcohol for the drive back!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:41 AM on November 10, 2004

If you're into the great outdoors and long nature hikes in easily accessible locations (and don't mind the creeping winter cold), I highly recommend Theodore Roosevelt Island (accessible after a bit of a walk from the Rosslyn Metro), and Rock Creek Park's Hazen and Soapstone Valley trails near the Cleveland Park and Van Ness Metro stations respectively.

And even if you've done the museums, true cheap culture geeks cannot miss the free sunday concerts at the National Gallery.
posted by brownpau at 6:45 AM on November 10, 2004

The Kennedy Center also has a free performance every day at 6. I've seen some really good stuff there.

If you have a car, a jaunt around the wine country can be a blast. I've been to several area wineries.

There's a Capitol Hill bar crawl Saturday. MrsMoonPie and I are planning to attent the Mousetrap event at Black Cat Saturday night.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:51 AM on November 10, 2004

are the leaves done changing yet, so the crowds might have died down at shenandoah?

you could have a nice day heading out to front royal, maybe stop at luray caverns for a slice o' americana, head down to madison and surprise her with meal at the bavarian chef (that'll cost you more than your $50, probably, but it is goo-oo-ood) and back up to dc.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:40 AM on November 10, 2004

To kill a few hours on Sunday, there's always Eastern Market. Not fancy, and, unless you spend your money on buying something, it's cheap too, but it's a good way to wander around and chat and get to know someone.
Come to think of it, however, I'm not sure if they close down for the season, and when. This despite the fact that I lived a block from there for a year.

Anyway, there's also the zoo, and the rest of Rock Creek Park for a walk if the weather's nice enough, as was mentioned before.
Dupont circle is also fun for people watching, again, if it isn't too cold.
posted by Inkoate at 9:29 AM on November 10, 2004

Eastern Market is definitely in full swing this time of year, what with Christmas coming up. The craft vendors disappear after the holidays, but this weekend would be a great time to come out. Plenty of good food, too--I like the Salvadoran place across the street from the Market proper (something like Tortilla Cafe?).
posted by MrMoonPie at 9:36 AM on November 10, 2004

The washington post also has a weekly chat called, I think, 'Got Plans' (click on Discussions on the main WaPo page to get that weeks list of discussions) that would let you ask a similar question and get the advice of the people who do their entertainment guide stuff. A more focused place to ask, in addition to AskMe.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:34 AM on November 10, 2004

For people with cars:

- Harpers Ferry, WV
- Shenandoah National Park
- Charlottesville
- Ocean City and Assateague Island

All of the above will set you back 2+ hours each way, but it's worth it. DC is a great place to be for teh daytrip.
posted by PrinceValium at 11:26 AM on November 10, 2004