As Americans, we must do our American duty and make the pilgrimage to our Capitol, right? I had avoided it, until a couple weeks ago. I know no one in D.C. right now, and squandered the opportunity to visit when I did have friends there. So, when I got the opportunity to go for a quick weekend trip, I said YOLO and booked a cheap Southwest flight (ahem, best $150 ever spent).

D.C. seemed hard to do in 24 hours, but we did it, and so can you.

Shopping in Dupont Circle

I’d recommend you try to stay as close to Dupont Circle as possible. It’s beautiful and walkable, and a quick Uber ride to the rest of the city. There are some cute shops right around Dupont Circle (and an overly enthusiastic Violin player playing Bieber and the Titanic theme song), but you got to go to Tabletop for sure… and probably drop a couple bucks on some home decor stuff.

Brunch at Scion

Welcome to the best place for drunch in D.C. $13 gets you bottomless mimosas or poinsettias (champagne and cranberry juice). The entrees are between $10-$15 and come with access to a fruit buffet—so good.  Some of the sandwiches come with chip-fry hybrids and are pretty delish. It’s affordable and it feels like a normal diner spot.

Visit the Newseum

The Newseum is fun for journalists and civilians alike. Unfortunately the super powerful 9/11 exhibit just closed, but you can see how journalism has affected tons of huge historic events, like the Lincoln assassination and Watergate, etc. Sounds nerdy, and it’s one of the few non-free museums (it’s $22ish for a 2-day pass).

Tour the monuments

Make a monument hitlist… but omg don’t call it that or you’ll be put on the no-fly list. We did the WWII one (and posed by Texas), the Washington Monument (and made someone take jumping pics) and the Lincoln Memorial (and cozied up to Abe the babe).

Happy Hour at The Boardroom

Every bar should have 7-day happy hours until 7 p.m. This one was popping with locals on Saturday. You get a table and a $4 drink. Then play, you guessed it, board games.

Dinner at Farmers Fishers Bakers

Make a rezzy for this hotspot, and if it’s winter, hit the ice rink outside before. The restaurant is pretty affordable, but the drinks add up. Plus, you’ll probably wait a bit even if you had a reservation.

Go out to Dan’s Cafe and Madam Organ’s

Dan’s and Madam Organ’s are also local spots I think. Both were wall-to-wall filled with college students (or so it felt). At Dan’s, you pay $25 to get a whole squeeze bottle of booze and get little shot glasses. Goodbye, sobriety. Madam Organ’s has live music and dancing.

For next time….

These are on my list for next time:

• Ben’s Chili Bowl
• We the Pizza
• 18th Street Bar and Lounge
• Mad Hatter
• Baked and Wired