This was the first weekend where I really feel like I took advantage of living in the city. Friday night, we went to Georgetown to see Hexagon. Saturday, we went to Luna Grill in Dupont Circle for lunch, back to Georgetown, then to Woodley Park. We ended up at The Raven in Mount Pleasant, which many consider to be the best dive bar in DC. I’m not inclined to argue. Sunday, we took my brother-in-law and his girlfriend on a monument tour, which gives me an excuse to be a bit of a tourist.
Hexagon was pretty interesting. I didn’t know what to expect. The brother-in-law had said that he was going with some friends, and we should get tickets. Except then they didn’t get tickets. So the wife and I went alone. It was a great opportunity to learn a bit about the buses. We found that the 42 bus takes us right down to Dupont Circle, which is convenient. It was very cold waiting for the bus to Georgetown, and the sleet in our faces didn’t really help matters. But at least we were inside during all of the snow.
So, we got to the school where they were performing. We walked in, and it took me a minute to find someone less than twice as old as me in the crowd waiting to take their seats. There were young people, but I imagine the bulk of the crowd was 50+. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Just that I felt very young, and under dressed. So, the show started. They dance and sing songs about politics. Some of it was pretty funny. One of the funniest things for me, that probably doesn’t amuse anyone else, was that the woman they had playing Nancy Pelosi a few times could have been Laura Bush’s sister. Or maybe it was actually Laura Bush. Apparently some politicians have had cameos on stage with Hexagon, including Janet Reno. I wonder if her appearance was as funny as her SNL skit. Did you see the one where Will Ferrell was doing “Janet Reno’s Basement Dance Party” or something like that, and she smashed through the “brick” wall wearing the same outfit? I almost wet myself.
Anyway, Hexagon was good. Some of their stuff missed. They did a little Borat skit that I think most of the audience didn’t get. But they did a song called “Turning the Elephant Pink” about how the entire Republican party is closeted gays. A little juvenile, perhaps, but the dancing pink elephants and the guys dressed like the Village People were pretty funny. All in all, I’d say go see it, but don’t cancel cooler plans to do it.
I had been to Luna before, so it wasn’t terribly exciting, but the food was good, as usual.
We wandered around Georgetown, then met a friend of the brother-in-law, then went to Dean and Delucca for coffee. I wasn’t impressed. The BIL got bad service, and my coffee was mediocre. But the company was good, so I can’t complain.
That evening, we went to the Afghan Grill for dinner. Service was a little slow, and they were out of coffee, but the food was great, and they brought us free dessert to make up for the coffee.
The Raven is exactly what a neighborhood bar should be. It’s smallish, but it never got too crowded, even though it was St. Patrick’s Day. I guess everyone nearby was down the street in Adam’s Morgan getting belligerent and puking in alleys. We overheard one of the bartenders mention that she didn’t know anyone in the bar, implying that she usually does. The wife and I will definitely go back. If you’re going to go, remember that they don’t do tabs, and it’s cash only. They have Magic Hat #9 and PBR in bottles, so there’s not really anything else you need. It’s cheap, too.
Sunday morning, we went to the Mall. I had actually never taken a photo of the White House, which seems kind of strange. It’s nice to have people visiting from out of town because then I don’t feel so bad about taking pictures of the Washington Monument and stuff like that. We saw the Lincoln Memorial, the reflecting pool, the Korean War memorial, WW2, Vietnam, and most of the stuff in between. The Vietnam Memorial is funny – it’s much more solemn than the WW2 Memorial, even though a lot fewer people died. I think because it’s so personal – you can actually read the names of real people who died. It’s pretty powerful. People are even quieter there than a lot of other places.
We closed out the weekend with lunch at Potbelly, which was delicious, as expected.
So, it was a full weekend. Got to see a lot of the city, and learned a few helpful bus routes. And now I’m back at work.