This has been a crazy year for all of us and most of us have (mostly) been in the house all year; but yall, I HAD TO GET OUTTA DURHAM. I love my living space, but I needed to go somewhere...I just needed to [safely] get away so I could catch my breath before the New Year.
So, a friend and I decided to go to D.C. for the weekend and it was just what we needed! We arrived on Thursday afternoon, had 2 full days of good eats and a little exploration, then we were heading home by Sunday. One thing I noticed, is that EVERYONE in D.C. wears a mask whether indoors or outdoors, so I felt comfortable while I was there.
I'm going to share where we stayed, what we did and what we ate while we were there -- I'll also share a few things I wish we'd been able to do while we were there in case you want to add them to your list!
I was so excited to partner with ARC the Hotel for a simple, yet restful stay while I was visiting. Located in the historic Foggy Bottom area, we were a short drive from both Georgetown (my fave place to visit while in DC) and downtown D.C. -- it was the perfect location! ARC is a cute, minimalistic style boutique hotel that was just what we needed for a quick getaway.
Unfortunately, due to COVID, many of the hotel's amenities were out of commission; but Andre and William made sure that we were comfortable and well taken care of during our stay (and by comfortable, I mean they sent up a complimentary bottle of Pinot Noir for the inconvenience...that's my kinda accommodations, okay?!).
One cool feature that they have at ARC, is keyless entry. You still get a typical keycard, but you have the option to download the 'OpenKey' app on your phone and hold it up to your room door just as you would with a traditional hotel room key. I was very fascinated by this!
FOOD:
I know most of yall are foodies like me, so here's three places we went to during our quick trip that were my favorites!
Busboys & Poets | This is a MUST-HAVE, GO-TO spot for me anytime I visit D.C. They have 2 locations -- one is super intimate and jazzy, the other location definitely supplies the turn-up brunch vibes. I personally enjoy both. I recommend the shrimp & grits with crabcake instead of shrimp *chefs kiss*
Duke's Grocery | We went here on our first night after driving in because we wanted something good, but casual and this place was great! The staff was super kind and the food was really good. Try the white truffle mac & cheese.
Shake Shack | Okay...now I know this is so basic. Lol, but this was my first time having Shake Shack and the cheese fries are SO. GOOD. And the chicken was cooked perfectly for my spicy chicken sandwich. 10/10 would recommend!
We knew we wanted to have some fun while we were in town, so we picked a few things to do that would allow us the opportunity to have a good time as risk free as possible! Every activity we picked required folks to keep their masks on the entire time and there were hand-sanitizing stations set up everywhere we turned.
ARTECHOUSE | This was such a unique experience! ARTECHOUSE is known for connecting art and technology (hence the name) and it was so much fun to see and interact with the current exhibit, Crystalline. Tickets were $24/person and the experience was worth it.
Candle Pouring at Paddywax | I have always wanted to make my own candle, so I was so excited to find this place! Tickets were $40/person for the workshop and they provide everything you need -- you have so many fragrances and vessels to choose from to make your candle exactly what you want it to be. Paddywax (Reston location) is located in a cute little shopping center, so you can walk around, shop and/or grab food as you wait for your candle to cool.
Additional Things to Do:
We obviously didn't have time to do everything -- mainly cause we old and laying in the hotel bed is a necessary part of vacation, honestly. Here's a couple of things I had on the list:
Museum of the Bible
This quick trip was great, but honestly, I'm ready for the world to open up so I can be naked on somebody's beach. If you see me on the beach next summer and the most fabric on me is my mask, MIND YA BUSINESS.
