Leaving DC...what's one thing I need to do before I go
 

So after nearly one year on the same consulting engagement, I'm leaving DC. I would really love some suggestions about one thing I really should do before I go (and I figure Jan 31 is my last day). I wish I would have made an effort to go to the Cirque du Soleil back when they were in town in November...or maybe hit an FT Do. I've done the Smithsonian, walked the Mall, hit different restaurants in different sections of the city.

Any thoughts?

Some ideas:

Kennedy Center
Monument Walk/Drive (especially at night)
Visit the Capitol
Hillwood Museum (reservations required and a personal favorite)

and of course, an FT Do if you're around ( I think there is one being scheduled for end of month )

Here are 4
 

1)Duck tour - Normally this is a warmer weather thing, but given the way this winter is going, you might find a day in the 60s :)
2) National Archives - Check out two of the greatest documents in the world. Both of which were, of course, signed in your fair city.
3) Get a library card from the Library of Congress and go down on the reading room floor.
4)Tour the Whitehouse

1. Georgetown -- I am biased though
2. The tower at the Old Post Office
3. A night drive consisting of Jefferson, Lincoln, Washington and Iwo Jima Monuments
4. Korean War and Viet Nam Monument at night

Agree completely with National Archives and would add one small secondary exhibit that does not get much attention but is quite moving (assuming it is still there). They have a video of a US POW from Vietnam (i am pretty sure Vietnam and not Korea) who was forced to go on television and say that he was being treated well, etc. However, the whole time he is saying that he is also blinking morse code with his eyelids spelling out -----T--------O------R-------T------U-----R------E-------

My favorite thing to do in Washington which i am fortunate enought to do 3 or 4 times a week is to go for a run at sunrise on the mall down to Lincoln and back up and around Capitol Hill.

Assuming you refer to The Declaration of Independence and The US Constitution . . . three . . . Magna Carta is on display there as well :)http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/fea...s/magna_carta/

The Jeremiah Denton "T-O-R-T-U-R-E" video mentioned above in a post above is part of an exhibit called "Eyewitness", which is a collection of eyewitness reports from a number of events throughout US history.
http://www.archives.gov/about/speech...yewitness.html

Also, the Udvar-Hazy Center/Air and Space Museum in Northern Virginia near IAD. Among other notable airplanes, they've got a Space Shuttle, an SR-71 Blackbird, and Concorde IN THE SAME BUILDING. They have an IMAX theatre there as well. http://www.nasm.si.edu/udvarhazy/

Cheers!

Take a lunch boatride down the potomac to mt vernon and back

Great one. Why didn't I think of that?

5) The Postoffice tower was mentioned. Also the tower at the National Cathedral has some great views.

One thing I wanted to do in DC but didn't have time was a Segway tour of the city (if you haven't tried one out yet). It's a fun variation on a walking tour and it's worth experiencing (I did one in Paris last month). I know there's a tour company in DC that has these, although it may be seasonal only.

Take the Monuments by Moonlight tour, and have a meal at Dukem or Meskerem or another one of the Ethiopian restaurants. You can't find good Ethiopian anywhere as easily as you can in DC, except if you're in Ethiopia! And a show at the 9:30 Club is a must. Best live music venue east of Los Angeles.

^

Eat sushi buffet lunch at Heebin in Cyrstal City.

If you mean the Korean restaurant Hee Been, it is in Annandale. The sushi buffet at Hee Been is decent. The fish is good, just thinly sliced. The Korean food there is among the best in the area. Probably better than in almost any US city, save the LA and SF areas.

Go to DCA, drive through the loop, and on your way back into Arlington make a quick right into the parking lot and watch the planes land about a hundred feet over your head. Pretty cool stuff.

That does sound like a neat idea...how do I do that without a car, though?