What to do in DC When the Government is Shut Down

Remember that good 'ol government shutdown that lasted like 3 stinking weeks? Remember how all the cool stuff to visit in DC is run by the government?

I never realized how much in the area is run by the government until the shutdown happened and all Smithsonian museums were closed, all the monuments were closed. Parks and running trails were even blocked off, not to mention that national parks in the area. Oh, and all of the sudden after like a month of no rain, the temps dropped 15 degrees and it rained for days straight.

So it sounds like a prime time for people to come visit, right?

Well good thing Meagan and Charles were the ones to come visit. They are the wonderful type of people who will have fun no matter what, and that's exactly what we did.

Our first night in DC with them we tried a DC area favorite, Ben's Chili Bowl.

Sadly the three of us who got chili dogs didn't love it. I'd say stick with the chili, and their fries are perfectly crispy. Remember to bring cash, because they only take cash. The environment was really cool, they had fun posters of famous people who have visited over the years. Definitely take the time to walk around the U street area, it's a cool area.

Then you take your friends to a Radical Face concert in the coolest concert venue ever.

The venue is called 6th & I, which are the street coordinates, and it's inside a Jewish synagogue. It was gorgeous, and they turned off the lights and the whole stage was set with tea lights. It was one of the best concerts I've been to. It felt very intimate and they were funny and you could call stuff out and they would actually hear you, it was so intimate.

This video is real short, but you can hear the guy who opened for them, John Roberts play the  water glasses. He was a one man band who loops himself playing the glasses, guitar, drumbs, and piano all live. I'd definitely suggest seeing him live, that's where his magic is.

Then of course there's a day when you have to work, so your friends go off exploring on their own. At least there are a few museums that aren't government run and are open, but are spendy. Luckily they have some groupons going on for the Spy Museum. Which they rated as having a ton of stuff, some of which was very very cool, and most of which was kind of cool.

Of course they had to go see the monuments even though they were blocked off. Some of them you could go around the barriers, and some of them had guards to keep you from going around. Have you seen this going around on pinterest? Well we had to do a little copying because it was so good.

Then even though it's been raining for 3 days straight and everything is soaked, you have to go play disc golf at the local park because you've been telling them about it for so long. It doesn't help that it was almost pitch black by the time we got there.

But as required for a trip to DC during the shutdown, we had a good attitude and had fun stomping in the puddles anyway.

Plus as a reward we took them to our favorite hole in the wall Mexican restaurant, Taco Rico. Which, you would never ever go in if you hadn't read about it on Yelp because it's kind of nasty looking, but seriously guys, such good Mexican food if you're ever in Greenbelt Maryland.

So if government shuts down again come February, you now have a whole list of things to do in case you happen you plan your visit at such an inconvenient time.