So, in service to all of you AWP-goers, and as someone who used to know DC pretty well – I worked there for six months – make sure you make a few side-trips outside of the conference:
–Check out the Smithsonian; I personally love the Natural History stuff, but them I’m a lover of dinosaurs. And the Smithsonian’s free! Tax dollars at work, people.
–Some awesome art museums, including the National Gallery and the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
–Go about fifteen miles into Northern Virginia to Great Falls National Park. It’s so beautiful, you can hardly believe it’s right outside the city. I stopped there all the time when I commuted to DC from Richmond.
–Some terrific food to be had in Georgetown, if you can manage the traffic. 1789 is (higher end) traditional DC done right, Cafe Bonaparte is all about wonderful French-ified brunches (crepes!) Just stopping by some place for coffee is fun. Wander around on foot if possible.
–One night, be sure you order gigantic room service sundaes. I don’t remember how it started but this was a tradition in our family when we visited DC for Dad’s business trips. So I just naturally associate DC with hot fudge and ice cream.

Most importantly, remember to blog about your adventures, especially the juicy stuff. Because I want to live vicariously!