One of my goals this year, it being my senior year at Mason, is to really get to know Washington, DC. I’ve barely spent any time at all in the district the last few years. There wasn’t any particular reason for me to avoid it- it just didn’t happen. However, every time I went clubbing or to a museum or to a restaurant- I loved it. DC’s got such a fun and eclectic blend of locales and cultures.

This weekend, I went into the District three days in a row, with Ben, my visiting buddy from Dallas. This entry only covers one night of fun, weirdly enough.

Ben and I decided to head out to Columbia Station on the advice of a Yelp.com Washington DC newsletter I received on the wonders of Adams Morgan, an area known for its night life along 18th Street. Yelp is a pretty darn cool review site that’s great for finding fun places to eat, shop and party at in various cities. Like no joke, I’ve used this website successfully everywhere from Dallas to Fairfax to London. It’s quite useful. And I really do like the newspaper geared towards getting you to see things you never would before.

After taking the Metro down to McPherson Square, we planned to grab a bus up to Adams Morgan, but figured out pretty quickly that the next one wasn’t going to even be at our stop for 30 minutes. This looks like it could be a fairly frequent problem for partygoers past 9 p.m. We decided to hoof it up Connecticut Avenue on foot instead- see the night life on the way. It was a pretty pleasant walk. It was a colder night for September- I enjoyed watching how many girls in short skirts and high heels were shivering their way through the city streets.

I was delighted to come randomly across Julia’s Empanadas near Dupont Circle. I’d been here once before with a former friend years ago. I immediately purchased a Chilean Beef empanada, filled with beef, raisins, hard-boiled egg, olives and onions. It’s excellent and easy food to walk with and warms you up quickly.

There was a club right across the street with a tiny entrance located next to a Mattress store. A long line stretched outside- I had great fun imagining all these partygoers lining up to go in and jump on all the beds inside- to TECHNO MUSIC. : D

We continued up Connecticut until we came across a Cosi (decent little sandwich chain). I would have totally just walked past, but I spotted four of the girls I live with inside. After greeting each other happily, we managed to talk three of them into carrying on with us to the jazz club. My uber friendly and happy friend Whitney also brought two Turkish guys she’d met randomly along. They had some great stories.

It was a bit more of a walk than we planned up to Adams Morgan- I regretted wearing my knee-high leather boots after all- but still very doable.

We finally got to Columbia Station after 11 sometime. It was a great little jazz place with no cover charge and live music every night. That night in particular featured a band fronted by a well-known bassist. I can’t remember the name right now and unfortunately, it appears that the club’s website is now uhm…covered with porn. I’m not exactly certain why. But believe me, despite the site’s appearances, it’s a legitimate, excellent club. It’s actually quite beautiful- there’re all sorts of interesting art motifs painted on the wall and on the ceiling. A sculpture made out of old musical instruments was also on display.

All of us crowded around a few tables in the center and ordered drinks and such. I got a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale that was pretty good (I LOVE trying new beers). It’s totally friendly for people under 21 however- my young’un housemates contented themselves with yummy chocolate cake.

Afterwards, we wandered back down 18th street to a hookah bar. I can’t be positive, but I’m pretty sure it was Soussi. We chilled on the patio with orange shisha to share. I had another beer- a Hoegaarden, I believe. It was quite nice. The upstairs lounge looked even nicer- it was packed with partygoers chilling on couches and comfy chairs. The only weird spot about the bar was the bathroom upstairs- it was kinda sketchy and hidden behind a black curtain so it was really dark. I was glad one of my friends already knew where it was before I got in there.

At that point, it was really too late for us to walk over to DC’s most classic restaurant, Ben’s Chili Bowl. like we wanted. We decided to walk up to the Adams Morgan Metro stop instead. I must say, it was a LONG walk- not at all close.

On the way we grabbed some post 2 a.m. munchies from Alberto’s Pizzeria on 18th Street. I got a very large piece of tomato and artichoke pizza that I split with Ben. Then we ran off to the Metro station. We were afraid we’d miss the last train out of DC (it supposedly “stops running at 3″) but actually we had plenty of time. The last train pulled into Adams Morgan around 3:10-ish and hung around waiting for late night partiers until 3:30. We took it all the way down the Orange Line back to Vienna/Fairfax where my car was parked.

All in all, an excellent night. Can’t wait to get back there. I plan on checking out Ingrid Michaelson’s concert this Friday night at the 9:30 club with my fellow C2M director Kevin (it was totally his idea- he’s obsessed with this talented lady singer).

DC Entertainment Tip: A ton of places in DC only take cash, and though there are ATMs easily accessible in various shops, the withdrawal fees can stack up. It’s a really good idea to bring cash with you.