D.C. By the Dozen

By Ellen McCarthy
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 25, 2008

2008 is 25 days old. Do you know where your new year's resolution is?

We're not trying to be presumptuous or pessimistic or anything, but let's be real: Have you been to the gym for 40 minutes total? Never mind 40 minutes four times a week.

Yeah. And you made it how many days without a $4 double cappuccino?

One and a half?

Hmmm.

But it's okay. Really. Besides, we're here to propose a different plan for '08. Let's make this the year you do all the fun stuff you've been meaning to do around Washington. The museum that has been on your list, that garden people keep telling you about, the fancy tea at that ritzy place downtown. All those things that just slip by as you tread further in your old, reliable comfort zone.

This will be the year of really doing D.C.

It's your list that matters, of course, but we'll start you off with some ideas, one for each month. We're hoping these will carry you to interesting corners of the city -- maybe spots you've always wondered about or experiences you weren't quite sure how to navigate. Or maybe you've done all these and can answer back with a better, bolder list. Join us online to discuss this list Friday at 11 at www.washingtonpost.com/weekend.

So make a resolution that's worth keeping: Have some fun by doing something different.

JANUARY: A Little 'Exorcist' Exercise

There's not much time left in the month, so we'll start you off with an easy one. Well, easy except you'll be out of breath by the time you reach the top of these iconic stone stairs. All 97 of them.

You've probably always known that the spooky stairwell from "The Exorcist" (where a Jesuit priest fell to his death in the 1973 movie) was somewhere around Georgetown, but unless you're a former Hoya, you might not know exactly where. Which is a shame, because they're really worth a quick visit, if only to be able to say you've done it.

So, head toward Key Bridge on M Street NW. The base of the steps, which used to be called the "Hitchcock steps," is right next to the Exxon station across from the bridge. You'll reach Prospect Street at the top and can find the red brick "Exorcist" house a few steps away at 3600 Prospect St.

Tip: You're just outside the Tombs once you finish the steps, so you might as well stop into the classic Georgetown haunt for sustenance after the big climb. Try the buffalo wings or a burger and, if you're with a crowd, a pitcher of whatever. It's at 1226 36th St.

"THE EXORCIST" STEPS M Street at Key Bridge.

FEBRUARY: A Royal Brunch

It's early, gray and raw, and you can still see your breath. Adams Morgan's Saturday night bacchanalia has given way to Sunday morning sobriety. Churchgoers, coffee drinkers, dog walkers. And Gloria Gaynor's voice, throbbing through the windows of a second-story dining room on Columbia Road.

"And I'll survive . . . I will survive . . . I will survive!"

A whistle cuts through the thunder of applause, and one thing is clear: No one told the folks at Perrys that their good time was supposed to end by daybreak.

The doors for Perrys weekly "drag queen brunch" open at 10:30, but the line often forms 30 minutes earlier. Double dates, housemates, birthday revelers -- who doesn't love a little gender-bending entertainment with their buffet-style eggs and pastries? You eat and chat, and then every few minutes Diana Ross appears among the tables. Or Beyonce. Or a fantastic Amy Winehouse.

"There's a finale, right?" you ask the waiter, after Shakira struts off.

"Usually there is. But it's not up to us," he says with a shrug. "We never control the queens."

Tip: If you don't want to wait in line, show up between noon and 1, when the first round of diners finishes and makes room for a new crowd.

PERRYS 1811 Columbia Rd. NW. 202-234-6218.http://www.perrysadamsmorgan.com. Drag queen brunch Sundays starting at 10:30. $22.95.

MARCH: Drama on the Cheap

You know pay-what-you-can shows exist. These chances to catch a show that would otherwise cost you $40 or $45 for, well, whatever. And really, they mean it -- whatever you can pay. Five bucks? Fine. $20? Great.

The key here is knowing when and where. Lots of local theaters offer these events regularly, either at the start of a show's run or for off-peak performance times. For instance, Washington Shakespeare Company's Saturday matinees are always pay-what-you-can. The first two shows of every Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company production are also pay-what-you-can, as is often the case at Theater J.

It's a win-win setup for you and the theaters: You get entertainment on the cheap; they get to build buzz about their shows and, with luck, endear themselves to new patrons.

The best way to make sure you're in the know about these events is to sign up for the e-mail lists of your favorite theaters. And to make sure you get in, it's best to get to the box office about 90 minutes before the curtain goes up.

Tip: If you don't want the hassle of signing up for individual theaters' e-mail lists, try the League of Washington Theatres ( http://www.lowt.org). Its e-mail updates will give you the scoop on what's happening at a bunch of area theaters.

PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN SHOWS Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (641 D St. NW, 202-393-3939): "Stunning," March 10 and 11 at 8. Washington Shakespeare Company (Clark Street Playhouse, 601 S. Clark St., Arlington, 800-494-8497): "Hedda Gabler," March 1 and 8 at 2. Theater J (1529 16th St. NW, 800-494-8497): "The Price," March 11 at 7:30.

APRIL: The Wright Stuff

Underwhelming. That might be the first word that comes to mind as you approach the small, weathered house tucked into the woods of Alexandria. But it probably won't be the one you walk away with.

The only Frank Lloyd Wright house open to the public in the area, the 1940s-era Usonian-style Pope-Leighey House is considered one of the finest examples of the famed architect's small homes. Two bedrooms, 1,200 square feet and an original price tag of $7,000. You could walk the length of the thing in 10 seconds, but that won't happen under the tutelage of the home's devoted guides.

Most days, you're as likely as not to have the privilege of a private tour, which means lots of time for questions about the heated floor, geometric window designs, minimalist furnishings and the woman who slept in the master bedroom until she was 83 -- even after the construction of Interstate 66 forced a move from its original location in Falls Church. If you've never seen a Frank Lloyd Wright house, you'll be happy for the enthused introduction, while groupies will love having the unhurried elbow room to really inspect the home's masterful details.

Tip: The Pope-Leighey House is adjacent to Woodlawn, a Federal-era mansion George Washington gave to his nephew as a wedding present in 1799. So if you're feeling ambitious, make it a day of historical architecture. Also, Wright's serious fans should plan their visit for the first Sunday of each month, when in-depth tours of the structure are given.

POPE-LEIGHEY HOUSE 9000 Richmond Hwy., Alexandria. 703-780-4000.http://www.popeleighey1940.org. Open March through December, Tuesday-Sunday (open Mondays in March) from 10 to 5 (last tour at 4:30). $7.50 adults, $3 children.

MAY: Here, Life Is Wild

You live, work and play along particular pathways that make it easy to forget. To forget that this place is more than neighborhoods and monuments and office parks and traffic jams. That before any of that, this land was home to native tribes and bald eagles. There are plenty of those majestic birds still around, of course -- if you know where to look.

With all the protected land in and around Washington, there's an almost overwhelming number of choices. Here's one we particularly like: Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge. It's just off Route 1 in Lorton, but it's the type of place that can make you forget that urbanity even exists. The Mason Neck peninsula juts into the Potomac River, and a three-mile trail through the wooded refuge leads to an arrestingly beautiful marsh often cited as one of the nation's best viewing points for those eagles.

May is an ideal month to visit, refuge manager Greg Weiler says, because "the weather is such that you have a lot of migrant birds coming through the area." After you've worked up an appetite, detour into nearby Pohick Bay Regional Park (you'll see signs for it on your way to the refuge) and refuel with a picnic on the banks of the rolling Potomac.

Tip: The restrooms aren't in the best shape, especially later in the day. You might want to make a pit stop before you pull into the park.

MASON NECK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE 7603 High Point Rd., Lorton. 703-490-4979.http://www.fws.gov/Refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=51610. Free.

JUNE: All That Jazz

Nobody is gonna answer the phone if you call during the day. The shutters will be closed if you walk by before the appointed hour. HR-57 doesn't go out of its way to pull you inside, but maybe that's the point: You have to sort of know. And it's worth knowing, especially if you're into jazz. (Or if you're looking to impress a date with pseudo-sophistication.) This nonprofit jazz house is the antithesis of those haughty table-service-type places. Brick walls, low couches, shabby chairs and not a waitress in sight. At the front, a set of musicians makes you feel like you found a wormhole to a different city, a different decade. Someplace cooler, a time with more verve.

On Wednesdays and Thursdays, musicians from around town and beyond show up for jam sessions. On Fridays and Saturdays, the club, named for a congressional resolution designating jazz a "rare and valuable national American treasure," plays host to polished quartets.

Tip: HR-57 is BYOB. So bring a bottle of whatever, but plan on paying a $3 corking fee per person. The staff will sell you wine and beer by the glass if you forget your own.

HR-57 1610 14th St. NW. 202-667-3700.http://www.hr57.org. Jam sessions Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8 to midnight; $8. Performances Fridays and Saturdays from 9 to 1; $12.

JULY: Behind Closed Doors

You've driven by and seen folks working out, Rocky-style, on the front steps. Or walked past and glanced up at the hulking sphinxes perched over 16th Street. It's imposing. A little spooky. And they'd love for you to drop by for a quick visit.

Seriously. Though it might not be that quick. Every weekday, the Temple of the Scottish Rite opens its doors to visitors, in part to dispel that sheen of spookiness. The fact that there are two dudes buried in its walls might not help that agenda, but it's certainly a tour highlight.

Actually, the whole thing is pretty fascinating. Designed by John Russell Pope (who did a few other buildings in town, including the Jefferson Memorial and the West Building of the National Gallery of Art), the temple dates to 1915 and is the headquarters of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry's Southern Jurisdiction. The grand meeting rooms are impressive, as are the libraries and the ornate hieroglyphics in the lobby. But before you over-think that last part, the guides (often interns from local colleges) will assure you that there's no real significance to the Egyptian decor. That was Pope's doing.

The best part is the breezy explanation of Freemasonry, a centuries-old fraternal organization with millions of members around the world. Conspiracy theorists will still conspire, but these folks will tell you their whole mission is to make members into better men.

Look closely at those sphinxes, by the way. One's eyes are wide open; the other's are half closed. That's "Power" and "Wisdom," respectively.

Tip: Call ahead. It's not super busy, so docents aren't always plentiful. One day there was a note on the door saying the guide had gone home sick. It's worth your time to give them a heads-up that you're coming.

TEMPLE OF THE SCOTTISH RITE 1733 16th St. NW. 202-232-3579.http://www.srmason-sj.org. Tours weekdays from 8 to 3:30 and the first Saturday of each month from 10 to 3. Free.

AUGUST: Just Beat It

It's dusk on a Sunday in strait-laced old Washington, and a dozen locals are dancing wildly in the park. They're barefoot and bohemian and, in some instances, excruciatingly out of step.

But no one seems to care. This weekly rhythm-and-love fest takes all comers.

In a tradition that stretches back decades, musicians from across the region pile into a little plot at the head of Meridian Hill Park's highest plane each week and set up their drums. Or cowbells or tambourines. Sometimes something like a didgeridoo.

An African beat begins, and then come the dancers, usually led by a few who know what they're doing and followed by a gaggle of beginners just trying to keep up. More folks come just to sit at the fringes, watching, tapping in time with this scene of looseness and leisure.

The next morning, the rush will return. But for these hours, in this park, it's only about the drumming, the dancing and delighting.

Tip: If you've never been to Meridian Hill Park, make sure you take time to explore. It's a place of surprises, including statues of Dante and James Buchanan.

DRUM CIRCLES Meridian Hill Park, 16th and Euclid streets NW. Sundays from about 3 to 9 in warm-weather months.

SEPTEMBER: An Altitude Adjustment

It's such a constant, that imposing obelisk at the end of the Mall. And probably the only time you even remember that it has an inside is when you're snickering at the tourists wrapped around it in a 400-person line on a 100-degree day. This, for sure, is one of those instances when a cost-benefit analysis is required. Spend two hours waiting to get to the top of the Washington Monument and you'll probably be happy when the whole thing is over. But if you're able to saunter up, zip through security and have the whole place more or less to yourself, it's a spectacular experience.

"From the top you have a view of the greatest of all Washington monuments: the city of D.C. itself," a guide says on the minute-long elevator ride to the top of the 555-foot structure. And she's right. There's all of it, cinematic and pristine: the Potomac, the Anacostia, the Washington National Cathedral, the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, the White House and Capitol.

We spend an awful lot of hours on the ground, sitting in traffic, shuffling through some numbing routine. It feels healthy somehow to hit a different altitude -- to suddenly see farther, better than before.

Tip: You can reserve tickets, but there's a $1.50 surcharge per ticket. If you go at an off-peak hour, you should be able to nab one on the spot for free. The guides suggest coming later in the day (the last tour goes up at 4:30) for a good view and a thin crowd.

WASHINGTON MONUMENT 15th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. 202-426-6841.http://www.nps.gov/archive/wamo. Open daily from 9 to 5. Free.

OCTOBER: Saluting the Unknown

If you've been to Arlington Cemetery before and it was on an eighth-grade trip, well, it's time for a return visit. Especially now.

It's easy to skip the four war stories printed in any given newspaper, but it's impossible to ignore a caravan of slow-moving black cars or the expanses of uniform gravestones lining the quiet hills. Most majestic is the Tomb of the Unknowns, marked with these words:

"Here rests in

Honored glory

An American

Soldier

Known but to God"

Every day and night, in every manner of weather, vigilant watch is maintained over the tomb by members of the prestigious 3rd U.S. Infantry "Old Guard" Regiment. With mesmerizing precision, they walk before the marble monument, emanating reverence with each exacting step. Every 30 minutes from mid - March through September, and every hour during fall and winter, the guard is changed in a stirring 10-minute ceremony.

Honored glory, indeed.

Tip: It's a pretty hearty hike up the hill, so if you have anyone with special needs, now is the time to bring along that handicapped parking pass. There's also a shuttle that will bring you to the highlights, including the Kennedy graves, if walking isn't an option.

CHANGING OF THE GUARD Tomb of the Unknowns, Arlington National Cemetery, State Highway 110 and Memorial Drive. 703-607-8000. Open daily April 1 to Sept. 30 from 8 to 7, otherwise closing at 5. Free.

NOVEMBER: Judicial Review

It's possible, as any longtimer will attest, to become almost anesthetized to the grandeur of Official Washington. Almost. To snap out of it, come stand while the nine Supreme Court justices file into the courtroom from behind a red velvet curtain and begin their work of maintaining fairness throughout the land.

Anyone can hear oral arguments, in which attorneys on either side of an issue make presentations to the justices and are questioned -- sometimes vigorously -- about their positions on the case. But you do kind of have to know what you're doing to nab a spectator's seat.

The arguments are usually Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings for two-week intervals while the Court is in session. The first trick is to call the public information office for guidance on which day would be best to come. If you're just interested in witnessing the process, it's best to go when low-profile cases are being heard. The 7,500-square-foot courtroom has limited seating, and the line can start forming at any time, so cases that have garnered significant media attention might require a pre-dawn wake-up call. For more run-of-the-mill cases, if you show up at the Court's front steps by 8, you should be fine. The guards will usher you into line, guide you through the security process and begin seating visitors between 9 and 9:30.

Two hour-long arguments are heard, beginning at 10, but there's a break in between if you're not interested in staying for both. But we bet you'll want to stay right where you are -- 120 minutes of live history doesn't feel like too much.

Tip: Before you go, visit http://www.oyez.org to bone up on the cases at hand. The Court's Web site ( http://www.supremecourtus.gov) can be a little confusing, but this one offers a good synopsis of each case on the docket.

U.S. SUPREME COURT 1 First St. NE. Public information office: 202-479-3211. For a schedule of oral arguments, visit:http://www.supremecourtus.gov. Free.

DECEMBER: Shall We Dance?

Saturday night and the ballroom is packed. Teenagers in Converse sneakers. Little old men spiffed up in well-pressed slacks and matching vests. "Wanna dance?" they all say to each other, one hand outstretched.

And off they go, little old men Lindy Hopping with smiling teens in tennis shoes. The lights are dim; the band is wailing. Everyone, it seems, is smiling.

But those smiles might be the only constant at Glen Echo's Spanish Ballroom. Weekly swing dance sessions in this historic art deco building attract all kinds: serious dancers and beginners, ruby-lipped women in saddle shoes and schlubby men in jeans. There are plenty of engaged couples, practicing for a wedding dance. But just as many singles, looking for a good time without a bar tab.

There's no reason not to dance -- and no reason to be shy; offers are almost never declined -- but even the people-watching is worth the price of admission. Stick around long enough, though, and expect to be pulled onto the floor. And see if you can stop yourself from smiling.

Tip: Okay, so you don't know how to dance? No worries. Show up at 8 to catch an hour-long beginners' lesson that will give you enough basics to carry you through the night.

SWING DANCING Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd. Glen Echo, Md., 301-634-2222.http://www.glenechopark.org. Saturdays from 8 to midnight. $12-$18.