Looking for one last relaxing weekend in the great outdoors before winter really sets in? DCist took to the road this past weekend and headed to Shenandoah National Park. If you're still considering a fall weekend nature trip, here's our tips to make the most of it. Make sure you get the cabin that best fits your group/caravan/drunken posse. There’s plenty of cabins available, especially now during the low season. We used Home Away From... more ›

Memorial Day is this Monday, meaning a lot of Washingtonians have a three day weekend. With the extra day comes extra opportunity to take a day trip (or two) around the area. We polled our staffer for some good destinations in the area to share, so pump up the bike tires, get out the hiking boots or start the car (Zip, Flex, or your own). And if you have any other good suggestions, let us... more ›

I usually respond to the miserable summers in Washington by visiting friends and family in dryer, cooler climates. At the moment, I am writing from a cottage on Coldwater Lake in southern Michigan, but at several points along the road, people who have seen my D.C. license plate -- some of them probably the first time they have seen one -- have asked the same question. Why does the D.C. government put "Taxation without... more ›

We'd like to thank everyone who showed up last night to the DCist Cinco de Mayo party at Chief Ike's Mambo Room, especially to those on the dance floor who kept the party going on well past midnight. You know that when the bartending staff had to pull out extra cases of Corona (only to run out later), we not only went beyond our crowd predictions, we were also doing our part to drive... more ›

PITTSBURGH -- They say Pittsburgh is a difficult city to navigate your way into, but really easy to leave. With its urban life dictated by what would normally be inhospitable topography, Pittsburgh is an interesting city. While we'd like to spend a little more time exploring, we have to head back to Washington this afternoon. After all, we can't miss the DCist Cinco de Mayo party at Chief Ike's this evening. So if this DCist is coming all the way from the Keystone State to show up, you should make your way up to Adams Morgan tonight. With Bluestate DJing, good company and prizes (more on that in a second), there shouldn't be any reason why you should miss it. more ›

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. -- If it weren't that this DCist ran across additional snow flakes yesterday driving through the unseasonably cold spring weather, Lake Michigan looked down-right enticing when we went to the beach. Calm water, some sun, and the summer tourists from Chicagoland were nowhere in sight. And for $1.50, a bag of chocolate-covered peanuts from Fortino's on Washington Street was welcome treat. But we should have gotten a Pronto Pup, which is "a hotdog dipped in a corn meal batter and deep fried," according to this Grand Haven community center site. According to Jason Kottke, the pronto pup seems to have made its way across the lake to Minnesota. But the Grand Haven variety, which have been around for the more than 50 years, are an essential beach food. more ›

EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Greetings from the hometown of Gerald R. Ford. While former President Ford was born in 1913 as Leslie King in Omaha, Neb., and he grew up with his adopted family in Grand Rapids, this inner suburb of Michigan's second-largest city on its welcome sign claims Mr. Ford as a hometown son because the former chief executive and his family once resided in leafy lakeside community. Now the suburb is... more ›

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Greetings from southern Indiana, where this DCist has been traveling the past day. The home of Indiana University, Bloomington was the setting for the movie "Breaking Away." If you've seen the movie, you know how hilly and forested the beautiful countryside surrounding the town is. More recently, Bloomington became famous for one more thing: being the home of the Subway where Jared Fogel got his start in advertising. According to the story, Fogel lived in an apartment above the Subway at the corner of Atwater and Woodlawn. Fogel simply had to walk up and down a flight of stairs to get his Subway, nearly every day. more ›

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Greetings from the capital of the Buckeye State. Thanks for all your input on our "Team America: World Police"-themed journey. We're continuing to head west. This photo, taken from Third Street near the Nationwide Arena District shows one of Columbus' more controversial advertisements. Like the giant H&M advertisement on the Flatiron Building in New York that has graced the landmark building and pissed off most everyone, the three-part ad seen here... more ›

WOODLEY PARK, D.C. -- This DCist is going to Wallyworld, no matter what! We're going to go pick up Aunt Edna and retrace the Griswold family's 1983 cross-country roadtrip. Since there isn't a real Wallyworld (actually there is online ... via a Google search, there is a "Wally" World, but it is NOT safe for work), we guess we'll have to settle for where ever the open road takes us. Living and working inside the... more ›