I lived in Tysons Corner, VA for three years and worked near Dulles Airport. As others have mentioned, Crystal City Sports Pub is the Iowa State gamewatch location. About 10-12 other alumni associations have gamewatches there (and yes, Iowa is one of them) so the place is always packed on Saturdays. It makes for a great atmosphere for the ISU-Iowa football game as both schools will usually have 50 alums in attendance. Watching the 2005 game there was priceless, as all the Iowa fans sat in absolute stunned silence.
The DC region has so much to offer. There are obviously a huge amount of historical things to see. The Metro is very convenient, safe, and clean. Much easier than fighting the ridiculous traffic (at rush hour, the Beltway is every bit as bad as you hear it is) or finding and paying for parking. Numerous great restaurants covering any type of cuisine you could possibly want. Hit up Adams Morgan on the weekends for the bars and a great mix of ethnic and funky restaurants. (or a giant 2 foot slice of pizza at 3:00 am). . . There are also many large cities within 3-4 hours driving distance (NYC, Philly, Pittsburgh, Atlantic City).
You have all four major pro sports in town, and the Ravens and Orioles just up the road in Baltimore. I'd highly recommend catching a baseball game at Camden Yards, my second favorite ballpark behind Wrigely. I also found M&T Bank Stadium (Ravens) superior to FedEx Field (Redskins). With the success that Ovechkin has brought to the franchise, the Capitals are now the hottest ticket in town. . . For college sports, Maryland hoops games are awesome. Georgetown has gotten much better since I moved, but Verizon Center leaves a little to be desired for a college atmosphere. For football, Virginia Tech is a bit of a drive (4 hours), but a night game at Lane Stadium will reward you with one of the best environments in the country. Made it to one game there, and regret I didn't make it to more.
Some of my favorite trips included:
Annapolis, MD: Home of the US Naval Academy, campus is really cool. Small city on the water (for us land-locked Midwesterners) with all kinds of historic buildings. Brick and cobble-stone streets filled with restaurants, bars, and shops. Great place to take the girlfriend/wife.
Fisherman's Crab Deck, Kent Island, MD. Awesome fresh seafood. Happiness is sitting outside on a summer day with a dozen hard shell crabs and a pitcher of beer. Driving over the Chesepeake Bay Bridge on the way is also quite the experience.
Gettysburg Battlefield
Monticello: Thomas Jefferson's estate outside Charlottesville, VA. UVa's campus is also great.
Mount Vernon: George Washington's estate.
This post has rambled much longer than anticipated. If you want any more info, hit me up. Good luck with the move.
