Flower Pot: Petals of Wisdom from Lotus Blooms’ Sex Educators!

The Flower Pot is a column updated twice monthly and answers the questions we hear most often. Do you have a burning question to ask our sex educators? E-mail us at: lotusbloomsalexandria@gmail.com

We’re doing a special edition Flower Pot this week, in honor of the most romantic day of the year, Valentine’s Day! So if you’re feeling a bit low on cash, or if you just haven’t come up with the right idea to woo your sweetheart this weekend, we’ve got 10 fun DC-centric dates that you can pull off for less than $50, probably way less in some cases. These are all things you’ll probably only find in DC and they’d be fun this weekend and any weekend!

1. Millenium Stage at the Kennedy Center - Every day the Kennedy Center hosts a free performance through Millenium Stage. These high quality shows are a great way to see something in one of the world’s premier performance spaces for exactly no dollars. Being that you saved so much moolah on your Moby Dick tix (yes, you can go and see nutty Ahab attempt to catch the white whale for Valentine’s Day! Romantic!) you can afford to grab dinner before or after the show!

2. If you’re looking for a perfectly DC and perfectly priced meal, take a hint from the City’s history and visit Ben’s Chili Bowl, you won’t meet a single native who would complain about their excellent chili, awesome half-smokes, and unbeatable atmosphere. (There’s a reason why the President eats hotdogs here.) While you’re at it, take some time to check out the Greater U Street Heritage Trail, you can follow it along the sidewalks, read the signage, and get to see and learn about some of the most important cultural sites in the city, the historic Black Broadway, and tread the same paths as Duke Ellington and the greats of DC’s jazz scene.

3. If your taste in dates is more about the walking and the talking, head into the City’s downtown and take a stroll. The best thing about DC is that every road you turn onto is going to be historic, and now, every second road you turn onto is going to be awash with food trucks. These new additions to the urban landscape are a great date idea, grab an inexpensive (and often unusual) bite settle yourself on a bench, and enjoy the scenery. This is also an ideal date for a native or semi-native Washingtonian to take a transplant on, nothing like a casual 5 mile stroll through the city you know and love. Check out what food trucks are where with this handy website!

4. Eastern Market is a fun neighborhood near the Capitol, it boasts a great selection of restaurants (known for their brunches) and more so, the market! Known for being DC’s best place for arts and crafts, there’s plenty to take in. Whether you’re looking for something special, or you’re just looking to look, it’s the ideal place to check out food, flowers, and art. If you’re looking for a weekend day-date, it’s ideal. Open every day but Monday, you won’t have to miss out. Also much of the market is under cover so don’t worry if it’s a bit damp or cold!

5. Union Station. It doesn’t really inspire romance, right? But imagine this: it’s a crisp Washington evening, the fountain is bubbling and awash with light, the majestic columns, and stunning statues shining in the darkness, and you and your date are exploring one of the Nation’s most beautiful, historic railway stations. Whether you’re into trains or not, Union Station is an architectural beauty, and without having to rush to catch your train you can really appreciate it. If you’re in the mood for a meal, head downstairs to the Union Station food court, it may sound crazy but if you like inexpensive dates and Americana, this old-fashioned black-and-white tiled food court is the perfect place to watch the world go by with a burger and a milkshake.

6. Trains, planes, transit can be romantic! If you’re interested in a more outdoorsy date on a nice day head over to Arlington to Gravelly Point Park. The park is a great place for walkers, joggers, cyclists, and most importantly plane spotters. Ideally located to watch the planes take off and land at Washington National, you can settle on the grass and watch the planes go by! It’s also a great place for a picnic, so pack up your sandwiches and enjoy a low-cost look at the airplanes from one of America’s best plane spotting spots, it’s just a few hundred feet from the runway!

7. If you’d like to get outside, but aren’t crazy about planes, check out the National Gallery of Art’s sculpture garden. The garden is designed to be enjoyed year round, and hosts a variety of beautiful works. Whether you’re a fan of sculpture or not, it makes for a pleasant walk. There are also a host of special events, such as Jazz in the Garden and an ice rink (it’s worth checking out one of the prettiest rinks in DC!).

8. DC is a great town for Shakespeare, if you’re a lover of the Bard or a fan of the theater, check out the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s discount tickets. While this might be one of the more pricey of our less pricey dates, it is well worth it. With a wide array of high-quality performances of some of the best works ever, these shows are fantastic. Further, look out for their Young Prose program which offers great discounts, and better yet, Free for All, the annual free show!

9. Let’s assume you’ve lived in the DC metro area for a few years now and, frankly, you’re totally board of all the Smithsonian museums, because you’ve devoted every weekend you’ve had to exploring them all, top to bottom, because that’s what you would have had to do, but let’s say you are. Why not check out the National Geographic Museum, not quite free (as most of them are) but at a paltry $11 per adult, you can afford to grab a light dinner and check out some of the most beautiful and culturally diverse exhibitions available. The museum also has extended hours this weekend, and would make a great stop before dinner. The exhibitions are constantly changing making this one of the most exciting stops on the museum circuit. If you want to spend $0, you can drag yourself back to the National History Museum and count all the dinosaur bones, which ain’t a half bad date either.

10. How could I neglect, Old Town Alexandria! One of Northern Virginia’s most beautiful, historic, and walkable areas, the neighborhoods surrounding King Street are lined with colorful houses and King Street is full of hustle and bustle, including our own little spot on the map. Whether you’re interested in restaurants (from full on fancy, to grab a sandwich) shops, or a walk along the water, Alexandria is a great place for a low-cost date. Capped on either end by a diverse and dynamic waterfront and the George Washington Masonic Memorial, which is totally worth the $15 tour, King Street is a great place for an afternoon or evening. Psst, don’t forget to stop by and visit us! We’re open ‘til 10 this Valentine’s Day and if you’re looking for that last little bit of magic, we’re ready for you!

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