How to Celebrate Valentine's Day During a Pandemic

Canden of DC by Foot

As we all rapidly approach a year at home due to the pandemic, you might also be feeling a rut when it comes to making anything feel special. Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Since I needed help with ideas I reached out to Canden at DC by Foot for some creative ideas. Here’s a rundown of the questions I asked.

Tell us about you and what made you choose to open DC by Foot?

I came to this job in a very round about way. I had just finished my Masters in History from University College London and was living in the UK when my visa expired! I met my husband there but he was actually from Texas (all the way to London to fall in love with an American) so we moved back to the States and decided to move to DC based on his childhood best friend living here and I wanted somewhere with public transport. I did not have a teaching license (I never "student" taught in college so even though I had 4 years of Education courses and practicum, I couldn't get a license!) so I thought tour guiding would be a fun alternative. And I was right!

I joined DC by Foot as a tour guide but partnered with one of the owners when he wanted to expand to other cities and have been an owner of the company and part of its growth since 2011.

Now that we’ve all be home for a while due to the pandemic if people want to get out of the house for Valentines Day what are some outdoor activities they could safely plan?

We’re offering a Valentine’s Day Special Tour called Love Stories: Georgetown. Stroll throughGeorgetown hearing stories of love; from a true story of Beauty and the Beast, motherly love, and scandalous love affairs. After the tour ends, you’ll be near the main corridor, so you can easily enjoy dinner or get takeout.

We offer a number of tours geared towards locals - we actually had to make only a few changes to make it safe. All our tours are outdoors, small groups anyways. All guests and guides must wear masks and we rerouted stops to make sure it's easy to physically distance. (You can find a list of walking tours here.)

For daytime outdoor lovers, we have tours of Rock Creek Park and Teddy Roosevelt Island. I personally love the Arboretum (we don't have tours there, just great places to hike!) even though the Bonsai Museum is closed.

If someone wants to enjoy an outing without a stranger, we also offer self guided and audio tours that guests can take on their own - you can tour the National Mall, Embassy Row, Georgetown, and Old Town Alexandria.

For couples looking for a special date night what are some off the beaten path options?

Some of our most popular tours are our Scandals tours - true crimes, affairs, murders. We have them in Georgetown, Dupont Circle and Capitol Hill. It's a fun night out and lots more laughter and gasps than anything gory so not entirely inappropriate for Valentine's Day!

For families that want to celebrate together what are some safe, family-friendly options?

Our most popular kids tour is our Scavenger Hunt on the National Mall. It's only offered as a private tour so it would just be one bubble.

In the coming months, when it’s hopefully safe for us all to start leaving our homes again what are you most looking forward to doing? What activity would you recommend as a first out of the house adventure?

If I'm answering honestly, daycare. My kids have been home with me since March 07. But what I hope happens most in 2021 is that we can go to a Nats game. We're big fans. As far as things to do for our first adventure - I never got a chance to take my oldest (almost 4) to see the new Fossil exhibit at the Natural History Museum so that will be high on the list.

My favorite museum is the Spy Museum - not good for young kids like mine, but I love it when I get a chance to go for work.

Where can we connect with you online?

We're @freetoursbyfoot on Instagram and for YouTube (where we have a lot of virtual tours!) and Facebook we are @freetoursbyfoothq 

Our website is www.dcbyfoot.com

If you decide to take advantage of any of DC by Foot’s suggestions for Valentine’s Day or at another time, please share your experience! I’m looking forward to a Scandal Tour!