He drinks and I know things.

As a belated celebration for Wheat's birthday, we spent an extended weekend in Washington D.C. Why did we choose our nation's capital as the site for our trip? A couple reasons: 1. Southwest occasionally kills it with their prices for IND-DCA, 2. We had never been there together, and 3. I desperately wanted to go to the Game of Thrones pop-up bar before it closes on August 27. Shh.

So, we took a half-day on Thursday and jetted off to D.C. After checking in at our hotel (the Churchill Hotel near Embassy Row and Dupont Circle), we stopped for a quick dinner at a nearby British pub and sports bar, Across the Pond. The food was decent, but more importantly, our waiter instructed us to "follow our bliss" and said he'd "be there to support us, no matter what we did." Shouldn't there be more people like that in the world?

After dinner, we walked straight to the Game of Thrones bar...only to find an extremely long line that stretched almost the entire length of the block...on a Thursday night. Yikes. Fortunately, there was plenty of people-watching to do while we waited, including a few costumes (hello, Dothrakis!) and a manager who monitored the line wearing a 'Lord Commander' shirt. After an hour and 15 minutes, we finally reached the bouncer, who was fittingly wearing a 'Night's Watch' shirt.

Peep the 'Night's Watch' shirt on the bouncer.

The first room we entered was The North and, despite the crowd and Wheat's borderline claustrophobia, the wait instantly felt justified. A gigantic weirwood tree, with a face and an inconspicuous three-eyed raven hiding in its branches, served as the room's centerpiece behind the bar. Red leaves filled the ceiling and windows while bartenders, mostly dressed in costume, rang handbells and led patrons in a repetitive "SHAME!" chant whenever someone ordered that aptly named drink. NERD HEAVEN.

As we ventured beyond Winterfell, we found ourselves in a room with Daenerys' three dragons - two painted onto the wall and the third emerging from it. Occasionally, the dragon would blow smoke and fake fire, which illuminated the masks of the Sons of the Harpy also hanging on the wall. The next room was The House of Black and White, which was notable for its enormous Hall of Faces. Fun fact: The faces are actual molds of the bar's employees, family, and friends.

In full disclosure, we spent the bulk of our time inside waiting in yet another line to sit on the Iron Throne. Usually, the bouncers take reservations for these pictures at the door (as time is limited) and text you when it's your turn, but since it was getting late and it was very crowded, they had already stopped taking names for the night. However, my Instagram simply doesn't take no for an answer, so we decided to wait near the line and our patience and persistence eventually paid off. The Night's Watch let us hop in without a reservation and it's a good thing, too. The Seven Kingdoms deserve a girl in glasses as their ruler.

The final room was the Red Keep, which featured the Armory and all of the house banners. Here, you could also pose as a flayed man because what's a Game of Thrones bar without some gore? This room is where we actually ordered our overpriced drinks. Wheat went with The Imp's Delight, which had a cola flavor, and I opted with the pineapple-flavored Dracarys, which came with a little plastic dragon you could keep as a souvenir. I named him Drogon, of course. Several of the other drinks came in themed glassware, like The North Remembers, which was served in a drinking horn, or Lady Mormont, which came in a bear cup. I really wanted to order the Dothraquiri (because that name slays me), but couldn't get myself to order a drink with banana flavoring.

Aside from the overwhelming crowd, the bar was an absolute blast. The ambience was magical (the soundtrack was playing, including "The Rains of Castamere"), the decor and attention to detail was perfect, and it was awesome to feel a sense of camaraderie with fellow fans who were just as excited as us to be there. As you meandered through the rooms, you overheard little bits of spirited conversation as people theorized about the rest of the season and raved about various episodes. And I gotta say - it's easy to overlook an overpriced drink and a long line when you feel like a part of something special.