For Commencement weekend, Hatchet staffers share the overcrowded, overhyped landmarks dominating every tourist’s checklist. Here’s what to avoid and where to go instead for a fresher and more memorable experience.

Offering standard farm-to-table fare in the heart of campus, Founding Farmers draws visiting families like moths to a flame. GW students are all too proud to show their parents neighborhood staples like their shrimp and grits and chicken pot pie. But to present Founding Farmers as the pinnacle of Northwest D.C. dining does a disservice to the diverse culinary landscape GW students have access to — and often overlook. For all their egregious wait times for a table and above average prices, Founding Farmers serves food that is comparable to what you can expect to find at any neighborhood diner. During Commencement weekend, it will also likely be impossible to secure a reservation. So don’t follow the crowd and clamor for lackluster chicken and waffles and runny eggs, and venture out of Foggy Bottom to find some cuisine worth calling home for.

Alternative: Visit All Day by Kramers in Dupont Circle to get delicious french toast or Mumbo chicken wings and also find your next summer read.

On a sweltering May day, thick with the signature D.C. humidity, few things hit the spot quite like ice cream or a slushie. That is, of course, until you’re down $15 for a soft serve cone. Be forewarned, there’s a reason many D.C. ice cream trucks avoid listing their prices — it’s to overcharge unsuspecting families. Fluorescent, unbranded trucks dot the curbs surrounding the monuments and Smithsonian museums around the National Mall, with dozens lined up on Constitution Avenue alone. The options can be tantalizing: dozens of flavors of soft serve or snow cones, traditional Good Humor popsicles or just a classic scoop. While I’m usually never someone who’d argue against a sweet soft-serve swirl or a SpongeBob ice pop, any GW student should know better than to patronize these overpriced tourist traps. It’s hard enough to dodge school field trips or overzealous joggers on the Mall — getting lured in by a mirage of a nice sweet treat just adds insult to injury.

Alternative: D.C. is full of ice cream shops that are full of creative, interesting flavors and not brimming with tourists. Mount Desert Island Ice Cream in Mount Pleasant offers homemade scoops of creative concoctions like cinnamon cardamom or Maine sea salt caramel and is well worth a try.

After three or four years in the District, odds are you and your family have already spent your fair share of time on the National Mall. The Mall, just a short walk from campus, has it all — from historic monuments like the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument to large patches of grass and heavy foot traffic. Sure, it’s called “ America’s front yard, ” but after spending four years a quick walk away, it’s not the thing to do in your final few days as a GW student. As D.C. begins the busy tourist season, you and your family will end up dealing with hordes of people who are visiting the nation’s capital for the first time. Expand your horizons, and whatever you do, do not take a walk down Virginia Avenue to the National Mall. Enjoy the rest of the city with your family — there’s a lot more to see than a tall obelisk and a big rectangular lake. Neighborhoods like Adams Morgan, Logan Circle or Capitol Hill have extensive histories and plenty of restaurants, shops and historic sites to enjoy on a weekend.

Alternative: If you still want to have a day walking around appreciating the gorgeous spring weather, take the Metro down to Old Town Alexandria. With a quaint, historic vibe, Alexandria boasts restaurants, cafes and stores, along with a wonderful riverfront park along the Potomac.

A garden oasis on Capitol Hill may sound like the perfect family outing on Commencement weekend, but the U.S. Botanic Garden is far from the nature-filled adventure you’re looking for. Located a stone’s throw away from the Capitol building, the Botanic Garden boasts a collection of about 44,000 plants, used for display and study. Yet despite the garden’s extensive collection, the humid air and narrow walkways make it nearly impossible to admire each leaf and flower inside. As you make your way through the Botanic Garden and gaze at the foliage, a wave of stale air will make the mid-May heat outside feel like paradise. The hot, thick, humid air pumped into the Tropic room to keep the flora alive will immediately cause your clothes to cling to your body with sweat as if you entered a steaming sauna. The winding pathways to admire each and every plant from above are comparable to cars stuck in traffic — and it is incredibly difficult to navigate around those taking too long to admire each petal. Needing a moment away from the hustle of the city is understandable, but if you are hungry for nature and can’t spot the difference between a giant leather fern and a trailing maidenhair fern, the gardens may not be for you.

Alternative: If a nature-filled outing is on your list, try a hike in Rock Creek Park. The sprawling forest provides scenic views, scurrying animals and many trails to explore, plus you’ll get your steps, and it should be much less humid than the gardens this time of year.