I joined thousands of other health-conscious Washingtonians at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., Jan. 15 to try mineral drinks and learn about alternative fitness methods.One such alternative was dance. A dance exhibit hosted local high school dancers like Julie Bayer.

Along with watching dancers, I tried dragon boat racing. This sport is like crew, but with just one oar. I was encouraged to join the Capital City Dragons, a local team. Like the dragon boat racers, many exhibit hosts were recruiting people to join them.

I later sampled a drink called Vemma, marketed as the world’s most complete liquid vitamin. While the regular drink tasted like watered down Gatorade, their energy drink, a carbonated version of Vemma, was simply horrible. Not something to add to a daily diet.

It was then that I made the best discovery.  The “Got Milk?” booth was handing out free chocolate milk and vanilla ice cream. Yum.

Though the expo’s central focus was fitness and nutrition, there were also nature-related tables: Discovery Creek brought in a simulated rainforest and the Washington Humane Society had dogs and a rabbit up for adoption. Among these booths, the best thing I saw was a group of volunteers painted bright blue and promoting a 5K. It felt like the Smurfs had invaded.

Overall, the expo was a fun, invigorating way to better understand how to eat and live in a more healthy way.