Category Archives: Life in the Capital

Adventures, Entertainment, Fun & Games, History, Life in the Capital, The Features, Tourism
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Tourism: Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens

Nestled in Northeast, you’ll find a time capsule from the past, where the remnants of Washington’s natural history of wetlands and rivers flourish. Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens is the hidden gem of the DC area National Park System and a excellent spot for DCers to escape to for a serene and educational respite.

In the late 1800s, Walter Spondhaw bought a piece of land along the marshland flats of the Anacostia River. Shaw, a Maine native, planted a few wild water lilies in a pond of this strip of land. The lilies took on like gangbusters and Shaw planted other lilies and varieties of flowers. When Shaw died in 1921, his daughter, Helen Shaw Fowler, expanded the gardens and made the location where U.S. presidents, their families, and neighbors would take day trips to. Continue reading →

Education, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed, The District
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Where Do Those Darn Potholes Come From?

Last week, Mayor Gray and DDOT kicked off Potholepalooza 2011, our city’s intensified efforts to fill those tire-busting, shock killing road hazards. In an effort to let our powers combine, DDOT is asking DC residents to tell them about neighborhood potholes that need fixing. You can target these car nightmares and curse inducing potholes by phoning in (311), going online, tweeting or emailing DDOT.

According to VDOT’s Pothole Hunter Phil Itwick, these little f*ckers are caused by water that gets into the pavement and expands and contracts with the changing temperatures. Mr. Itwick gives a fantastic, and entertaining, explanation on how potholes are fixed on both a temporary and permanent basis. Definitely worth the watch.

Adventures, Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, News, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District
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Blossom Kite Festival Rescheduled to Sunday, April 10

Photo courtesy of
’44th annual Smithsonian Kite Festival’
courtesy of ‘cruffo’

Last weekend’s postponed kite festival has been rescheduled for Sunday, April 10th from 10am until 4pm. Check the event’s official website for updates on the day’s  activities. If you’re looking for a kite, Sullivan’s Toy Store and Art Supplies (3412 Wisconsin Avenue NW) store has plenty in stock.

Essential DC, Life in the Capital, The District, Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback 3/25-03/27/11

Photo courtesy of
‘Cherry Blossoms in the Dark’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’

Despite chilly temperatures, spring has sprung in our lovely Capitol City. The trees, and not just the cherry trees, are abloom; DC denizens are fully emerging from their winter comas; runners, outdoor enthusiasts and sports teams seem to taken up every nook and cranny of green space or path. The photogs were also out in full force this weekend, and have captured the essence of spring in DC. Continue reading →

Adventures, Entertainment, Life in the Capital, We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: March 26-27

Photo courtesy of
‘(081/365)’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’

Marissa: I’m stretching my birthday out for as long as possible and celebrating a new job by kicking off Friday night with a party hosted by my best friend, Jennifer. We’ll probably all end up at either Madam’s Organ or Marvin. Saturday, an old friend from my high school fencing team (you read that right. Fencing.) is in town and I’m hoping we can catch up at Pound The Hill. Then it’s off to check out Nana, a neat clothing boutique, which reopens this week.

Patrick P.: I will be heading down to Miami this weekend to expierience the ever expanding Ultra Music Festival with Michael Darpino and my brother. I got some sun block with the special SPF to protect my body from free radicals caused by the sun. I also will be packing anti-crazy touchy raver repellant to ward off those that feel they can touch whoever they want while using illegal narcotics. My goal is to stay hydrated, excited, and dance myself into size 29 skinny jeans. I also plan on saying “Hello to my little friends” when I bust out some glow sticks and start jumping up and down till the sun goes up and down. Continue reading →

Adventures, Business and Money, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed
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Nordstorm Rack Coming To Friendship Heights

Photo courtesy of

”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

Friendship Heights is finally filling the long vacated Linens ‘N Things shop with a Nordstorm Rack. For those unfamiliar with the shop, it carries merchandise from Nordstrom stores and Nordstrom.com at 50-60% off original Nordstrom prices. Nordstorm Rack also features items purchased specifically for the shop at savings of 30-70% off original prices.

The 41,000 square-foot store, located next to competitor Loehmann’s, is scheduled to open on May 19 at 5333 Wisconsin Avenue, NW. Nordstorm’s currently owns 76 Nordstrom Rack stores in 21 states, with the Friendship Heights store representing the sixth Nordstrom Rack in the greater Washington D.C. metropolitan area.

Essential DC, Life in the Capital, Monumental
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Monumental: Taft Bridge

Photo courtesy of
‘Taft Bridge’
courtesy of ‘mgrass’

One of my first, distinct memories of DC is the long drive down Connecticut Avenue, after exiting 495 and headed to Dupont Circle. I was completely DC naive, had very little navigational or directional DC knowledge and for all I knew I could have been headed north or west or east. As I hesitantly meandered my way down Connecticut Avenue through the tree line Chevy Chase, past the sign to the National Zoo, little did I know that my first DC welcome would come from the majestic, patriotic, stone lion guardians of the Taft Bridge.

Constructed from 1897 to 1907, the arched bridge is the work of architect Edward Pearce Casey and engineer George S. Morrison, known for his steel truss bridges. The bridge, dedicated to U.S. President Howard Taft in 1931, is the largest unreinforced concrete structure in the world and in 2003 was named to the National Register of Historical Places. Continue reading →

Essential DC, History, Life in the Capital, Monumental, People, The Features
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Monumental: The National Mall & Memories

Photo by Rachel Levitin

My first physical encounter with the ivory American tower that is the Lincoln Memorial was at the age of 12. When I graduated from my four-year stint at American University at age 22, I maintained and continued to proclaim that the Lincoln Memorial is my favorite place to “sit and do nothing” in D.C.

Its hallowed marble grounds and view of the Reflecting Pool is a unique visual shot only available in D.C. Thousands of visitors flood the site daily. It’s a nice stop for a group photo and the corner stone of an essential plot point in Wedding Crashers but at the age of 23 I have no idea why I still call the Lincoln Memorial my favorite place to “sit and do nothing” in D.C.

When you live in Washington for long enough, the tourist appeal loses its initial flare. Often times, those of us who announce residency for longer than a Presidential term are left to visit historical sites, memorials, landmarks, and museums when family or friends are here from out of town … or we’ve guilt tripped ourselves into venturing out into the District’s finest attraction – the National Mall. Continue reading →

Adventures, Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District
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WARL’s Pasta for Pets

Photo courtesy of
‘Cats Eating Pasta’
courtesy of ‘Lee Coursey’

Spaghetti Dinner? Yum! Bingo? Well, Bingo! Raising money for in need kittens and puppies? Snorgle-rific! Combining them all? Epic interspecies snorgling and noming, which is exactly what the Washington Animal Rescue League has planned for its annual Pasta for Pets event to be held Saturday, March 19 from 6:00 – 8:30pm at Eastern Market’s North Hall.

The night features delicious pasta from local restaurants, an assortment of homemade desserts and, most importantly, fundraising for WARL’s Project Rescue, which provides support for local families and individuals who are finding it difficult to provide for their pets in this challenging economic climate. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, The District
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An Evening with Fred Armisen @ The Black Cat

The show was sold out.  A packed mainstage concert room  full of hipsters, preppies, middle age couples and the like mixed it up, awaiting Fred Armisen of SNL and more recently, Portlandia, fame to take the stage. Taking place at the Black Cat, and heavily promoted by Brightest Young Things, the show was simply described as “An Evening With Fred Armisen,” and the event details were simply two YouTube clips of Armisen’s sketch work.

Given the billing and the performer, the audience was primed for a comedic show that would likely (and I say likely, because given the vagueness of the event’s details, we were all unsure of the performance’s format) include stand up comedy, skits, impersonations and, with Armisen’s background, some form of comedic musical accompaniment.

Unfortunately, when Armisen took the stage, the vast majority — if not the entirety — of his show was uninspired, lacked creativity and did not live up to his billing.   Continue reading →

Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed, The District
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Tornado Alert Issued For Arlington County

Photo courtesy of
‘206/365: Stormfront’
courtesy of ‘Amber Wilkie Photography’

Effective immediately The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for Arlington County lasting until 4:00 pm this afternoon. It’s reported that severe storms have formed west of Arlington and the atmospheric conditions are favorable for tornadic development.

The NWS advises resident to be prepared as tornadoes can form from severe thunderstorms with little or no advanced warning. Know your safe room in your home, at school, and at work.  If driving and a tornado is spotted, leave your car immediately and move to shelter or a low lying area. Do not use highway overpasses as shelters.

Adventures, Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Special Events, Technology, The Daily Feed
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Engineering Is The Coolest @ The National Building Museum

Photo courtesy of
‘National Building Museum’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’

What’s an engineer? He’s that guy who wears overalls, that cute stripped hat and shovels coals into the trains engine, right? As Auntie Shrew would say “Wrrrrrrrong!” Engineers are much, much, much more than that. And to find out how engineers and engineering impacts our everyday lives, visit the National Building Museum this Saturday from 10am-4:30pm and celebrate National Engineers Week.

Watch PBS’ Design Squad Nation catapult beach balls across the Great Hall, discover the principles of aerodynamics, operate Lego Robots on the FIRST  Lego League playing field. The event features other hands-on activities like building a “flinker,” an object that neither floats or sinks, design your own parachute drop, test/build handmade watercrafts, and expore a tsunami wave tank.


All Politics is Local, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, News, The District, The Features
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DC Farm To School Network

Photo courtesy of
‘i fear school lunch’
courtesy of ‘amarino17’

Although I’m not THAT far out of high school, my memories of cafeteria lunches are fairly limited, which leads me to believe that the food served was…well…unmemorable. That is, it wasn’t good enough to be noteworthy and it wasn’t bad enough to be permanently seared into my mind. I have foggy images of square pizza, sloppy joes, grilled cheese, lasagna, and a salad bar which in the 1990s (and I’m dating myself) was a groundbreaking, yet sadly disappointing and unappetizing, addition.

Given my, and I’m supposing most people’s, middling school lunch experience, I was extremely inspired when I learned about the DC Farm to School Network, a coalition of advocates working to connect Washington, DC schools to local farmers to get more healthy, local foods into school cafeterias. With the ultimate goal to improve child health, reconnect students with where food comes from, provide health, food, and environmental education opportunities and support the local food economy. Continue reading →

Adventures, Essential DC, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, History, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed, The District
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Eater Names Fojol Bros To Top 20 Food Truck List

Photo courtesy of
‘Fojol Bros. of Merlindia’
courtesy of ‘Dave Kleinschmidt’

Ahhhh…Fojol Brothers. You make lunch in DC so strange, wonderful and delicious. You are well worthy of your newly bestowed spot on Eater’s “List of Top Twenty Food Trucks in America.” Represent DC baby! Represent!

If you have yet to experience the cuisine and showmanship of this food truck, you are clearly living an unfulfilled DC life. Staffed by mustachioed, Sgt. Pepper costumed order takers and cooks, this clown car-esque truck roams DC streets serving up Indian fare (both veggie and non-veggie) to the office bound, weary masses.

Congratulations Fojol Brothers. We salute you!

Adventures, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed
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Commute From Hell: 23 miles in 8.5 hours

YouTube Preview Image

I stumbled across this video on YouTube of tickman1’s commute home last night. It took him 8.5 hours to travel 23 miles from DC to the VA suburbs. Fortunately, the pilgrimage has been sped up and condensed for our viewing pleasure.

Warning: For those of you who braved the roads last night, this video may cause panic attacks, claustrophobia or heart attacks.

Adventures, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed
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Kill The Tow Truck: Avoid Snow Emergency Routes & Rush Hour Parking

Photo courtesy of
‘Tow Truck in the post blizzard mayhem on Ft. Hamilton Pkwy.’
courtesy of ’emilydickinsonridesabmx’

During last night’s commute home, I saw plenty of drivers pull their  cars off to the side of the road, get out and start walking home.  This was a fantastic idea, especially for those headed north up steep, steep Wisconsin Avenue NW. Lots of spinning tires going nowhere. Sigh.

However, now that the snow has stopped cars parked on major roadways need to be moved so plows can get our thoroughfares up in fully running. And although DC didn’t declare a Snow Emergency, emails have gone out to DC neighborhood listservs stating that cars may be towed from Snow Emergency Routes for the tune of $375 in fines, and that cars parked along Rush Hour Routes could be fined $100 between the hours 7-9:30am and 4-6:30pm.

I’m not sure how the Snow Emergency fines can be leeved considering there wasn’t a snow emergency, but personally I wouldn’t risk it. So if you’re unsure if you left your car on a Snow Emergency Route, look into it. Your wallet will be happy that you did.

If your car has been towed, you can call: 202-541-6083 or visit http://app.dpw.dc.gov/DPW/services/towing/locator.asp to find where it’s been towed to.

Entertainment, Life in the Capital, Music, Special Events, The District, We Love Music
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We Love Music: The Dismemberment Plan @ Black Cat, 1/21/11

photo courtesy of Drew McDermott via Flickr



If you interviewed for a job at the Twitter corporate headquarters some time in 2008, you were likely asked to name your “theme song” – the song that should play in the background as you walked on screen or into a room. The question was not just one of taste or tip-of-the-tongue recall, though it was those, but they also wanted to know how you wanted to project yourself and make people feel when you arrived. I had been in San Francisco for two weeks when I was asked the question a few beers in at a drafty Western Addition bar.

About ten seconds of consideration and I responded. “Dismemberment Plan. Face of the Earth.”
Continue reading →

Entertainment, Essential DC, Food and Drink, Life in the Capital, News, Night Life, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Matchbox Rockville

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If you enjoy the dining experience at Matchbox’s Capitol Hill and Chinatown locales, then the newly opened Rockville location will be to your liking as well. Situated a 5 minute walk from the Twinbrook Metro Station on the Red Line, along Rockville Pike, this latest addition to the Matchbox franchise is vast.

Despite a seating capacity of about 300 seats inside and an additional 130 outside, the restaurant stays close to its architectural roots with open fire pits on the patios, straw textured walls, brushed metal, brick facades and wooden beams from two old barn doors. Matchbox also features two hand-built pizza ovens from master artisan, Pat Manly, that greet diners at the reception area and two full bars with counter tops carved from an old tree to previously stood on the property.  The layout, design components and varied lighting provide both group/family friendly settings and intimate spots for couples. Continue reading →

Life in the Capital, People, The Features
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Why I Love DC: Martin


‘Rock Creek Parkway at Night’
courtesy of ‘ianseanlivingston’

Why do I love DC?  Because I HATE DRIVING.

I guess I’ve changed a whole lot since I was 17 years old, when I kind of loved my summer job delivering food for Wing Zone around the suburbs of Atlanta. I met plenty of characters, sure, and getting tips for the first time felt like playing a slot machine! But the best part to me was driving around all day, blasting music for just me and the wings in the backseat. To me, this was freedom; no bosses watching over me every second and complete control over my playlist.

These days when I contemplate driving, pleasant memories of deliveries, road trips, and burning donuts in parking lots don’t come to me immediately. Mostly I think about how I got a $100 parking ticket* within a week of moving here, then got harassed for not having DC plates. Or I think about that time someone threw a brick through my side window just days before Christmas, while my car was parked in front of a church, in order to steal nothing more than a couple awesome CDs like Smashing Pumpkins’ “Zeitgeist” and a sweet mix I made called “Maximum Chillaximum”.  
Continue reading →