Generally, I am delighted by repurposed old buildings, especially when their new use is wildly unrelated to what the builders had in mind (see: The Surratt House, now a Wok and Roll; The Pension Building, now the National Building Museum, etc). My all-time favorite of these is probably The Torpedo Factory Art Center in Old Town Alexandria.
The Torpedo Factory is full of surprises. They first get you with the name: who would expect a building full of artists’ studios and an Archaeology Museum from a factory? Yet this former factory is packed to the brim with creativity and fun things to explore. Continue reading →
Yesterday, we headed out to the “largest parade celebrating George Washington’s Birthday in the USA!” – Alexandria’s George Washington Birthday Parade. How can you beat that as the perfect homage to President’s Day? Here it is in a photo review, from clowns to horseback riders, the parade had it all. Continue reading →
There are few outdoor activities I enjoy when the weather gets this cold. Skiing and ice skating are about the only two that I daydream fondly about. So just in case this week’s iceageddon didn’t take you down, and you’re itching for more (or you want to tackle the ice with proper equipment), you’re in luck. DC is home to tons of great indoor and outdoor ice skating rinks for you to take a spin (or a fall) on. Continue reading →
“Mmmm…” a friend sighed contentedly into her glass of hot buttered rum, “liquor pie…”
Brunch with the girls at Vermilion on a chilly afternoon was a mellow affair, lingering over hot toddies in the brick-walled upstairs room. With the place almost all to ourselves, we curled into a corner table and indulged to celebrate a birthday.
Vermilion serves brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00am – 2:30am, with an eclectic menu that ranges from eggs and french toast to scallops and bifteki. The hot drinks were especially welcome, as was the laid-back service allowing us to savor everything without feeling rushed. And of course, any place that serves lamb sausage ranks high on my happy meter. Continue reading →
Despite the gray skies, tornado warnings, cold rain and a Redskins letdown, this was still an eventful weekend in the greater Washington DC area. Highlights after the jump.
Friend of We Love DC William Yurasko posted this photo to the Flickr Group, and posted a detailed explanation of the new HAWK signals, like this one on Van Dorn St in Alexandria. HAWK stands for High-intensity Activated cross-Walk signal. It’s designed to be used as an ad-hoc crossing light without a significant traffic light. Press the walk button, and the nominally-dark light will light up for traffic to slow down and then stop, giving the pedestrian a safe crossing opportunity. I think we could use more of these!
Very cool stuff. Alexandria will be deploying a dozen of these in situations where they’re approved by FHWA. Very nifty!
My love of all thingswine is well-documented at this point. I’m turning into a regular at Eat Bar and Matt and my’s wine collection is growing by the day. So I was thrilled this morning to open up my DC Daily Candy and see that a new coffee and wine place is opening in Alexandria.
Grape + Bean is located in Old Town on South Royal Street. They sell coffees and wines by the glass at the new tasting bar. With a “focus is on high quality and small production wines, single-origin eco-friendly whole bean coffees, and custom brewed coffee.” I’m excited to try it. According to the Washingtonian, they brew one cup at a time, so it leans towards the pricey side of all things coffee. So this might not be a great place for your regular coffee stop, but I’m itching to check it out, regardless.
Have you been there? Where is your favorite coffee shop? What about your favorite wine bar?
As we close in on the election next Tuesday, the press has been having a field day with the “early voting” going on across the country. Not to be left out, and having to file an absentee ballot myself, I decided to see just what was happening in Arlington.
First, all the registrars wanted me to point out that no one in the area has “Early Voting”. Maryland, Virginia, and the District all provide for Absentee Ballots, which means you can only vote early if you have a valid reason. Both the District and Virginia provide for absentee voting in person or by mail. In Maryland, you can only vote Absentee by mail. And that deadline has already passed, so if you missed the absentee ballot in Maryland your only chance is Tuesday. (Don did a great job of covering all the details in his previous post, so I won’t belabor the point.)
So, if you want to vote in person, when should you go?
Strike one: Calling 911 to complain about I-95 traffic. Strike two: Cursing out the operator when he asks why you’re calling 911 to complain about traffic. Strike three: Voice mail greeting saying you’re working on a “very important family political project.” Joe The McCain, you’re out.
I’ve been to Two Nineteen in Old Town Alexandria a few times now. And each time, sadly, has been one step less in my dining experience.
The first time I had dinner there was in May with my mother-in-law. I’d been wanting to try this French restaurant situated in an old Victorian home first built by Lewis MacKenzie and I wasn’t disappointed. The filet mignon with bearnaise sauce was exquisite, the wine was expertly chosen, and the creme brulee sublime. Since my wife appreciates fine dining as well, I resolved to return with her in tow so we could enjoy it together.
I love this time of year. The chilly evenings go really well with the beautiful warm days. The leaves are about to turn colors. And, just about any week now we are going to get another famous DC Indian Summer.
When Indian Summer hits all I can think about are all the summer things I want to do one last time. And that means only one thing: I’m going to be jonesing for some Ice Cream.
So, to help out everyone in DC, I’ve compiled a short list of three great places where you can get your fix.
So Tom points me to an announcement on Cold Stone Creamery’s website, regarding their promotion of two new flavors and their partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation during the month of September. And apparently, tonight is also the 7th Annual World’s Largest Ice Cream Social at all CSC locations from 5-8 p.m, where they’re giving out free ice cream. (Icecreampocalypse, anyone?)
I totally don’t have anything against M-A-W; my sister was a recipient of theirs a year before she passed away. I do, however, continue my lingering grumpiness with the Alexandria CSC location. (They’ve still not sent coupons or called to apologize!) If I could have a wish resolved from M-A-W, it’d be “I wish this CSC would have a faster line!“
I’ve thought about taking one of the Potomac boat trips for almost the full seven years I’ve lived in the DC area and have always passed on it. When I proposed writing this feature Jenn L chimed in that she’d always wanted to go but never had, so apparently I wasn’t the only one. In retrospect I don’t know why I balked at the price. If you take the poorly named – but very enjoyable – “mounments cruise” you can expect to pay about $25 for a round trip, which isn’t the most I’ve ever paid for two hours of entertainment. You can start in Georgetown or Alexandria and in fact you’re under no obligation to purchase a round trip. Continue reading →
Fall is right around the corner…and so is the sixth annual Alexandria Festival of the Arts.
The festival runs this year on Saturday, September 13 and Sunday, September 14. As usual, the festival will occupy the section of King Street between the Potomac and Washington Street, so casual drivers of the area should consider alternate routes through downtown. Continue reading →
Ever done a nighttime walk through Old Town over in Alexandria?
If you’ve ever been over across the Potomac for dinner some weekend evening, you’re aware of the “period people” who meander along King Street, sharing the city’s history with passersby and giving the place a quaint atmosphere. (At least, a much better one than that of creepy Williamsburg.)
One of the key places along the King Street corridor is Gadsby’s Tavern, the center of social and political life in Alexandria during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Continue reading →
A Metrobus crashed into an Alexandria apartment last night. No one was injured as the resident wasn’t home and the driver had just offloaded his passengers due to a door problem — just before the bus started rolling away — but both apartment and bus appear to have been totalled. WJLA has more, and here’s some video of the scene from Associated Press:
This is the first of a series of posts from our authors, designed to give you a peek into who we are, beyond what you’ve read from us in the past. We’ll be featuring two authors a day for the next week in this space, as well as our usual features. We hope you enjoy!
I never intended to fall in love with DC.
Hell, I never intended to stay here so long. I got here in July of 2000, eight years ago this past weekend, after being offered a tech job in Courthouse. I was supposed to be working with a little startup, my own little piece of the dotconomy. Until they went broke. Before I even started. I asked the leasing office what my options were. The secretary snapped her gum, and said, “Well, there are provisions for death or bankruptcy.”
A Toast to the Flag. This is one piece of poetry, though a bit syrupy for my usual taste, and more patriotic sounding than I am known to go for, that always makes me feel good to be here in this great country and gives me pride in the flag. I first heard it in a very moving public ceremony at the Alexandria Scottish Rite Temple about a year and a half ago.
What is a flag? What is this thing I don’t mind people burning in order to express themselves, yet gets me choked up when presented by a National Sojourner and toasted in public? I have a strong sense of patriotism and national pride, yet I have never thought of myself as a flag-waving jingoistic person. I guess when it comes to the flag, things get a bit complicated.
The flag is a symbol of many things – democracy, truth, freedom from oppression – and yet it is still a symbol, meaning that it represents an idea and possibly different ideas to different people. People talk of the flag as if it is sacred. How sacred can something be if it simply represents an idea? The destruction of the cloth is not a destruction of the idea, yet people get quite upset when the flag is burned for some reasons but not for others. When I was a child it was more or less common practice to burn the flag if it touched the ground. This seems okay to most people but burning it in protest is not okay. To me, it’s the same thing.
Anyway, we have a pretty cool flag, get it now at the link. But where did it come from? And is it really based on George Washington’s coat of arms, as the legend goes? Or is it the basis for the original United States ‘stars and stripes’? This week’s Mythbusting gets to the bottom of the DC flag.
As I think about the flag and the great meaning it has for me, I grow concerned about its use as a political tool, especially as election season is rearing its campaign-hatted head. Those of us in the DC area are no strangers to this. A common mistake is to assume that the guy with the flag is what we label “patriotic” and that patriotism has a standard, common definition we all agree with. Not much can be farther from the truth. Again, symbols have differing, even changing, meanings.
Let’s take a moment on this July 4th and consider what it means to revere a symbol as much as a lot of our culture respects the flag. What does it mean to you?
For all you locals who don’t want to fight the incoming crowds for the fireworks displays across the region today, take heart. Alexandria’s found another excuse to throw some more explosives into the air next weekend.
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