Tag Archives: potomac

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Sunset on the Potomac
‘Sunset on the Potomac’ by specimenlife

It’s difficult to capture the vastness of nature through photography. A track of mountains or an ocean stretching infinitely on the horizon are unquestionably photogenic, but the challenge lays in conveying the scale before you. In the case of specimenlife’s photograph, a wandering cloud finds several points of scale to remind the viewer just how big they actually are. Land, air, and sea are all dwarfed. Clouds are so present in our daily lives that we only think twice about them if they pose a threat to our outdoor activities or commute, but specimenlife turns this ordinary occurrence to the extraordinary. His compelling colors and strong composition keep your eye moving around the photograph. The lines the sun draws through the cloud and along the sky leave one in awe of the majesty of nature.

The Daily Feed, We Green DC
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Shop for Food, Save Our River

Photo courtesy of
‘Great Falls in Flood- March 17 2010’
courtesy of ‘Roger Photos’

Hold on to your grocery list! Just in time for Earth Day, next Wednesday you can shop for groceries and restore our water, all at once!

Shop at any of the three DC Whole Foods locations — P Street, Georgetown, and Tenleytown — from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on April 21st, and 5% of the day’s profits will go to Potomac Riverkeeper.

Potomac Riverkeeper staff will be handing out hats, bumper stickers, and brochures to shoppers as well, so you can learn more about this great organization and how it keeps our river (and our drinking water) healthy and clean.

The Daily Feed, We Green DC
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We Love the River!

Rope Swing Over River

Summer Swing

If you love DC, this weekend join us in giving some love to the river!

Saturday marks the 22nd Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup, which brings together people from all over the community. Last year, cleanups took place at approximately 500 sites–and hauled out more than 290 tons of trash!

We Love DC, Trail Voice, Friends of Rock Creek’s Environment, the DC Trash Runners and more are partnering to clean up Rock Creek Park.

To sweeten the pot, we’ve teamed with local vendors to offer things like a morning yoga stretch and fresh baked goods, plus an option to clean up while taking a morning run.

Meet us at 9 a.m. at the P Street bridge over Rock Creek Park, about 4 blocks west of Dupont Circle. Sign up on the Trail Voice site! Can’t make ours? Join another of the hundreds of sites closer to your home.

Clean-up site is just west of Dupont Circle in Rock Creek Park from 9:00 a.m. – 12 noon on Saturday, April 10. There is no cost for you to participate. It is recommended that you bring your own work gloves, although some will be available on-site.

The Daily Feed
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Area Parks Are All Wet

Photo courtesy of
‘Waters rise around Roosevelt Island’
courtesy of ‘snapzdc’

As the flood flows on, more pictures flood in — this time, with news of the parks.

Great Falls and its ever-popular Billy Goat Trail have been closed since Friday. Earlier today, a park official told me the towpath was accessible for a short distance around Old Angler’s Inn, but underwater above and below that point.

In addition to inundating Washington Harbour and the Mt. Vernon Trail, the Potomac has spilled into now-closed Theodore Roosevelt Island and covered parts of the Potomac Heritage Trail as it heads north from the island’s parking lot.

And while there’s the broken lock at the C&O Canal, at mid-afternoon there was just quick-flowing muddy water — and fortunately no houses or pianos or cows floating through. More pics after the break. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Washington Harbour Boardwalk Flooded

Potomac River Floods Washington Harbour

We’ve got a major Coastal Flood Warning today, with the tidal Potomac swelling to 3-4 ft above flood level, and 5-10 ft around Georgetown. Be safe and cautious if you live or work near the Potomac River or the C&O Canal, and don’t try to drive through flood water. The National Harbour boardwalk and parts of the driveway to K Street are inundated, and as has already been mentioned, a broken C&O Canal lock may cause additional flooding in Lower Georgetown. Parts of the The Mount Vernon Bike Trail are underwater, and of course Old Town Alexandria is getting swamped as well.

After the jump, a hydrograph and some bigger photos. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Flood Warning

Flooded Washington Harbour 2

The Washington Harbour Boardwalk in Georgetown is underwater this morning, as the muddy, debris-strewn Potomac River swells to flood level following Sunday and Monday’s rain. NWS has issued a Coastal Flood Warning for our area. Highest afternoon tides will be around 5:30PM.

The rest of the Harbour is behind a floodwall that they have ready just for these occasions, so those of you who eat at Tony & Joe’s, Agraria, Cabanas, Nick’s Riverside Grill, and Sequioa should be just fine and dry.

After the jump, a video of how fast the river is moving, more photos, and the view from Old Town: Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, We Green DC
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Something’s Fishy

Photo courtesy of
‘A River Runs Through It’
courtesy of ‘Brian Knight Photography’

Here’s another good reason to use all-natural lotions and potions — they can help you stay a manly man or a girly girl. How’s that?

Well, earlier this week, a new report said that now 80 percent of the male fish swimming in the Potomac River have developed eggs. Since the river provides 90 percent of DC’s drinking water, this is reason to sit up and take notice.

What’s going on? Experts aren’t entirely sure, but they’re pointing an accusing finger at endocrine disruptors in the water. The good news — you can help! Put unused medicines in the trash (not down the drain), and choose personal care products without chemicals.

And guys, remember. If you get pregnant…there is something in the water.

Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Cheesetique

Photo courtesy of
‘Cheesetique’
courtesy of ‘angela n.’

In my humble opinion, cheese shops are too few and far between. Americans settle for the lactic crap that comes in baggies at super markets and fail to enjoy the finer aspects of one of God’s greatest creations. Sure, cheddar melted over tortilla chips has its place, but there’s so much that goes unrealized in the world of cheese.  Fortunately, there’s a place in Del Ray called Cheesetique: it purveys the wonders of excellent fromage to the greater DC area.

Cheestique is, perhaps, the brightest star in the glimmering neighborhood of Del Ray, Alexandria.  Over the past few years, this quaint area has been a haven for simple, unpretentious restaurants that serve excellent food to the many young families that occupy the neighborhood. None is as well conceptualized or executed as the Cheesetique.  By day it serves as a specialized grocery with dozens of excellent cheeses and decent bottles of wine.  By night, it’s a wine and cheese bar that is the first stop for a date night, or as the romantic destination itself. The former iteration was my first exposure to it.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Potomac Man Drives Self-Converted Electric Car

Photo courtesy of
‘Black Dodge Neon’
courtesy of ‘yaybiscuits123’

WaPo brings us a story today about Michel Bonard, of Potomac, MD, who has converted an old Dodge Neon into an efficient electric car. It now requires him zero gallons of fuel to get around town! As long as that trip is under 30 miles (the capacity of the charge), he can silently roam around in this ultra-eco and economically friendly Neon. Michel completed the conversion in his own garage and is proving what a little know-how and ingenuity can do to solve some of the biggest problems facing us today (that would be the whole energy thing).

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Special Events, The Features, The Great Outdoors, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Food & Wine Festival at National Harbor

Food and Wine Festival

Summertime is festival time, and I’m not complaining. After attending Savor a week ago, I had no idea what to expect going into The Food and Wine Festival at National Harbor. Would it be fancy? Would it be lame? Would they have enough food and wine to keep me happy? Actually, does anyone ever have enough food and wine to keep me happy? Is there enough food and wine in the world to keep me happy for life? Ah! So many existential questions, but I digress. Basically, Jasmine and I headed over to National Harbor with zero expectations, and wound up extremely happy, totally entertained, bellies satisfied, heads full of wine.

We took the water taxi over from Alexandria, quite nice. Pretty views of Alexandria and National Harbor, and I generally just love boats. Period. If you’re a regular reader, you already know that if there is an event or location near, on, or around water, I’ll like it. It’s a guarantee. So National Harbor already had that going for it, as the festival exhibitors lined the boat docks, so we were on water the entire time. Combine that with wine, and food, and I think you’ve got a total winner. Continue reading →

Crime & Punishment, Foggy Bottom, The Daily Feed, The Great Outdoors, WTF?!
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MPD Divers in the Potomac

Police Divers in the Potomac

What was up with those MPD scuba divers in the Potomac just off Washington Harbour this morning? Did someone throw evidence into the river? Or was someone sent to sleep with the snakeheads in cement shoes? In any case, thanks to the officers for letting me go pseudo-paparazzi on the diving action this morning and indulging me in a bit of scuba talk. No way I’d dive in the cold, muddy Potomac River right by a sewer outlet in December — unless the city was paying me for it.

Adventures, Alexandria, Entertainment
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Tourism: The Potomac Riverboat Company

Photo courtesy of Me
Out on the Potomac
courtesy of Me

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 →