visit DC – Finding My Wings

Not a lot of staying in this “stay-cation”

There is nothing like out of town visitors, especially those with children, to give you a completely new perspective on your hometown. Last week was jam-packed with favorite haunts and new surprises in the DC area.

It had been way too long since my niece had visited. She and her wonderful husband brought their two boys for their first introduction to the nation’s capital. As a dutiful great-aunt, I spent lots of time beforehand pouring over maps and articles about the latest and greatest activities for visitors to DC. Fortunately all that prep time was well spent and made the visit a lot smoother and more fun for all. While they did some exploration on their own, I was very happy to be included on most excursions. Continue reading Not a lot of staying in this “stay-cation”

When Nature Calls

Washington, DC is known for political and roadway gridlock, especially during the icy and snowy days of winter. We can’t compare our winter suffering to that of Boston, but this winter was unrelenting in its cold and disruption. And then came Spring!

Glorious, majestic, awe-inspiring. Pick a positive word and it’s likely to fit. For those of us fortunate to live in the Nation’s capital, the traffic jams and crowds are a small price to pay when you live in the most beautiful springtime city on the planet. Continue reading When Nature Calls

I’ve moved! Virtually, that is

The combination of unceasingly cold weather and the common cold have kept me close to my computer. With a bit of help, you are now seeing this blog and my website in their new home. The look is much the same for now but the address is streamlined. And if you find me from somewhere other than your phone, the subscribe option is readily visible.

The great news about virtual moves is that there are no packing boxes to unload or shelves to build so I am squeezing in some other activities. I’m a bit behind but I am watching the BET miniseries, The Book of Negroes, that I discussed a few weeks ago. The first 2 hours were what I imagined while reading the book, a very pleasant surprise.

My front-burner reading right now is a grand mix. A discussion of Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland is rescheduled for next week. Lahiri grabbed me from the first sentence and sent me off in search of info on the Naxalite movement in India that is the catalyst for the story. I’m also tasting some upcoming titles on my iPad. Having the chance to find a great story before it has been promoted and dissected to death is such fun. Of course, many of these advance reads are also good candidates for the remainder section of the bookstore. I just abandoned an upcoming novel about George Sand by a writer I usually enjoy. Her writing of semi-fictional accounts of real people is less appealing to me than the characters she creates on her own. An upcoming debut novel by Rebecca Dinerstein landed on my iPad. It is due out in April and I hope to have a review to share. She’s created two parallel threads, each with a distinct narrator. So far it is worth the read and I’m looking forward to seeing where she takes it.

Before I leave this space, I’d like to share the promise of spring. Back in 2010 the DC area was gripped by Snowmaggedon. It took a while, but the season changed and the cherry blossoms bloomed. I spent a glorious day with a camera watching nature reborn and people from all corners of the earth walking the Tidal Basin in celebration of Washington and spring.

Fighting hibernation

As much as I love reading, an activity perfectly suited for the shorter, colder, darker days of winter, there is nothing like an excursion to keep both mind and body sharp. This winter I’ve found myself a bit stymied in my quest to keep my inner excursionista happy. First off, the weather has not cooperated. Not that it’s been so terrible but it seems too many times I’ve put something on the schedule and the specter of icy roads/delays quashes the plan. Sometimes it’s a mundane appointment that is then rescheduled on a day that would have been perfect for a good downtown wander. If I were still using a paper calendar my January would be one big eraser-created hole.

Screen Shot 2015-01-27 at 5.58.55 PM Beyond the weather, a recent change to reading the Washington Post online (except on Sunday) has altered the number and range of local events/exhibits/opportunities that cross my path. Given the explosion of social media marketing and web guides you’d think it would be easy to hone in great things to see and do. The truth is the algorithms may show you the top three exhibits in town for the weekend but can’t show you the range of museum or gallery shows in the same way the listings in an old fashioned newspaper can. When the seasonal calendar of all theater/art exhibits/concerts for the upcoming months appears it is so much easier to grab a pen, circle those of interest and tear out the pages. Whether you are a local or just visiting, I have a favorite place online to look for something to do – a walking tour, exhibit or lesser known performance – and it’s Cultural Tourism DC. There is an annotated calendar that makes it much easier to pick, choose and schedule. Now that I’ve shared a trick to finding fun, who’s game for a trip to see “Decoding the Renaissance” at the Folger Shakespeare Library? Screen Shot 2015-01-27 at 11.20.42 PM

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