It’s finally feeling like Spring, so Dave and I decided to spend an afternoon in Old Town Alexandria. We didn’t have much on our agenda besides walking the cute streets of old town and visiting Gatsby’s Tavern museum.
Archive for the Category » DC Surroundings «
It’s officially the best time to enjoy spring in Washington, D.C. The National Park Service announced the cherry blossom trees in D.C. hit peak bloom on Thursday (April 5th), and the best time for viewing will continue for up to seven days. Peak bloom is defined as the day when 70% of the Yoshino variety blossoms are open on the cherry trees surrounding the Tidal Basin.
The pink blossoms of the Kwanzan trees are often found in the East Potomac Park area, while the white blossoms of the Yoshino are found closer to the northern part of the Tidal Basin near the Washington Monument.
With the weather being cold all March long, we didn’t feel like doing or seeing anything in DC, although there is always something going on in this vibrant city. However, we set up a date for tonight, which we enjoyed quite a bit.
It’s Friday!!! This Friday after work Dave and I stopped at our local Ledo pizza restaurant to enjoy my favorite pizza there: Pomodoro Bianco. Just want to remember this nice relaxing evening with my hubby in a cute comfy place. 🙂
This year we celebrated Valentine’s Day at Portner Brehouse, Brewery Restaurant & Craft Beer Test Kitchen, after work. This restaurant was just recently opened. It has some interesting menu items of classic and contemporary German-American cuisine. The settings resemble a comfy brewpub featuring local craft beers and an elevated bar menu in a relaxed atmosphere.
Pumpkin Hill is open now at Nalls Produce and it is absolutely beautiful! Dave and I enjoyed this event during our visit last year and couldn’t miss it this year. Here we found dozens of varieties of specialty pumpkins plus awesome up to 800 lb pumpkins and tons of pumpkins ready for carving. The little ones can meet Penny the pig, dig for treasure, and climb the Pumpkin Wall for photos! Lots of fun for everyone. It wouldn’t be fall without visiting Nalls!
The landscape and climate of Virginia offers countless choice sites for vineyards. Each of the state’s main regions boast vineyards and wineries. Dave and I have been living in Virginia for 9 years now, but this was the first time we got to visit a Virginia vinery. We chose the family owned Pilip Carter vinery in Hume, VA. We scheduled our visit a month ahead, but weather wasn’t great this day. Nevertheless, we had an amazing time.
This Saturday Dave and I went on the 2:45 hour Western Maryland scenic train ride with 1 hour stop in Frostburg. The Cumberland’s Crescent train departs from Downtown Cumberland climbing high into the Allegheny Mountains to Frostburg.
This year’s 4th of July we celebrated at the National Mall. When we started living in the DC metro area, the first 3 years we enjoyed the Independence Day fireworks in Washington, DC. Then, we explored various options and places to celebrate the 4th of July and view other fireworks. We’ve been to the party at the mansion in Maryland, on the USS Constellation historic ship in Baltimore and numerous times on the beach among others. Here are a couple posts of our Independence Day celebration at Mount Vernon and at Virginia Beach, but there is nothing more impressive than the fireworks at the National Mall.
Dave and I finally made a trip to Chantilly to visit the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles International Airport. The center is an extension of the original National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall, which we really need to re-visit. Together, the two sites showcase the world’s largest collection of aviation and space artifacts.
The design showcases the museum’s artifacts. It is configured like an airport terminal housing: the main hangar, the space hangar, the restoration hangar and artifact storage. The exhibition space is 10 stories high and is as long as three football fields. An active runway allows planes to fly in and taxi directly to the museum.