The DC Traveler

While it looks like a government building, the neoclassical building near  Dupont Circle is actually the headquarters of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.

The inside of the building holds in rather unique museum with very eclectic pieces of freemason history from presidents to actors, G-men to generals.
The museum includes:

36 original still life oil paintings of the various Rite elements by Robert H. White.
The official collection of memorabilia from FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover.
A letter from former President Harry S. Truman.
A life mask of President Abraham Lincoln.
A large collection of memorabilia from the actor Burl Ives, known for his roles in Cat …read more

Comments Off

During the fall season, there are dozens of corn mazes in the Washington, DC area where children and families can enjoy the thrill of navigating their way out of the purposely confusing paths and dead-ends of a well designed maze.
And there’s one corn maze about an hour southwest of Washington, DC, that celebrates not only Virginia tourism, but is designed for serious “mazers”.
 
The maze at Cows-N-Corn, a working 300 cow, 1800-acre dairy in Northern Virginia, boasts a 9-acre corn maze. And that’s about the size of nine football fields, plenty of space to get lost perhaps for days.
The …read more

Comments Off

If you have already toured the inside of the US Capitol Building, perhaps, now that the weather is starting to get a bit more bearable, it’s the perfect time to take an outside walking tour of the most recognizable landmarks in Washington, DC.
George Washington laid the Capitol’s cornerstone in 1793 and since it opened in 1800, it’s been the center of American power and government. 

The building needed to be partially rebuild after the British burned parts of Washington, DC in 1814.  In the 1850s, the Capitol building was expanded, with the massive dome top statue, Freedom being …read more

Comments Off

Originally on the site of a Methodist Episcopal church, the Greater New Hope Baptist Church at 8th and I Streets NW, just outside of Washington, DC’s Chinatown is an architectural landmark church, dating back to 1898.

The building’s style with its twin tall towers is considered similar to Berlin’s famous New Synagogue, build in 1866.
Originally on the site of a Methodist Episcopal church, the building was initially the home of Washington, DC’s oldest Jewish congregation, until 1954, when New Hope Baptist moved in.
The lower floors hold a large meeting room and cafeteria, while the top two floors house the church and …read more

1 Comment

Since It’s Monday, and I typically write a Monument Monday, but here’s one that’s monument to the performing arts – The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Next weekend, enjoy over 30 FREE music, dance and artistic performances at Washington, DC’s premiere center for the arts, The Kennedy Center and their annual Open House.
The range of entertainment of as varied as the number of performers.
Here’s just a sampling of the many free performances:

The Kennedy Center’s own Suzanne Farrell Ballet. Suzanne Ferrell  who was one of one of George Balanchine’s most celebrated ballerinas.
Washington’s own, National Symphony …read more

Comments Off

Travel back in time to the period of King Henry VIII and watch non-stop entertainment on 8 stages, ranging from performances for children to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as well as swashbuckling pirate shows and William Tell…well…telling stories. 
All the the annual Maryland Renaissance Festival just out side of Annapolis, Maryland.  

Enjoy over 35 groups of musicians and dancers, or cheer for your favorite mounted knight during the exciting jousting match.  But don’t miss some of the faire’s classic Renaissance food – like the hot apple dumplings, steak-on-a-stake or a classic smoked turkey leg, fit for a king.
…read more

Comments Off

Sure, Washington, DC may be a bustling metropolis and the center of democracy, but just an hour or so north of town, in Timonium, Maryland,  you can enjoy all that local farmers and ranchers have to offer, at the Maryland State Fair.
There are so many things to do at the Fair, so here’s the short list:

Pig races
Rodeo complete with bull riding
Watch a chainsaw sculptor in action
Travis Tritt in concert (Aug. 29),
Walk around the animal pens and see thousands of animals from alpacas to dairy cattle, chickens to baby lambs
Decadent chocolate contest
Horse and dog …read more

1 Comment

Washington, DC’s museum of the news, The Newseum, is offering free admission to children (3 kids get in free with each paid adult) for the rest of August.  That’s a $13.00 savings per child.
Newseum 555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20001 (map it )
Dates and Times – Daily, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Tickets – Free admission for children through August 31, 2008.
Adults – $20.00, Seniors – $18.00 less, kids 7-13 $13.00, under 7 free.  Date and time specific tickets are available online, at the door or by calling 1-888-639-7386.   …read more

Comments Off

America’s first President, George Washington, was a whiskey maker. 
During the American Revolution, run was the alcohol drink of choice. Around 90% of the alcohol consumed by the American colonies was British rum, imported from the West Indies.
In the 1790s, whiskey was quickly becoming the alcohol of choice for Americans, moving rum from the number one spot, mostly due to a higher cost for the British impost and, partly from a sense of nationalistic pride (whiskey was made locally, using American grain).
As a result in the change of taste,  thousands of distilleries were built  by 1800, but most were small operations …read more

2 Comments

Colvin Run Mill, in nearby Great Falls, Virginia is a working 19th-century water-powered gristmill, owner’s home and general store, set on a 38-acre historic site. There is also a recreation of a barn and blacksmith shop from the same era. The grain mill, powered by a waterwheel, was erected around the mid-1800s and ground grains for the local farming community.  Three grinding stones and various flour sifting apparatus are located in the basement of the mill, powered by three large wooden gears attached to the waterwheel. The miller’s house, just a short walk from the mill, was the residence …read more

1 Comment