The DC Traveler

Experience the unique holiday charm and colonial history at a evening candlelight walking tour of historic Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. 
The self-guided tours include four historical building.  On the walking tour are:

Gadsby’s Tavern Museum – a colonial tavern and meeting place.
Carlyle House – Alexandria’s only stone Palladian-style house dating back to 1753.
Lee-Fendall House, the home of the Lee family, and son Robert E. Lee. The urban plantation house was built in 1785 and restored to its early Victorian elegance.
Old Presbyterian Meeting House – In 1772, a small group of Calvinist who had split from the Church of England, …read more

Comments Off

Visiting Mount Vernon at Christmas time is an annual holiday tradition. George and Martha know how to deck the halls, decorate Christmas trees and welcome people into the first President’s home.
This year kids will enjoy the 12 themed Christmas trees, one for each day of Christmas. Each professionally decorated with themes relating to George Washington, life at Mount Vernon, and the time when the Washington’s lived there.
And look for the live Christmas camel, just like George Washington had at Mt. Vernon during the Christmas season of 1787, two years before he became America’s first President.
Besides a gingerbread recreation of …read more

2 Comments

The Fall weather has been so mild in Washington, DC, it’s hard to believe that the ice skating rink at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden is scheduled to open tomorrow (a day where the forecast predicts rain and a high temperature of over 60 degrees).

Sculpture Garden Ice-Skating Rink
National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden
Constitution Avenue, NW at 7th Street NW
Washington, DC (map it)
202-289-3360
Dates and Times – November 15 through mid-March, 2009

Monday – Thursday 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Friday and Saturday -10:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Sunday – 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The rink is Closed on Christmas and New …read more

2 Comments

With the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains as a back drop, enjoy a sampling of wines from one of 17 Virginia wineries along with enjoy festival foods while watching hot air balloons (and even a few lawnmower races).
In it’s 12 year, the Hot Air Balloon and Wine Festival at Historic Longbranch had lots of fun activities throughout the day, including:

Live entertainment
Mansion tours
Antique cars and the ld Dominion Fire Society antique fire engine display
Kids activities
Monster Truck rides
Crafts and area artisans
Radio-controlled planes
Lawnmower races

Hot Air Balloon and Wine Festival at Historic Longbranch 
Longbranch Historic House
1830 Longbranch Lane 
Millwood, Virginia 22646 (map it)
540-837-1856
Dates and Times – …read more

Comments Off

The Pentagon’s new 9/11 Memorial was dedicated on the 7th anniversary of the September 11th attack and crash of American Airlines Flight 77.

Located on the western edge of the Pentagon’s grounds, just across the Potomac River from the National Mall in Washington, DC, the site is open 24 hours-a-day to the public, it is adjacent to the original impact spot.
The 184 victims of the tragedy (59 victims on the plane and 125 died inside the Pentagon) are commemorated by a "memorial unit" or steel bench, one  for each person killed. 
A gray concrete retaining wall around …read more

2 Comments

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

Associate Conductor, Emil de Cou, conducts the National Symphony Orchestra for the annual Annual Labor Day Concert on the West lawn of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC.

National Symphony Orchestra Labor Day concert West lawn of the US Capitol Building E. Capitol and First Streets, NW  Washington, DC   (map it)
Dates and Times – Sunday, August 31, 2008, 8:00 p.m. Gates open at 3:20 p.m.
Tickets – FREE , no tickets required, but all attendees are subject to a security search
Nearest Metro Subway Station – Capitol South – Blue and …read more

Comments Off

Now that the dog days of summer are here, kick back and enjoy a relaxing day rafting, canoeing or tubing down the Shenandoah River.
I recently took a short rafting with Front Royal Canoe Company and the entire experience was great.
FRCC rents canoes, one and two-person kayaks, inflatable rafts and tubes for rides down the Shenandoah River.  You start out at their facility, grab a life jacket, and they shuttle you and your choice of water craft to the drop off point.  After some directions and basic instruction, off you go. 
Trips range from under 2 hours, about 3 …read more

1 Comment

It’s the classic Victorian love story scene — a couple lounging in a rowboat, on a lazy summer afternoon in the middle of the lake, while he woos her with poetry by Byron or Keats.
And you too can add a bit of romance to your life and surprise your loved one with an afternoon or sunset rental of a rowboat at Burke Lake Park, in Fairfax Station, Virginia. All you need is a book of your favorite poet’s work.  Mother Nature can proved a romantic sunset.

In the late 1950s, Fairfax County Park Authority decided to create a public fishing lake. …read more

Comments Off

The University of Maryland near Washington, DC offers free star gazing at its campus observatory.

The observatory uses 4 telescopes during open houses, ranging from an 8″ 1960s-era NASA reflector, to a 20″ reflector. 
The star gazing evening starts with a 30-minute presentation by an astronomical expert, followed by a tour of the observatory and, if weather permits, some star gazing.
The summer lecture schedule includes topics such as little galaxies,  black holes, the Hubble telescope, and more.
Univ. of Maryland Observatory Open House NightsUniversity of Maryland Observatory – Lecture Hall Across from UM System Administration building at 3300 Metzerott …read more

Comments Off