The DC Traveler

The Bull Run Shooting Center in suburban Centreville, VA lets shotgun shooters looking to simulate the hunting experience and practice shooting targets without actually killing anything.
Skeet shooting and its related cousins, trap and sporting clays, is a competitive sport where participants try to break clay disks (pigeons). The neon colored “birds”  are flung into the air, at high speed, from a variety of positions on the shooting range. The shooter must quickly react, site and shoot at the pigeon with a shotgun.  The targets fly at different speeds, angles and trajectories, making it a challenging skill to learn.
The pigeons …read more

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Is there a more universally recognized toy than Legos?
Roughly 40 million children around the globe, spend 5 billion hours collectively playing with Legos each year, according to Lego.

And since 1949, 400 billion Lego elements have been manufactured or roughly, a 9,500 new pieces per minute.
With that many pieces floating around since 1948, you know Legos have a long long and interesting history.
So if you want to check out the latest in Lego-mania visit BrickFair ‘08 Public Expo this weekend. The event covers 12,000 square feet of original Lego creations from hundreds of creators, both children and adults. …read more

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Join the good King Phillipe and his marry men for dinner and a jousting tournament at Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament in a medieval castle-like setting.
Besides a jousting tournament on a large, indoor field where the regally attired knights compete for the hand of the beautiful princess, watch and cheer for your favorite knight as they test their skills in swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, and displays of horsemanship.
You dine on long tables while the Medieval Times knights joust and pummel each other with swords, maces, lances and the alabardas. But be prepared to eat with your hands, as no silverware is provided. 
The meal, …read more

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The site for the 1936 Olympics had been decided before Adolph Hitler took power.  But by the time the games were held, Hitler and his Nazi party were running Germany since 1933 and initially didn’t want the games held in Berlin.
Earlier in the year, Germany also hosted the Winter Games in Bavaria. But after realizing that the Summer Games could be turned into a massive propaganda campaign, Hitler pulled out all the stops and created an image of the new Germany, one of tolerance, peace and international cooperation, but also promoted his ideological belief of Arian racial supremacy.
The Nazis …read more

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Shark tagging….No, it’s not the newest version of online “tagging”, this is real, hands-on tagging of live sharks on the open ocean.
Join Baltimore Aquarium staff and Captain Mark Sampson, a recognized shark lecturer and writer, for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend a half-day on the water tagging live sharks off the coast of Ocean City.
Tagging sharks helps marine biologists and scientists, by providing valuable  on shark populations, habits, identity, migration and life span.

Shark Tagging in Ocean City, Maryland Ocean City, Maryland  (map it)
Dates and Times – a few weekends in late August (see below).

Saturday, August 23, …read more

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With $600,000 in prize money and 6,500 cheering fans, tennis stars play to win at the annual Washington, DC Legg Mason tennis championships.
The marque player is Andy Roddick, currently ranked 6th in the world. But watch out for the other players gunning for him, like left-hander Feliciano Lopez and 6’4” Russian-born Marat Safin.

Much of the 11-day tournament will be televised on ESPN 2.
Legg Mason Tennis Classic The William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center 16th & Kennedy Streets, NW Washington, DC 202-721-9500
Dates and …read more

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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

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It’s only July, but time for football. The 2008 Washington Redskins Training Camp is open  in suburban Ashburn, Virginia and fans Skins are welcome. And it’s free.
Watch the players warm-up, exercise, practice, and scrimmages from the sidelines. And stick around afterwards and you might get an autograph of your favorite Redskin. 
On Saturday, the Skins will play an intra-squad scrimmage as well as host their Fan Appreciation Day. Look for performances by the Redskin’s Marching Band, the Redskins Cheerleaders, autographed memorabilia and Redskins give-aways, and an address by head Coach Jim Zorn.

Washington Redskins 2008 Training Camp …read more

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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

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Sure, Washington, DC is a suit & tie kind of town, but a dress code to go bowling? 
Relax, there’s no need to rent a tux, but do leave the sweats, sports jerseys and tank tops at home, at Lucky Strike at Gallery Place, in Washington, DC’s Chinatown district.
It’s a combination hip bowling alley and trendy bar/restaurant. And the minute you walk in you know it’s DC’s ultimate uber-cool bowling lounge.
With about a dozen bowling lanes, and at least that many big screen TVs, comfortable booths, relaxing sofa pits, and three pool tables off to the side, it …read more

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