The DC Traveler

Mary Jo at Fly Away Cafe hosts the monthly Carnival of Travelers, and this month her theme is, what else…Holiday Travel.
With posts submitted from around the globe, here’s a few of the highlights.

Audrey at Cracks in the Sidewalk tells us about a bunch of things to do in New York City, including attending Tuba Christmas at the Rockefeller Center Ice Skating Rink.
Spending Christmas on the road? Read what a travel pro Mary Jo recommends at Fly Away Cafe for enjoying Christmas dinner away from home.
Byteful Travel presents The Annual Holiday Music Extravaganza in Dallas.
Finally, if you haven’t made your holiday …read more

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Grammy-winner Cassandra Wilson was named “America’s Best Singer” by TIME magazine in 2001.
Interpreting classic jazz standards or singing her own bluesy jazz pieces is her sound today, but her background is varied, from playing in marching bands as a child to a back up singer with Joni Mitchell and  singer in funk bands.
In the 1980 she explored into the New York jazz scene and has since recorded over 20 albums, won a Grammy and was named the female Jazz Vocalist of the Year by Down Beat magazine, three years in a row.
Cassandra Wilson
Warner Theatre
513 13th Street, NW, between E …read more

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Here’s a wacky convention – Anime USA, designed to bring together fans of Japanese Anime (animation) and Magna (comics – pronounced MAHN-ga, and to educate people about and help promote Japanese arts and popular culture.
Pronounced ah-NEE-may, it’s a popular form of art used in television shows, video games, movies, and on countless Internet sites.
Animation was popular in both the U.S. and Japan after WW-II, but in Japan, anime and magna (animation and comics characters) accounted for over 40% of all of Japan’s domestic films. While in the U.S., animation was mostly targeted at young children, in Japan, it had …read more

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I grew up in a German neighborhood in Chicago.  When I say German neighborhood, the majority of the shops within a couple blocks of home required all of their employees to speak at least some German. 

But my favorite place in the old neighborhood was Meyer Delicatessen. It was an old world German deli filled with countless types of German sausages, cold cuts and food products. After I moved from Chicago, every trip back would require a stop at Meyer’s to fill a cooler to bring home.  Just walking in the door and smelling the rich flavors that permeated the walls …read more

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makes fun of everyone, but uses his Mexican-American heritage as an anchor to his humor. After staring in 5 seasons of ABC sitcom, “George Lopez”, he’s hitting the road and stopping in Washington, DC for three shows at the Warner Theatre.George Lopez
He’s released a couple funny Grammy-nominated CDs, an autobiography entitled “Why You Crying?”, which hit the NY Times Bestseller top 20 list, and has also appeared in a dozen movies.  
He’s also had a couple rather public controversies with Jay Leno and Carlos Mencia.
George Lopez
Warner Theatre
513 13th Street, NW, between E & F St.
Washington, D.C., 20004 (map it)
Dates and …read more

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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

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Over 20 million tourists visit Washington DC each year, and it’s a safe and tourist-friendly city.  Most local people will go out of their way to assist tourists, provide directions, take your photo in front of the White House or offer recommendations for dining, nightclubs and more. 
But you might just be approached by a scam artist offering you anything from tickets to “designer” products. 
So when visiting Washington, DC, you know you are getting ripped off if…

Anyone offers you discounted tickets to the National Zoo (it’s free).
You get approached to buy a Smithsonian Museum Pass, good at all …read more

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The Washington Nationals new $611 million stadium did nothing to propel the team to play competitive baseball this season. 
Finishing in last place in the National League East, the Nats had the worst record in baseball. 
Last season, the Nationals ended with a 73 win, 89 loss season, finishing in 4th place in the East division.
But if you can’t bare another five months without watching a Nat’s game, your final chance to see the National play at home is Thursday, September 25th.
Washington Nationals Baseball Nationals Park 1500 South Capitol Street, …read more

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“Here’s a bold Cabernet Sauvignon I created last season. Can you taste the raspberries and the hint of lavender?” That might be something you proudly state at your next wine tasting or dinner party. 
But even if you don’t own your own vineyard or winery in the South of France, Tuscany or the Napa Valley, you can still serve friends a personally created wine from the micro-winery, Carafe Wine Makers in suburban Alexandria, VA.
The concept of a boutique micro-winery or “brew on premise” winery is big in Canada, where over 600 micro-wineries are operating. Carafe Wine Makers, a franchise company with …read more

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In Washington, DC, when you are outside in public, you have to believe you are being monitored or at least will be at some point.
With over 5,200 surveillance cameras operational in the District, not including the ones in and around private and public schools, cameras run by news organizations, hotels, tourist attractions and even the public, you can assume you will at some point, be under someone’s watchful eye.
There’s even a live National Park Service Cherry Blossom cam and a dozen or so at the National Zoo, spying on the pandas and tigers, 24 hours-a-day.
But the most notable cameras …read more

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