The DC Traveler

It’s 2:30 in the morning. You’ve been out enjoying a bit of DC’s nightlife. But before heading back to your hotel, you decide you want a slice of pizza.
But not just any slice, you want a extra large JUMBO slice.
Surrounded by bars and nightclubs, Pizza Mart in the heart of Adams Morgan, has been satisfying late night partiers with probably the largest slice of pizza on the East Coast.
While most other pizza parlors use a 16-inch pan and call it an “extra large”, the folks at Pizza Mart use a giant 36-inch pan. Then they slice it into only 8 pieces …read more

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In 1960, jazz master “Duke” Ellington and composer Billy Strayhorn (Take the A Train) worked on a jazzy, slightly campy, yet whimsical remake of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” ballet score.
Momentum Dance Theater takes Ellington’s score and takes a twist on the classic Nutcracker ballet, with the Jazz, Hip-Hop Nutcracker. They fast-forwarded the original story and dancing to 2006. The music combines both the reworked Ellington jazz, swing and blues Nutcracker score with current hip-hop and club music. The dancing takes on other forms by combining jazz and hip-hop dance with breakdancers and Latin dances turing it into a high-energy, updated “urbal …read more

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In late 1862 during the second year of the Civil War, the ineffective and indecisive Union General, George B. McClellan, was replaced by President Lincoln with General Burnside. A month later, and after being pushed by Lincoln, Burside developed an offensive plan of attack against General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.
His plan involved staging part of his army of 120,000 men to a visible site so that the Confererate army could follow their movements. Then, after signaling his intentions, he planned on rapidly moving his forces in front of the Confederate troops.
After a series of errors, miscommunications and significant delays …read more

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The Nutcracker ballet that we know and love today with it’s Sugar-Plum Fairy and Waltz of the Snowflakes, has evolved and been adapted from the original classic Gernam story written in 1816, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.
The Nutcracker Suite ballet is a story about a seven-year-old’s favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, which comes alive on Christmas night and takes her to a magical kingdom of dancing dolls and toys that come alive after the nutcracker kills the Mouse King.

In 1844, Alexandre Dumas (writer of among other works, The Count of Monte Cristo,) adapted the original story and it was …read more

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The Royal Norwegian Embassy is holding the 10th annual Norwegian Christmas at Union Station on November 28th.
The actor Earle Hyman who portrayed Bill Cosby’s father, Russell Huxtable on the popular television show The Cosby Show, will be lighting the 30-foot Christmas tree in the Main Hall of Union Station at 6:00 p.m.
Team USA Ice Sculpting captain and World Ice Art Champion Steven Berkshire (did you know the U.S. had an ice sculpting team?), will sculpt a life-size polar bear from a 1400-pound block of ice.

A Norwegian-themed holiday model train is also operating Monday - Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. …read more

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Public safety and law enforcement authorities closed the Lincoln Memorial on The National Mall just before noon after discovering suspicious liquids and a note in the public bathroom.
Read more.
UPDATE: The memorial was reopened by 3:00 p.m. after a Gatorade bottle and a travelers’ coffee mug were found in the rest room. No injuries were reported.
I guess it pays to properly dispose of your trash and finish your drinks.

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It’s holiday shopping season once again and that means the Washington, DC annual sales tax exemption is in effect.
Running through midnight December 3rd, the exemption applies to every item of clothing, shoes or accessories priced under $100. The exemption eliminates the 5.75% sales tax.
“Accessories” include jewelry, watches, purses, scarves, sunglasses, umbrellas, gloves, ties, hats, belts and other traditional accessory items.

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Dulles Airport stairs and escalators.
Image - personal collection
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Unofficially known as the “Blackbird“, the titanium-skinned Lockheed SR-71 long-range reconnaissance aircraft was in operation by the U.S. from the 1960s until 1990.
The SR-71 was the world’s fastest and highest flying aircraft in history. At altitudes around 80,000 feet, it reached speeds in excess of Mach 3 (2000 mph). In 1976, it set a record of almost 2,200 mph at a record-breaking altitude of just over 85,000 feet (16 miles).

To provide an idea of the incredible speed the Blackbrid was capable of, a trans-Atlantic flight in a typical Boeing 747 took approximately 6 hours and the same trip on the supersonic Concorde …read more

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A little French bistro in the heart of Georgetown was once the site of a terrible and infamous spy double-cross.
While James Bond may dine on caviar and 1955 Dom Perignon, a KGB agent met his CIA handler for a casual French dinner one evening in 1985.
The agent, Vitaly Yurchenko, had defected to the U.S. five years earlier and was providing Soviet secrets to the CIA. During the course of their meal, he either changed his mind about working for the Americans or suspected that the CIA knew that he may have been working both sides of the street.
At one point …read more

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