The DC Traveler

On The DC Traveler, I’ve written about places where you can take skydiving lessons, flying lessons, and even helicopter lessons in the Washington, DC area.
But I found this video and thought, now this extreme sport might make an interesting post. But after watching the video, it’s beyond insane, it’s actually a step or two past suicidal.
Here’s the Flying Dude, Loïc Jean-Albert, doing his version of parachute base jumping.

And If I find a place in the Washington, DC area that teaches this extreme sport, perhaps somewhere in the mountains of West Virginia, I probably won’t write about it. This is simply …read more

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The theme of a Comic Book or “comic” for short can be funny, serious, historical or action-oriented, and many involve a super-hero or notorious villains. 
Dating back to the first American comic book, The Yellow Kid in McFadden’s Flats in 1897, the history of the comic book is divided into several historical eras.  The time when comics grew to mainstream popularity was during the 1940s and 50s, starting with the introduction of Superman in 1938, and is considered to be the Golden Age of comics.
But during that period, comics, especially the more violent and graphic ones fell under the scrutiny …read more

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Finding and developing substances to relieve pain have been around almost as long as man. The first opiates, derived from the poppy, have been documented as far back as 4000 BC.
Searching for an effective medically-safe pain killer, led to the discovery of a wonder drug, morphine, in 1804. It’s appropriately named after the after the Greek god of dreams, Morpheus. But initially was used in a rather unique way - as a cure to help people overcome the grips of opium and alcohol addiction. Later, it became the much needed pain-killer of choice on the battlefields of the U.S. …read more

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Just a few years ago (pre-9/11), you could take a quick 20-minute helicopter tour over Washington, DC. Now, if you want a bird’s eye view of the White House or the National Mall, you probably need to know a high-ranking government official that can get you a ride on Marine One.
But you can still enjoy the thrill of wingless flying by taking a helicopter flying lesson at American Helicopters located at the Manassas Regional Airport, just an hour west of Washington, DC.
A licensed helicopter instructor will provide some basic safely instructions, as well as the basics of how to …read more

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Leonard, a married American living in post-WW-II London, gets arrested for the murder of a lonely but rich, middle-aged widow. His questionable involvement with her suggests he’s guilty.  It becomes more and more likely that he’s committed this horrible crime when the police discover the infatuated victim made him the beneficiary of her fortune.
Leonard needs a lawyer, a good one.  Enter Sir Wilfrid Robarts. A sickly barrister who’s under strict doctor’s orders to avoid stress, cigars, drinking and most importantly…the courtroom.  He takes Leonard’s case anyway, but only under the watchful eye of his private and overly-controlling nurse.   
When the case …read more

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Not many bands can split up and have its members start multiple bands that take the original sound and morph it into something big. That’s what the English Beat did, and they are coming to 9:30 Club in Washington, DC.
After breaking up in 1983, members of The English Beat, or as they are known in Britain, The Beat, went on to form General Public, Fine Young Cannibals and Big Audio Dynamite.
But the member’s roots remained deeply infused with ska, punk, reggae and soul.
Having had several mainstream and underground hits, such as “Can’t Get Used to Losing You,” “Mirror in the …read more

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Have you been lusting over one of the latest high-def, wide-screen, uber high-tech plasma televisions?
Less than one hundred years ago, people looked at home radios the same way.
Want to see where it all started? At the Radio and Television Museum in suburban Bowie, Maryland, you can step back in time and see some of the earliest home radios and televisions.
In the early 1900s, inventors tested and played with technology that would transmit not just sound, but also an image over the air. It took another 20 years to learn to transmit a signal with enough quality that …read more

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Happy President’s Day from Washington, DC. With the primary in full swing, I thought I might review the roots of the first presidential election and the Learning Center at the home of George Washington.
In both the first and second election for President (1789 and 1792) after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, General George Washington received only 69 votes. But at that time, it was a landslide.
Since there was no popular vote for president by citizens at the time, only members of the elected electoral college cast votes, making Washington the only president to win 100 percent of …read more

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Escape the cold of winter and visit the tropical warmth where orchids flourish, at the Orchid Show at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, DC.
Orchids (Orchidaceae) are the largest family of flowering plants, with over 22,000 documented varieties.  The most common use of orchids is not for flower arrangements, but for the making of vanilla extract and flavorings.  But orchids are usually known for their beauty and floral fragrance.

The show will feature the diversity variety of the orchid family exploring its adaptation, wide range of colors and beauty.
An Alphabet Garden of Orchids Flower Show U.S. Botanic Garden100 Maryland …read more

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In the latest annual Forbes survey of America’s most wired cities, Washington, DC came in at number 11, an improvement from it’s 14th place ranking last year.
The rankings are based on a combination of the adoption of broadband Internet access in the home, the number of companies providing high-speed Internet access in the area and the number of public Wi-Fi wireless Internet hot spots per capita in 30 major cities.
For the second year in a row, Atlanta won the honors, with Seattle close behind.
Some of the more interesting places in DC to find free Wi-Fi wireless Internet access is …read more

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