Posts Tagged ‘Washington DC’

Mount Vernon Estates: Free Admission on Presidents Day

Posted in Photography, Travels, Virginia, tagged , , , , , , , on Monday, 17 February, 2014| 6 Comments »

Mount Vernon Estates is offering free admission to the estate today, Presidents Day 2014 and to celebrate George Washington’s 282nd birthday. It’ll be an all-day birthday salute with the gates opening at 8 am. No doubt the grounds will look especially beautiful with the recent blanketing of snow. My past visits have been when the weather was a little warmer…

Mount Vernon Estate

The Beautiful Home of George Washington

Mount Vernon Camel

During the Holidays, Mount Vernon brings in a Camel which is what George Washington did when he lived there.

Mount Vernon Grounds

16-sided Barn

Mount Vernon with Geroge and Martha Washington

There won’t be any wine today but the twice yearly wine festival is always a lot of fun

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Walking along the trail at Mount Vernon. Dogs are welcome on the grounds

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Heading to the water/dock on the Mount Vernon grounds

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DC: Eastern Market

Posted in DC, Travels, United States, tagged , , , , , , on Sunday, 9 February, 2014| 8 Comments »

When my friend, Jayne, suggested an impromptu visit to Eastern Market, I jumped at the chance. It’s a seven-days-a-week market in the Capitol Hill area of Washington DC. On weekdays, the South Market (indoor) offers produce, meat, poultry, cheese, dairy products, vegan items and flowers.  On the weekends, local farmers and local artists/crafters come out to play.

We got there early (about 8:30am) and snagged a great parking spot just off the market area but many of the vendors were a little late setting up. Can’t blame them since it was freezing cold! We popped into Le Pain de Quotidien for tea and to warm up a bit. Great dog watching too ~ lots of folks out with their beautiful puppies.

Here are a couple of my “finds” for the day:
Vintage Purse Logan

Eastern Market Vintage Purse

A vintage purse with a painted shoe ~ got it for my daughter

Coffee Table

Coffee table close up

Coffee table and couch

A coffee table made of yardsticks ~ what’s not to love. It’s completely covered with the yardsticks, every inch. It’s very sturdy and the writings on the yardsticks are funny such as: “Report suspicious activity to Sherriff Larry R. Mincks, Sr.”

DC Scream

I love this painting inspired by Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”. The artist, Zachary Sasim had several paintings I wanted to purchase but, in the end, I couldn’t resist this one. I relate to it ~ don’t we all feel the anxiety when I think of DC politics.

Mirror

Couldn’t resist this old window pane with mirrors ~ goes perfectly over the mantel.

I feel like my house décor will be going in a different direction and I’ll call it “local artist chic”

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DC: Washington Capitals Hockey Game

Posted in DC, Travels, United States, Virginia, tagged , , , , on Friday, 7 February, 2014| 4 Comments »

Went to my first professional Hockey Game last night and had a fabulous time. I can only imagine what fun the true die-hard hockey fans feel like, especially when the puck goes in the net which it did FOUR times! The Capitals beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-2!
Hockey Game III
View from the nosebleed section. We had plenty of company up there.

We hopped on Metro’s yellow line at Huntington in Northern Virginia and it took us about 20 minutes to get to Gallery Place/Verizon Center. Too easy! We went half a block down to Clyde’s for a quick bite. It was packed with Capital fans and we started to walk out thinking it was too busy when the maître de stopped us and said he’d check for a table for four. He led us to a booth in the bar area and we ended up having a great meal (burgers/Portobello sandwich/salmon ~ all good). The question is how much should we have tipped for such special attention. Haven’t had that happen to us before ~ usually they let us walk out the door. Service at Clyde’s was fantastic ~ our server was so efficient and I marveled at her friendly, unflappable attitude amongst the crush of people. I highly recommend Clyde’s if you’re going to a show/game at the Verizon center.

Game time was 7pm and it started off with beautiful renditions of “O, Canada” and “The Star Spangled Banner” ~ loved that the announcer encouraged the audience to sing along! As I looked around from our nosebleed seats, I could only see red ~ everyone (except us) seemed to be wearing a Capitals jersey. It was a relatively youthful crowd and I’m guessing more than a few were on “dates” ~ I love to people-watch especially people on first dates. So romantic.

Secretary of State John Kerry was there to drop the ceremonial puck and to honor eight players going to the Sochi Winter Olympics.  When the US team members, John Carlson (Capitals) and Blake Wheeler (Jets) were announced, the “U.S.A” chant began. Left me feeling rather patriotic. Other Washington Capital team members going to the Olympics are: Alex Ovechkin (crowd favorite) for  Russia, Nicklas Backstrom for Sweden and Martin Erat for the Czech Republic. From the Winnipeg Jets: Michael Frolik and Ondrej Pavelec will play for the Czech Republic, and Olli Jokinen for Finland.

Hockey Secretary on the ice
Not the best photo but that’s John Kerry and the Olympic-bound players.

The game was very exciting with non-stop, back and forth skating. I was exhausted just watching. The Capitals not only won last night but gained four new hockey fans!

If you want to attend a game, click here for tickets.

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US Botanic Garden

Posted in DC, Travels, tagged , , , , on Sunday, 15 May, 2011| Leave a Comment »

After enjoying the flowers in my pretty Virginia backyard, I decided it was time to visit the US Botanic Garden which is located at 100 Maryland Ave SW in DC. It’s between 1st and 2nd streets SW and is adjacent to the US Capitol. We drove into DC and found metered parking on 3rd street. The closest metro stations are Federal Center or Capitol South. The metro bus lines are #30, 32, 34, 35 or 36 which you take to Independence and 1st Street SW. Just walking up to it is so impressive with all the beautiful glass and the US Capitol in the background.

The Garden has been open to the public (continuously) since 1850. There are more 60,000 plants among the gardens collection and it even has historic specimens which date back to 1842.  I enjoyed the different sections which included medicinal plants, garden primeval, children’s garden, Hawaii, World Desserts, Plant Exploration, Rare/Endangered species, Jungle, Southern Exposure and the Orchid room. I spent about an hour in the building and another half hour roaming around outside. You could do it in less but I was taking my time and sat out to enjoy the beautiful day.

         

There is a fun section for kids and the outside garden area was spectacular. Rose section, First Ladies Water park, and benches/tables everywhere in case you want to picnic.  Being from Hawaii, I particularly enjoyed the Orchid Room but have to say, my daughter has been growing orchids which are just as gorgeous.

Favorite Girl’s Orchids:

There’s no entrance fee and the gardens are open from 10 am to 5 pm daily and you’re welcome in the Bartholdi Park (outside) from dawn until dusk.  No smoking allowed anywhere.  Handheld cameras and videos are allowed anytime. Sketching is allowed along with the use of easels, tripods and art material but if you’re using solvents you’ll need to get permission and a permit.

For detailed information, go to: US Botanic Garden

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