The DC Traveler

It’s time once again to spend Christmas with George Washington and celebrate an A-list Christmas party at Mt. Vernon, complete with waltzing cherry blossoms and dancing sugar plums. With King George as the villainous Rat King and George Washington as the Nutcracker, it’s hard not to fall in love with this Washington Ballet tradition, based on Tchaikovsky’s musical score and the Alexandre Dumas story.

The Nutcracker story is about a little girl’s favorite Christmas present,  a toy Nutcracker, which comes alive on Christmas night. The Nutcracker takes her on a magical trip visiting dancers from far away places like Arabia, the Orient and …read more

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I was driving in Northern Virginia yesterday, at the time when the sun was just about to set over the trees and noticed this pond with some explosive colors of fall foliage.
I shot just a few seconds of video and here it is — my first mini-clip.
This upcoming weekend will be the best time to take a drive to enjoy nature’s colorful rainbow.
And if you need an idea of where to go for some of the best colors, check out my recommendation and a couple surprising photos from this past weekend (with more to come).

Images - courtesy of Mother Nature, special thanks to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart …read more

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Across the street from Lafayette Park on H Street is the Stephen Decatur House, the former home one of American’s most famous naval heroes and the last private residence on Lafayette Square.  It’s also one of DC’s oldest surviving homes, dating back to 1818.
Decatur served as a U.S. naval officer and held several important commands in the undeclared naval war with France, the War with Tripoli (Barbary War) and the War of 1812. Starting his Naval career as a Midshipman onboard the USS United States starting in 1798, he later commanded that same vessel. His accomplishments included the recapturing of a U.S. warship that …read more

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While recently driving, I noticed one of the many historical markers along so many of the area’s roads.  These markers are all over the place, marking Revolutionary War battles, Civil War battlefields, the sited of historical events and buildings as well as other historical places. But on this one, three words caught my eye - Nike Missile Site.

About 10 minutes later, I spotted another Nike marker.  It got me thinking.
As a very young kid, I recall riding in the back seat of my parent’s car along Chicago’s Lake Michigan shoreline and seeing Nike air defense missiles pointing skyward along the route.
Not …read more

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It’s the ideal time for Fall color in the area, with the region at about 60% of it’s seasonal change completed. One of the region’s best places for Fall color is Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park.
But just about anywhere in the area is a great place for viewing the changing of the season.
Here’s a couple examples I saw yesterday on a local road.
 

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Technorati Tags: Fall colors, Virginia, Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Blue Rigde Mountains, Washington DC, DC, Washington, travel, Washington DC travel, vacation, b5 media, tourist information, local attractions, site seeing, The DC Traveler, …read more

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American travel writer and documentary maker, Karin Muller, has authored three travel books including Hitchhiking Vietnam: A Woman’s Solo Journey in an Elusive Land, where she spent seven months traveling alone through Vietnam by motorbike and on foot.
Her latest 2006 documentary film, Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa, she chronicles a yearlong quest to understand the Japanese concept of “wa” (harmony). Attempting to strip herself of her Western gaijin (foreigner) mentality, her journey helped her discover the ancient heart of modern Japan, including ideals such as unquestioning commitment, rule following, single-minded devotion to detail and the classic samurai code.  

Along …read more

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I finally made the trip to Skyline Drive, in the Shenandoah National Park this past weekend. And it was really worth it. 
Luckily, my timing was perfect as the colors were fantastic. The temps were mild and the sun cooperated, at least part of the day.  And surprisingly, the traffic was non-existent.
But I was a bit surprised to see some snow on the ground in a few places, at around 2,800 feet. 

While the snow didn’t stick to the road, it did cover the ground in some places. Even enough for some early-season snowman building.

More non-snow photos to follow.
Images - personal collection
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The George Washington Masonic National Memorial and masonic lodge on Shuter’s Hill in Alexandria, Virginia was completed in 1932 as a memorial to George Washington, who was also a Freemason.

The Masons or Freemasons origin and history is a bit cloudy as is the entire organization.  Today, it’s a private fraternal organization with guarded secrets and rituals, that date back as far as perhaps King Solomon.
They describe themselves as followers of a spiritual (God) force to  improve morally and spiritually, by associating with other idealistic men of similar minds.  It’s neither a religion nor a substitute for one, but a way in …read more

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Today, Veterans Day, is the day we, as a nation, honor all veterans who fought to protect the freedoms we often take for granted.  
While many of the recent wars (Korea, Vietnam, Iraq to name a couple) may not have been popular, nor were they rallied behind by the citizenry as happened during World War II, the American soldier’s willingness to sacrifice their lives to protect the U.S. way of life should never be questioned. Any man or woman who honorably wore a soldier’s uniform is a hero in my book. To all the veterans and soldiers serving today…Thank You.
There are several …read more

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Then check out The Carnival of Travelers, with stories from around the globe about food and travel.
Here are a couple of the posts:

How far would you travel for a Candy bar? 
The time-classic New England Church Supper.
Lithuanian Food & Drinks, including some hot pink (hot pink?), beetroot soup. 
How about a Sake Tasting at a Berkley, California sake producer?
A useful list of ways to save $$$ on food and dining while traveling.  First, avoid the mini-bar.

There’s more stories at the Carnival to check out as well.
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Technorati Tags: Washington DC, DC, Washington, travel, Washington DC travel, vacation, b5 media, tourist information, local attractions, The DC Traveler, DC …read more

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