The City At Night

Washington, DC. Beautiful city. Especially at night.

If you've never had the opportunity to walk around the Tidal Basin at sunset or take an evening stroll down the tree-lined paths of the National Mall, you are missing quite a lot.

In the coming weeks I plan to piece together some scraps of this little burg on the Potomac; try to layout on this lightbox-as-a-blog a collection of images worthy of this fine city.

For now, just a couple from my wanderings the other night.

Tourists photographing the Washington Monument.

Washington Monument at dusk. Washington, DC.

One Day. What To Do?

You've got one day. One free day in the DC region. What's there to do? Much!

First things first... breakfast. Get up early and head for the Market On The Boulevard in Potomac, MD. Good coffee and bagels. (They've got excellent specialty sandwiches for lunch, too.)

From there you can zip right up the road to the C&O Canal N. H. P. Wildlife viewing, good hikes, peace and quiet. Inspiring.

As the morning begins to give way, grab your things and head back down the boulevard toward the city. This particular day as I made my way to Georgetown, I slipped over to Rosslyn and continued a little further south to Gravely Point near National Airport. Watching jet liners landing just overhead is really quite a rush. After the plane passes the air above continues to swirl from the jet engines creating a weird hissing sound above for a few seconds. Took me a while to figure out what was going on. Very cool!

OK, what's next? Well, what would a trip to DC be like if you didn't visit at least one museum? My favorite is the National Gallery of Art on Constitution Ave. All the greats represented. Rembrandt, Manet, Degas, and more.

By now you're probably getting hungry. Lunch trucks are a big thing in DC these days. At Farragut Square NW there are several to choose from. Tacos, sandwiches, ice cream. Much variety. I picked the Mojo Truck, owned by Damian Dajcz. He makes Uruguayan sandwiches called "chivitos." They're huge and tasty! I had chopped steak topped with a fried egg on a toasted roll. Amazing. It was an unseasonably warm January day, so I found bench in the park and planted my already weary body and enjoyed the meal.

Rest up. More to do.

After lunch I hopped back in the car and headed across the river to Rosslyn, VA. There you'll find the Iwo Jima Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery right next door. The Lee House, JFK's Eternal Flame and many famous and not so famous men and women lost in war. Pierre Charles L'Enfant is also buried there. And from this vantage point you can take in a spectacular view of his city. In fact, I'd say this is one of the most recognized images of the District of Columbia. You've probably seen it yourself, so many photographers have made it before.

As the sun begins to drop below the horizon, I can think of no better way to wrap up the day then with a pint of Guinness at my favorite DC pub, Ireland's Four Fields (formerly Four Provinces, or "4 Ps", as the locals still call it). Great atmosphere and the best pour in town. A decent selection of Scotch, too! The neighborhood is Cleveland Park. Good restaurants and a great old theatre. Always worth the trip.

(Check out the map below for locations visited. This was actually how I spent the day. All photos were taken the same day in general order of appearance.) 

View One Day in the DC Region. in a larger map

Thanks for hangin' with me today.

This is obviously just a small sampling of things to do and see and eat in the Nation's Capital. I'll try to bring you more as the new year rolls on. See you again soon. Happy New Year!

-MK

Fly DC.

Here's a view of the city you don't get to see everyday. Just came from shooting some aerials for a client. On the way back to Gaithersburg we flew right past the National Mall. Just reinforces my already strong feelings about what a beautiful city Washington, DC is.

Of course, jumping through the many and varied hoops to get clearance to fly this close reinforces my already strong feelings toward certain unnamed three letter agencies! (I can say no more.)

Cheers!

Rally To Restore Sanity

Huge crowd. Funny, intelligent people.

I worked around the edges.

Scenes From The City #3

The Nation's Capital. So much to see, so much to do. Well worth the trip.

Taking a breather near the reflecting pool.

The book of names at the Vietnam War Memorial.

Korean War Veterans Memorial.

Verdant grove along the western edge of the National Mall.

DuPont Circle Metro entrance.

Checkmate? DuPont Circle.

Few things better than this greasy diner burger!

Rolling Thunder XXIII - Memorial Day 2010

Tens of thousands of bikers and spectators descended on Washington, DC for the annual "Ride to the Wall." My first trip down there. Very impressive turn out. The roar of motorcycle engines began at noon and continued well past 2:00 PM.

The riders start at the Pentagon in VA, ride past Arlington Cemetery, cross the Memorial Bridge into DC, pass the Lincoln Memorial, head east along Constitution Ave to the Capitol building, turn west back up Independence Ave and finish at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

Below is my coverage of this years event.

Peace.