On the Road: Springtime in Washington

As regular visitors already know, I live in Vermont but grew up in suburban Maryland, just a mile or so outside of Washington, DC.  My parents live in the city now and my daughter and I frequently visit during our April school break.  Springtime is easily the best time of year in Washington.  Even if you miss the cherry blossoms, there are dogwoods and others in a season-long succession of flowering trees.  Even better, the temperatures are mild, especially in light of the oppressive, sweltering summer heat everyone knows is coming.  It's an easy city to love this time of year.

My personal feelings about DC are complicated.  In theory, Washington is the city I know best in the world.  I am quite comfortable finding my way around and with the rhythm of the town in general.  And yet, it's not really "home" for me.  I'm a Marylander, not a DC boy, and didn't even fully appreciate that until my parents moved.  And actually, I'm becoming increasingly conscious of the fact that I've now spent almost as much of my life in Vermont, though few natives would consider me a Vermonter.  But DC is home for my parents and for as long as it is, the city will be a part of my life, too. 

No matter how long you spend in a city like Washington, there are always new things to explore.  Our first full day in town (Wednesday) was a marathon day at the zoo, our first visit in several years.  Our Girl wanted to see prairie dogs, inspired by a recent grasslands project at school.  For ages, the National Zoo had a big mound for the prairie dogs near the lower, Rock Creek Park entrance.  They now have a new arrangement for them at the small mammal house.  Unfortunately for us, there were none in either place!  The new display isn't ready yet and there aren't any critters left at the mound.  Bummer for us. 

Plenty of other wonders on offer, though.  If I'd ever seen the flamingos before, I don't remember it.  The zoo has an electric pink flock of several dozen and they're a lot of fun to watch.  We got to see the baby panda, too - very cute.  The zoo now has a beautiful carousel with loads of exotic animals.  True to form, Our Girl managed to find the penguin for herself.  Penguins are very big with her right now.  We even had an Easter Penguin rather than a bunny at the house this year.  Much to her disappointment, DC doesn't have any real ones.

On Thursday, the two of us took the subway out to Takoma Park, Maryland to visit an old friend.  We shall call him Game Designer, because he is one.  GD was my best friend in high school and Best Man at our wedding.  It had been nearly ten years since I'd seen him.  In fact, I met his second child, a seven-year-old son, for the first time on Thursday.  Takoma Park isn't really very far from where I grew up in Chevy Chase but I don't know it well at all.  If the DC suburbs have a hippy enclave, Takoma Park is it, the rare suburb that has managed to hang on to a bit of its small town feel.

GD also has a daughter, not quite a year older than ours.  The kids had a grand old time getting to know each other on the playground while we chatted.  For lunch, we went to Roscoe's Pizzeria - highly recommended.  I especially enjoyed the gazpacho and stuffed dates.  Great kids' menu, too.

On Friday, after a trip to Politics & Prose, the city's best book store, I went out for a walk on my own.  I went to The Diner on 18th Street for lunch.  It's way overpriced but my Columbia Road Special, a burger with cream cheese, jalapenos and bacon, was scrumptious.  For dinner, my parents took us to the Little Fountain Cafe, also on 18th Street.  I had the pan seared duck plus bread pudding for dessert - both excellent choices.  The restaurant is struggling, though, as the neighborhood is not as trendy as it used to be (they could use a more eye-catching sign out front, too).  So if you're in town, you should definitely go eat there.  My parents can't keep the place open on their own!

Now back to the long, wet Vermont spring.  It actually snowed a bit this morning - it's nearly May, for crying out loud!  Still, it's good to be home.

On the Road: Christmas in Washington

It had been a long time since we last spent Christmas away from home.  Over the past few years, our tradition had been to spend Christmas Day here in Vermont, then travel down to visit my parents in Washington, DC the next day.  But my father lobbied for us to come earlier so that we could attend his Christmas concert.

via Choral Arts Society of Washington

As discussed in a previous post, my father has sung with the Choral Arts Society of Washington for nearly 40 years.  The annual Christmas concert at the Kennedy Center was an important family tradition growing up.  Neither my wife nor our daughter had ever been to one so I suppose it was high time.

The group has a relatively new conductor.  Founder Norman Scribner retired in spring 2012 after 47 years and was replaced by Scott Tucker, most recently of Cornell University.  Choirs generally reflect the personality of their directors and a more relaxed, playful atmosphere is quite apparent in the new regime.  This year's concert was sponsored by the Italian Embassy so Italian music was predominant, including works by Andrea Gabrieli (1532-1585) and Salomone Rossi (ca. 1570-1620), a Jewish composer entirely new to me.  Also on the program were selections from Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols and Handel's Messiah, for both of which the Choral Arts Society was joined by the astonishingly talented Children's Chorus of Washington.

Three highlights for me:

1. Holst's sublime setting of "In the Bleak Midwinter," a piece I have sung myself - hard not to tear up for that one.
2. My father's performance in the smaller Chamber Chorus.  He claimed he was nervous but it certainly didn't show.
3. The sing-along at the end of the concert, a long-standing tradition.  In addition to the usual choral power pieces like "O Come, All Ye Faithful" and "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing," we sang verses of both "White Christmas" and "Silent Night" in Italian.

Overall, it was a very short visit - just two full days wedged between our travel days.  It was supposed to be three but the ice storm here in Vermont held us back a day.  So, not too much time for the touristy stuff.

My parents did introduce us to a new (to us) restaurant on Monday evening: Napoleon Bistro & Lounge.  It's a short walk from their apartment so they've been many times.  However, the restaurant has just hired a new chef so the menu was new to all of us.  My Wife and I split the pate appetizer, then I had the hangar steak.  I also got a bite of the chocolat fondant for dessert.  All were lovely.  She had the duck confit, but thought I'd ordered better - that doesn't usually happen.  The raviolini was a big hit with Our Girl.  She cleaned her plate.

Back to the land of ice and snow on Thursday.  It was a nice visit - short but relaxed.  Hopefully, we'll be back again before too long.

On the Road: The Family Passions

Photo via District of Columbia

Our Girl and I typically spend our April break in Washington, DC visiting my parents.  It's a great time of year to be in the city.  The mad rush to see cherry blossoms is over but the dogwoods and other flowering trees are in bloom and the long, muggy summer is still a ways off.  It's generally a good time to escape from Vermont, too, though this year's early spring here has been very pleasant.  Of course, as I sit here now for my reflections on our trip, it's a dreadfully grey day and there is, in fact, some light snow coming down.  Zheesh!

Our DC trips have evolved over the years.  Early on, I was eager to show my daughter as much as possible in what time we had.  But as the novelty of zoos and museums have worn off, she's usually pretty content to have smaller adventures with Grandma around the Kalorama neighborhood where my parents live.  However, there is so much to share in that great city and while it wasn't really planned as such, this particular trip became an occasion for my parents and even for me to share with Our Girl aspects of Washington that have long been important to each of us. 


Sunday

Music in general and singing in particular have been lifelong passions of my father's.  He has been a member of the Choral Arts Society of Washington (CASW) basically since we moved to the DC area in 1976.  Growing up, the annual Christmas concert at the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony was a very important family event.  My own love for choral music didn't emerge until college but the seeds were surely planted early.  Our Girl had yet to attend one of Grandpa's concerts when my father asked during our visit in December if we'd like to come to the Brahms Requiem performance when we came in April.  I was a little worried about Our Girl's ability to sit through it so I stalled on a decision.  But he kept asking so once our travel plans were finalized, I figured it was worth trying.  Our Girl was a bit apprehensive but once assured she could bring a book just in case, she agreed.

Photo via WBRI

It didn't occur to me until we arrived in DC why this particular performance was so important to my father.  While I knew the group had just hired a new conductor for the fall, I did not grasp that the Requiem concert would be the final Kennedy Center performance for Norman Scribner, the founding conductor of the CASW, the man who had built the organization over 47 years.  Scribner has been an important person in my father's life for 36 of those 47 - and, I suppose, my own vicariously.  The Brahms Requiem is Scribner's favorite piece and thus an appropriate send off.  The performance was about as close to perfect as you'll ever hear, capped by the most sincere and richly deserved standing ovation I've ever witnessed.  Chorus, orchestra and soloists all deferred tribute to the man of the hour.  There was not a dry eye in the house.  Our Girl even made it through without a book.


Monday

For the past several years, my mother has served as a docent at the Freer Gallery, one of two Smithsonian museums devoted mostly to Asian art.  The museum has become every bit as important to my mother as singing is to my father, if not more so.  The Freer and neighboring Sackler are currently exhibiting a rare and wonderful treat: the complete collection of Hokusai's 36 Views of Mount Fuji!  I've been in love with Hokusai's woodblock prints since childhood and his Great Wave off Kanagawa, the most famous of the 36 Views collection, is most certainly my favorite work of art in the whole world.

Image via Random knowledge

There are actually 46 prints in total and it was quite exciting to see them all together in one place.  After our visit on Monday, we also took a quick peek into the African Art Museum next door.  With that excursion, I have now been to all of the museums on the National Mall during my lifetime.


Tuesday

I've been saving one of my personal DC favorites for when I thought Our Girl would be ready for it.  Until recently, she has been very uneasy in movie theaters but as many who've followed my blog already know, we've managed to see quite a lot of films over the past several months.  As such, I felt it was time for her to see To Fly, the Air and Space Museum's original IMAX film, screened every day since the museum opened in 1976.  For me, To Fly never gets old.  I am not ashamed to admit that I am afraid of heights and To Fly allows me to test the limits of that fear without even getting up from my seat.  At one moment, you are riding along in a car when suddenly the Earth drops out from under you.  At another, you are practically poured out onto the New York skyline.  Our Girl got scared and clutched my arm a couple of times and I must admit to some jumpiness of my own.  But we both survived.

Image via MacGillvray Freeman Films

Afterwards, we went upstairs to take in a planetarium show, too.  She had been to a planetarium before.  There's one at the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.  But not surprisingly, the Smithsonian is in a different league.  They do a basic night sky show once a day but they also have what are essentially movies projected on the ceiling.  We saw Infinity Express, narrated by Laurence Fishburne.


Wednesday

For the most part, Our Girl was eager to do "whatever Grandma wants to do" but she did express an interest in visiting the Natural History Museum - my own childhood preference, too.  The museum has been transformed in recent decades and now only barely resembles what I remember from my youth.  The big elephant still dominates the atrium and the dinosaur bones and the Hope Diamond still draw crowds but there's plenty new to explore.  If anything, I find the museum a bit overwhelming.  It vies with Air and Space for the title of world's most visited and the crowds can certainly be oppressive.  We had a good wander, though, beginning in the sea exhibit, then heading to the mammals through human origins.  The human origins exhibit was new to all of us and very impressive.


Food

Washington is a great city for restaurants and my parents are always very generous in sharing their favorite spots.  After the concert on Sunday, we went to Mourayo, a Greek restaurant near Dupont Circle.  I had the grilled lamb chops which were absolutely divine.  My Wife is a big lamb fan and I was sad she wasn't with us for it but I'll have a good recommendation for when we're all there together.  They don't have a children's menu per se but they came up with a great bowl of pasta for Our Girl.  Between that and the ample supply of wonderful bread, she was a happy camper.

On Tuesday, my parents took us to Pizzeria Paradiso, also near the Circle.  Our Girl and I split a 12-inch paradiso pie with prosciutto on half - delicious.  They have an outstanding beer selection, too.

On Wednesday, on our way back from Natural History, we stopped at FroZenYo, one of my mother's favorites.  I had cake batter yogurt with whipped cream and gummy bears.  I also got to finish Our Girl's mint chocolate chip, one of the fringe benefits of fatherhood.


Final Thoughts

I love the Smithsonian but it is draining, especially for a kid.  I'm very glad to have made the trips downtown this visit but for future adventures, I think I'd like to invest more of our time in exploring the Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan areas near my parents.  There's plenty to see, including the Phillips Collection and Textile Museum.  I've never been to either.  I enjoy our DC trips, but it's always good to come home, too, even if it's snowing in late April.

Looking for A-Z?  Scroll down one post or use the link here.

On the Road: DC in December

On Friday night, we got back from a quick trip down to DC to visit my parents. As has been our custom of late, we took the train there and back. Some dining advice for anyone taking the Vermonter all the way through: it's best to hit the café car right after New York, where they restock. Most train fare is pretty awful but it helps to have choices. The teriyaki chicken bowl is my personal favorite.


Image via tr3s

One of many great things about grandparents is their willingness to babysit. My Wife and I took advantage of this on our second day to plan a late afternoon/early evening date. My Wife really wanted to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy while we were in town so we used that as the inspiration for a spy-themed extravaganza.

Image via Cul de Sac

Our first excursion of the day was to Big Planet Comics, not far from my parents' apartment. Big Planet just recently moved their DC store from Georgetown to U Street. I was rather hoping for a store comparable to That's Entertainment in Worcester but Big Planet has nowhere near as much space. All of their comics were new. I didn't see second-hand boxes anywhere. Nonetheless, variety was more than adequate for both of us to find decent treasures. We even grabbed some spy-themed titles in honor of the day. My thoughts on my finds are best handled in a separate post, I think.


Photo via Drink DC

On the way to the subway station, we stopped in at Kramerbooks, one of northwest DC's top-notch independent book stores. We didn't find any spy novels but there were some other good finds: a couple of Asimov books plus George Plimpton's Paper Lion. I've been wanting to read Plimpton for a while now but his sports books are hard to find these days. Paper Lion has been released as a 45th anniversary edition - what an odd number.

Next, on to the movie. The Landmark E Street Cinema is a relatively new theater, just opened in 2004. It's a nice one. I love the new trend of being able to purchase beer at a movie theater.


Photo via Little Worlds

The film was very good, the highlight of our spy-themed day. We first ventured into John Le Carré's world via the 1979 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy TV series on the BBC, starring Alec Guinness. My Wife has also since read the book and has been very eager to see the new film, especially since two of her favorite actors are in the cast: Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch. Gary Oldman stars as George Smiley, the Guinness role. I think he was a fine choice. In fact, I can hardly imagine a better choice.

I can understand why someone might not care for the film. The pace is very slow, the tone very quiet - both of which reflect the TV series perfectly. It did help me to already be familiar with the story. Since I knew whodunit, I could focus on other aspects. The look of the film was very satisfying: dark, murky, foggy. Attention to time period detail was thorough: the right cars, the right clothes, the right hairstyles, etc. Casting all around was outstanding.

Obviously, going from a book, to a seven-part TV series to a feature film required much condensing and there were plenty of differences in this latest interpretation. The confrontation between hero George and nemesis Karla was an interesting case. In the 1979 series, Guinness faces off against Patrick Stewart in the scene. In the new film, Oldman interrogates an empty chair - only an actor of his ilk could have pulled it off so effectively.

I was inspired to read the book myself and perhaps even give the TV series another look - overall, 4 out of 5 stars.


Image via Wikipedia

If the film was the highlight of our day, the disappointment was the International Spy Museum. That's not to say that it's not a high quality museum. It is. If you want to see loads of Q-esque spy gadgets from all over the world, they're all here - including a replica of James Bond's Aston Martin. The history of espionage is well-documented from antiquity to the present. Here's the problem: museum admission is $18 for adults. In a city where one has access to the world's largest museum complex free of charge, any institution charging even a modest admission had better have something pretty special on offer. The attempts to offer an interactive experience are admirable but not sufficiently accommodating for the large crowds passing through. In the end, I felt that I'd rather just read a good book on the subject.


Photo via The Art of Being Mom

Our espionage date culminated at Zola, the museum's fine dining establishment. Theme elements are light: images from classic spy films like The Third Man grace the walls. Beer and wine selections were pretty good and the food decent. The carnitas tacos were my favorite. Service was mediocre - polite but inefficient. No one ever brought us bread for the table, for instance.


Photo via National Museum of American History

The third day of our visit was busy as well. In the morning, we took Our Girl to the National Museum of American History. I have visited the museum many times in my life but it had been a while. The museum has seemingly been in various stages of renovation for decades. Long gone is the old-fashioned ice cream shop, once my favorite part of the entire Smithsonian. It's still a great museum, of course. I think the dollhouse display is impressive but Our Girl was underwhelmed - lack of Calico Critters, perhaps? Not surprisingly, the Jim Henson display is my personal favorite.


Photo via VisitingDC.com

In the late afternoon, my parents treated us to a performance of Knuffle Bunny at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The Kennedy Center is an important place for our family. My father has sung with the Choral Arts Society of Washington for over 30 years and most of their concerts are at the Kennedy Center. Both my sister and I walked across the concert hall stage for our high school graduations. This was the first visit for both My Wife and Our Girl and we took some time to appreciate the Hall of Nations, the Hall of States, the view of the river and, of course, the gift shop. I would never turn up my nose at my parents' generosity but we all agreed that Knuffle Bunny was best suited for kids - not exactly adult-friendly. Our Girl enjoyed it, though. That's all that really mattered.

Dinner was a greater success: Mama Ayesha's, a DC institution since 1960 and long a favorite of our family's. Vermont is wonderful but among other things, it lacks a decent Middle Eastern restaurant. My Wife's Lebanese family heritage is very important to her, especially in terms of her culinary sensibilities so the opportunity to reconnect when we're in a big city is very exciting. I often feel that My Wife orders better than I do in restaurants but I did pretty well at Mama Ayesha's. The mushakal mashal (mixed grill) is outstanding. As one would hope for a Mediterranean restaurant, the wine list is very impressive.

Overall, it was a great trip. We're looking forward to our next visit.

On the Road: The Elusive Spanish Steps

Our Girl and I made our annual April DC trip this past week. Late April is a wonderful time to be in Washington. One misses the cherry blossoms, but one does get to see the second round of blooming trees, the dogwoods being the stars of the show. And, truth be told, the weather is usually better than it is during cherry blossom time. Springtime in the south is every bit as spectacular as autumn in New England and DC is definitely a southern city by botanical standards.


Photo via markdroberts.com

Our week was filled with the usual activities: swimming, sightseeing and urban strolls. The swimming highlight for Our Girl was learning to swim underwater. She had a lot of fun with that. We devoted our sightseeing time to art museums. We hit the Freer, where Grandma volunteers as a docent, the Sackler, the carousel and the National Gallery Sculpture Garden, all old family favorites. We also introduced Our Girl to the National Gallery, the East Wing and the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden. There is only one National Mall museum I've never visited: The African Art Museum. I meant to go this time but we ran out of time. Our Girl has visited all but the African Art Museum and the American Indian Museum. We'll save those for another time.

I did go for an Embassy Row walk, following the walking tour outlined in the Lonely Planet Washington, DC City Guide, 4th Edition. The walk is shorter than in previous editions: 1 mile (1.6 km), as opposed to 2.5 km in the 3rd Edition. The walk no longer includes my three favorite stops: the Japanese embassy, the Islamic Center and the French ambassador's residence. However, it does still include the Spanish Steps, which I've never been able to find. As it turns out, Lonely Planet is one block off. They've always had the Steps on 23rd Street whereas they're actually on 22nd Street. I finally found them and dutifully climbed them.


Photo via Que sera, Sarah

Another embassy has been lost to Wisconsin Avenue. Cameroon has abandoned its digs at 2349 Mass Ave. It is sad to watch all of the old mansions fall into disrepair. Hopefully, someone with money and energy will devote some effort to restoring them and putting them to good use.

As I've previously written, I'm at a point of redefining my relationship with Washington, in theory, at least, the city I know best in the world. I hope that part of that will involve rekindling old friendships. The last several years, most of our family time in DC has been devoted to time with my parents and exploring the city in which they live. That is as it should be. But in truth, I know quite a lot of people in the DC area, people with whom I have shared some of the most meaningful friendships of my life. It has been years since I have seen some of my best friends from high school. I have not been intentionally avoiding anyone, of course. Life just gets complicated: my parents moved away from our house in Maryland making it more of an effort to see folks plus we all get involved with the goings-on of our own families.

But with my 20-year high school reunion coming up, I am reminded of the importance of old friends. My chore for the week was going through boxes of my old stuff which my parents have faithfully stored for me over the years. I unearthed quite a lot of old photos, including class pictures from elementary school which I posted on facebook. One friend, noting my presence in town, suggested we get together. She was, years ago, one of my best friends though I'd not seen her in ten years. She had, in fact, never met our daughter, though she has been very generous in sharing her Hello Kitty collection with her. She took us out to lunch and showed us around her office. Our Girl got more HK loot in the deal so she was happy. Plans to get together with another friend - Best Man at my wedding, in fact - fell through but I'm confident we'll find the time on another visit.

It's always nice to visit DC but it is doubly nice to get home. I am very grateful that we have decided to settle in a place like Vermont rather than in a big city. The fresh, if brisk, air when we got off the train was invigorating indeed. We're all happy to have the weekend together before we all head back to work and school on Monday.

Happy Passover and Easter to all.

On the Road: The Shaw Shuffle

As has been our tradition of late, we made the train trip down to DC for a few days after Christmas. Miraculously, we managed to avoid the huge snowstorm in New Jersey on the 26th to make it through virtually without incident.

As noted in an earlier post, I find myself at a point where I want to redefine my relationship with the city I grew up near. Our Girl is suddenly no longer interested in sightseeing, preferring to find adventures with Grandma around the Kalorama neighborhood. But Washington is a fascinating city and despite having grown up nearby, I don't feel I know the town as well as I should. And so, I intend to plan more purposeful explorations for future visits.

No matter what cable news would have you believe about the political scene, African-America is far and away the predominant cultural force in the nation's capital. And yet, just as in many other cities in the United States, Euro-Americans and Afro-Americans live, for the most part, in entirely separate communities. However, Shaw, the heart of DC's Afro-American community, is only a few blocks away from my parents' neighborhood. Duke Ellington was Shaw's most famous native son, born on T Street. On Wednesday, our last full day in Washington, I planned a "city hike" to Shaw, following the "Shaw Shuffle" walking tour set out in the Lonely Planet (3rd edition) guide to Washington. Despite their proximity, my parents had never explored Shaw either so it was a good opportunity for all of us to know the city better.

First stop was lunch at Ben's Chili Bowl, a DC institution. My father was the only one among us who had ever been before. I had the chili burger and a strawberry shake - both excellent. The walls are covered with photos of celebrities on site, ranging from Hillary Clinton to Bill Cosby. In all, we managed a hearty meal for five for just over $30 - not bad at all. We arrived before noon - a good choice. On the walk home, we tried to stop for a shake for Our Girl but the line already went out to the curb. (Don't feel too sad for her. She was perfectly happy with the ice cream and chocolate sauce she got back at my parents' place.) Ben's proved to be the highlight of the tour for me.

Unfortunately, we did not make it all the way through the tour. People, mainly Our Girl, had run out of steam by the time we got to Dunbar Theatre, stop #11 out of 15 on the Lonely Planet tour. We'll have to tackle the rest another time. We never were able to find the African American Civil War Museum which seems to have moved locations a couple of times. We'll make a separate trip for that one at some point, too.

The walk back to Kalorama proved fruitful as we discovered Hana Japanese Market at 17th and U Streets. I love Japanese grocery stores, as they tend to be the only places in the US which carry the sorts of products one can find at any corner convenience store in Japan: Pocky sticks and green tea ice cream as well as a much wider than normal range of sembe crackers and noodle products.

As long as I'm plugging restaurants and other local businesses, my parents took us to the wonderful Himalayan Heritage Restaurant for dinner our last night in town. It is one of their favorites, serving authentic Nepalese and Indian cuisine.

As for future city tours, I hope we'll do the rest of the Shaw tour sometime. Also, my father has offered to show me where the Spanish Steps are down near Embassy Row. They're definitely not where Lonely Planet says they are! Beyond that, I think further exploration of the area around Kalorama would be great. I'll see how much of the city I can explore without getting on the subway.

On the Road: Washington, D.C.

Our Girl and I took the Vermonter down to Washington this week to visit my parents. My folks live in the city now. When I first left home for college and people would ask me where I was from, I'd say the DC area, figuring that was an easier reference point for people than telling them I grew up in Maryland. But when my parents moved, that all changed. Part of it may have been a sense of loyalty to our old house but it's more a matter of realizing that the world where they live now is completely different from the world where I grew up. Since their move, I've always referred to myself as a Marylander.

My daughter loves DC. She's a huge fan of the Capitol Building, in particular, and also enjoys the Smithsonian and the National Zoo. But increasingly for her, DC time is all about time with Grandma. They've grown quite close over the past couple years and often seem to have little projects going when we're all together: making jewelry, learning about Japanese characters or just running errands around the neighborhood. This trip, in particular, confirmed this new reality in regards to our DC visits. Our Girl didn't do any sightseeing this trip. We never even made it south of Dupont Circle except to go to the train station.


Day One

The new exciting thing in my mother's life is the recently opened Wilson Aquatic Center, adjacent to Wilson High School in Tenleytown. She goes several times a week and has even joined a swim team. She was very eager to bring Our Girl along as they have a very nice kids' pool. Historically, Our Girl has been nervous around water but, as ever, was delighted to tag along with Grandma.

It was my intention to join them the first day but my mother had advised that I leave my wallet behind at the apartment as she did not have a lock for me to use. As it turns out, non-DC residents must have a photo ID to use the pool so I was out of luck. My mother initially offered to drive back to the apartment for it but as I was losing patience with the situation and sliding into a worsening mood, I suggested that they go without me. I would find other entertainment in the neighborhood. Feeling guilty, she gave me $20 to amuse myself in the interval. So, the ladies went swimming and I went for a walk.

In theory, Washington is the city I know best in the world. But without a map in a neighborhood unfamiliar to me, I decided to stay on Wisconsin Avenue and not stray too far down the side streets. I headed northwest towards Friendship Heights, a part of town I know far better from my teenage years.

DC is not the most accommodating city for pedestrians but it's good to explore it on foot from time to time. You miss things in a car: hole-in-the-wall shops and restaurants easily overlooked at high speeds. Who knew there was a traditional Arab dance studio?

Unfortunately, the walk I took is one from a reasonably colorful part of town to a ritzier but far more boring part. Back in the '80s and '90s, Friendship Heights was already well on its way to becoming the upscale shopping district in DC and there are plenty of new Gucci-esque stores in the area now. I made it all the way to the Maryland/DC line before heading back. I had half a mind to see if I could make it all the way to my old high school in downtown Bethesda and probably could have if I'd started at a faster clip from the beginning.

One wonderful change since my childhood: people wearing baseball caps for a Washington team. The Nationals aren't the greatest but they're here.

Meanwhile, Our Girl had a blast at the pool. Grandma reported that she grew increasingly brave the longer they stayed, particular when other kids were around to play with her. Our Girl said she wanted to come back to the pool everyday. I was also in a far better mood after my constitutional.

Back at the ranch, Our Girl settled in for a snack and some quiet play time so I headed out for some bookstore exploration. My parents live in Kalorama, allowing easy access to both the Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle neighborhoods so there's no shortage of independent shops around. I had two goals: a used copy of Prince Caspian, since we had nearly finished The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on the train ride down, and a book on teaching kids how to play checkers. I hit Idle Time Books, Kramerbooks and Second Story Books. I never did find a checkers book (does anyone have one to recommend?) but I did find a decent copy of Caspian.


Day Two

My father found a couple of extra padlocks so we all went to the pool the second day. It really is a very nice facility and extremely kid friendly with family changing rooms and, indeed, a very cool kids' pool. It's a bit like the ocean, starting at puddle depth and very gradually descending to 3 feet, allowing someone like my daughter to test deeper waters as her confidence grows. There is also an NCAA-regulation lap pool and a hot tub for adults. Plus, it's all free for DC residents.

Our Girl was a joy to watch in the water. She and I took a swim class a couple of years ago together and her greatest accomplishment was not screaming on the last day of class. She's like a different kid now, even brave enough to put her face under the water. We're planning to do a Red Cross level 1 class for her this summer and this seemed to bode well.

I am not much of a swimmer myself. I can get from point A to point B but the two strokes I use - crawl and breaststroke - are, I am certain, highly flawed. Plus, I'm horribly out of shape. In my more adventurous mid-20s, I took a scuba course in the Philippines and part of the certification was to swim unaided for, I think, 200 meters. It was a pathetic struggle but I did it. I vowed to get in better swimming shape after that but that was - gasp! - 12 years ago. One of my goals for this summer is to work exercise into my daily routine. Perhaps swimming can be a part of it. I did four lengths in the 20 yard pool at Wilson.

In the afternoon, Our Girl and Grandma went to run some errands so I headed out for another walk, this time taking the Embassy Row walking tour outlined in the Lonely Planet guide. It had been a while since I've explored that part of town and it has actually changed a bit in the past few years. A lot of the embassies have raised stakes and moved off of Massachusetts Ave. to a new compound near Tenley Circle, including the Pakistani Embassy as listed in the guidebook. There is another error in the 3rd edition: no Spanish Steps at 23rd and Decatur.

Embassy Row is really quite a lovely neighborhood as many of the embassies are housed in beautiful turn-of-the-20th-century mansions. A couple of my favorite buildings in Washington are on the route: the Islamic Center and the French Ambassador's residence. The Islamic Center is unique in Washington and is probably best viewed from Rock Creek Park as one sees the minarets rising above the trees. The mosque is there to serve the diplomatic community though it is evidently a bit snobby, as embassy service staff is generally turned away. The ambassador's residence may be the most impressive looking house in town, White House included. The one embassy that has personal meaning for me is the Japanese at 2516 Mass Ave. It is where my own Japan adventure began.

The diplomatic community is a strange one in Washington: in the city but not exactly of the city. I am reminded in wandering around, however, that it's not too far removed from the life my own family lived until I was 3. If my father had made different choices in his career, I could have lived more of my childhood in such isolated neighborhoods in foreign capitals. Rome would have been his next assignment. He turned it down in favor of a career in the domestic service branch of his agency. As such, I got to spend 15 years of my childhood in one house. For that, I am grateful.


Day Three

Back to the pool. I got a bit braver myself, swimming a single length of the 50 meter pool. I will admit to getting a bit freaked out in the deep end with 13 feet of water under me. I started to worry about my wedding ring, which has flown off in class a couple of times in my more exuberant teaching moments. What a pain that would have been to retrieve! Note to self: leave it in the locker room next time. If I were to get more serious about swimming, I'd want to take a lesson or two to clean up my strokes.

In the evening, I made the highly disappointing discovery that my parents don't get the sports channels in their TV package. Not even ESPN! There is, of course, no reason why they should as I'm the only person in the family who would ever watch but it was very frustrating in my effort to catch a glimpse of Game 7 of the Capitals/Canadiens series. In the end, I had to settle for the live box score on versus.com.

Even without television, it's a very different experience to follow a team when you're in the hometown. For starters, no publication is as brutal towards a team as is the local newspaper. Some of the best sports writing I've ever read was in Washington Post columns about the Capitals' disastrously poor history in the playoffs. The Post staff was in rare form this week as yet another season unraveled before our eyes.

I can't believe the Caps blew it yet again. All of the criticism being leveled at the team, the coach and even Captain Ovechkin is richly deserved. It has become clear. Of the Big Four, Ovechkin and Backstrom are the keepers while Semin and Green just don't have the guts to be leaders in the playoffs. In the off-season, a trade for a top-notch goaltender is a must and digging up a few battle-tested defensemen would be good, too. The blue liners don't need to be superstars. They just need to be willing to do the little things it takes to beat the league's best when it matters most. Mike Green, for all of his talent, just isn't that guy. There's simply no excuse for playing so well in the regular season only to implode in Round 1 of the playoffs. It's embarrassing. Just wait until next year? I'll believe it when I see it.

But back to our trip...

I think it's wonderful that Our Girl has bonded so completely with her grandmother. In truth, people are far more important than places and I'm glad she has found this meaningful relationship in her life. For me, however, I still feel as if I've barely scratched the surface in DC. There are parts of the city which I don't know at all and it would be a shame not to explore them, if only on my own. But perhaps I should take a hint from my daughter and invest in relationships at the same time. I'm sure I could convince my father to come along for some of my explorations. A new Lonely Planet guide has just come out, perhaps a good occasion to begin a new relationship with the city.