78. homer, ozzie, and the straw.

 go nats!

 (and go cracker jacks)

74. national cathedral.

looks like a sheep in wolf's clothing, a smoking gun holding ape.

i think this is where senator's sit?

65. brunch village.

sunday brunch explosion!

expensive and delicious.

(at kramerbooks & afterwords)

64. bird's eye view.

view from above, dczf.

the table next to me left early due to rising room temperatures.

i drank hot coffee and had the greatest day in so long.

62. dczf.

the best day.

57. tis the season.

(photo via dczinefest.com)

this saturday, 11-5 pm.
i've pretty much been waiting for this since i moved here.
here's hoping i can get everything done in time.

33. pistols at dawn.

history!

spotted on my first bike ride around town. the site is in bladensburg, maryland, conveniently located outside a cvs parking lot.

Dueling Grounds

On this site, now part of Anacostia River Park, more than 50 duels were fought during the first half of the 19th century. Here, on what became known as "The Dark and Bloody Grounds," gentleman of Washington settled their political and personal differences. One of the most famous disputes was that between Commodores Stephen Decatur and James Barron. Decatur, who had gained fame as the conqueror of the Barbary pirates, was fatally wounded by his antagonist. Although Congress passed an anti-dueling law in 1839, duels continued here until just before the Civil War.

decatur: namesake for the illinois town, war of 1812 hero, bad at shooting.  

barron: old man, duel winner.

bladensburg's popularity as a dueling site was purely geographic:

Dueling was banned in Washington, but not in Maryland, which was a short carriage ride away. Irate legislators could simply shuttle out to Bladensburg and fire at will.  (PBS)

and fire at will they did:

In June, 1836, 22-year-old Daniel Key, a son of Francis Scott Key [Star Spangled Banner composer], was killed in a senseless duel with a fellow Annapolis cadet, of the United States Naval Academy, John Sherbourne, over a question regarding steamboat speed. (wikipedia)

fascinating stuff, but i didn't see any ghosts. 

maybe they were inside cvs.

27. the pony express.

a visit to the national postal museum, housed in the old post office.

jj: "i try really hard not to collect stamps."

 

practicing sorting by zip code

owney, the offical mascot of the usps.

"So many people added tags to Owney's collar that Postmaster General John Wanamaker had a harness made to help him carry the weight. After Owney died in 1897, his mail clerk friends raised money to preserve their mascot."

even the floor looks like mail!

and a bit of creepy vandalism to finish.

they had a great video showing how mail gets sorted in the modern age, gorgeous old letter boxes, nice docents, and it wasn't crowded at all. definitely worth a visit, and a place many people miss when they're in town.

26. bury your dead.

arlington national cemetery, yesterday.
site of school visits, funerals, and romantic strolls in the sunshine.

fitting accompaniment to my current read:

this republic of suffering: death and the american civil war

by drew gilpin faust

 

noteable fact:
proportionate to our current population, the number of lives lost in the civil war would be like losing 6 million people today. all right in our backyards.

18. winterish.

welcome to the month of february, where it's 63 degrees at 6:00 pm.
as enjoyable as it is, it might also be making me sick.
i like my germs like i like my yogurt: frozen.

also, my friend jessica made a beautiful pillow case and one of you should buy it because i want you to have pretty things.

05. where's waldo?

my sister, brother-in-law, and best dude all came to visit over new year's and part of the weekend was spent at the other air and space museum, the steven f. udvar-hazy center, an enormous hangar next to dulles airport.
it houses hundreds of planes (including the enola gay and an SR-71 blackbird) and thousands of flight-related artifacts (the best being space cameras and housewares associated with the french balloon mania of the late 1800s).
my favorite part was seeing the space shuttle enterprise:

not to be confused with the other enterprise:

02. year of the falafel.

i had to work yesterday, and so missed enjoyed the bizarre 65 degree january weather.

but it was still nice out when i went to eat with my housemates emily and will for dinner.

amsterdam falafel: a splendid way to start the year right (also featured on the washington post's "40 dishes every washingtonian must try," one of the few vegetarian options on the list)

the tables had convenient holes built right in:

we sat by an open window and watched people debate whether they could resist the smell of fried things spilling out onto the sidewalk. 

then we stopped for cupcakes to take home and ate them while watching the simon & garfunkel episode of flight of the conchords. 

i was still full this morning.