Wow, this is too funny! But since it's in a Yelp category, I have to put my two cents in!…read more Being a native of Poolesville, something I don't care to admit despite it being listed as my hometown on my Yelp profile, is far from civilization and DC, but also far from a bad place to live.. or at least grow up. My graduating class had a total of 84 people, and 75% of them were classmates since Kindergarten. It's nice to have that long time bond, but at the same time, everybody knows everything. Major crimes are basically non-existent so it's a nice place to raise a family. However, it's mainly a residential community with the usual selection of townhomes and single family houses. There are no condos or apartments. There is a long time family run grocery store named Selby's, a couple banks, a McDonald's, a carry out pizza place, a CVS, Chinese carry out, and a few other businesses to keep you happy. Poolesville is not a shopping destination at all, but the cool thing about what is there is that most of the businesses are locally owned, so no major commercialism. One unique thing about Poolesville is White's Ferry. It's about 6 miles west of town and the only vehicle ferry running on the Potomac taking you from MD to VA (Leesburg) in about 5-10mins. There's a lot of history in Poolesville, so it's worth a day trip up there on a weekend day. In October the famous (or not) haunted woods is open to the public near the town. All in all, I turned out ok, but I wouldn't want to commute every day from Poolesville to anywhere! But do check it out sometime, it's a country get away from the metro area.

Here are the main things we tell people about our little town of Poolesville…read more It's a great place to raise a family. It's about an hour from everywhere. There are one or two of every type of store or service you need. Downtown Poolesville is a four way stop sign. We've been here 10 years now (hard to believe it's been that long) and we love it.

Center office for this 10,000 unit complex. There are at least two pools and several parks. Our…read moredaughter lives here and we visit yearly. We love walking around this beautiful neighborhood. Lots of dog walkers and so many flowers to enjoy it makes the visit a true vacation.

Great community center pool. The staff are pretty friendly although it does get crowded during…read morethose hot summer days, which is to be expected. We like coming here. It's a great addition to this community. **update. I visited here again today and the pool was extremely dirty. There were many things in the bottom of the pool from simple dirt to a band aide! M

My friend and I came to Kensington Town Hall last night to watch a play presented by the British…read morePlayers. Bet you didn't know either of the two existed. I did know about the existance of this building as the former Armory, but I had know idea what it was used for. I don't know much about its history, but I believe there are Kensington government offices on the upper floors. Kensington does have an active mayor, so I'll assume he has official meetings here. As for my personal experience, it was all about seeing The British Players put on a fantastic show. This troupe has been around for over 50 years bringing British plays and productions to the Washington area. The Group donates much of their profits to British and American charities. It's great that they found their performing home in a building with the same name as a town in England. This building would be an excellent venue for a wedding reception. I'm not sure if they do indeed rent out the space, but there's ample parking in there lot.

This is a lovely facility to visit on business, for theatre productions or art shows. The building…read morestarted out life almost 100 years ago as a National Guard Armory and is now the town hall of Kensington whose offices are on the third floor. Two theatre groups put on productions here that are of outstanding quality - The British Players and the Kensington Arts Theatre. On the second floor of the building is an open area for seating and a stage. Also, other events are held here such as an annual arts show where local painters can display and sell their art. There is ample parking here and nearby on the streets.

Laurel has been around since the early 1800s and prides itself on its identity as an independent…read morecity. The municipal center provides contacts to all aspects of the city government, as well as housing the emergency operations center and a passport office. I wish we could expect such courteous and efficient service from other government offices.

The seminary (or "castle" as I called it in high school, for apparently no reason, because castle…read moreis maybe the one type of building that the campus doesn't have) lived rent free in my mind when I was younger. It's just a crazy place, especially tucked right by Silver Spring, right by 16th and Georgia, and yet few people know it exists. Starting out as an inn and then a finishing school for girls, there's a Japanese pagoda, a Dutch windmill, a Parthenon looking building, and so many beautiful statues. After WWII it got taken over by the army. And then it slowly decayed. Save the Seminary, the organization whose mission is to restore the seminary, did a pretty damn good job at restoring the buildings, the ballroom, and the statutes. They do free walk tours, and most insane, the structures are now homes, where actual human beings live. I can't quite wrap my head around it, but if you have an extra mil lying around one of these places could be yours (if any of them happen to be up for sale).

Forest Glen, Maryland: Do you know where Forest Glen Maryland is?…read more Take a look at this map (This is the point of the presentation where I wish I could embed a map into my review) Well, imagine an isosceles triangle. Those are the ones that have a corner with 70 degrees- another corner with 70 degrees- and the third corner with 40 degrees. But make it stand straight up... like a pyramid. Ok, just think of a pyramid... but just one side, not like an actual 3D Pyramid. Ok... ya know what, think of a Yield Sign. There we go, just think of a Yield sign. The bottom left corner is Bethesda, the bottom right corner is Silver Spring and the top of the Yield sign is Forest Glen. See, that was so much easier than just showing you a map. In that time, I hope that you've just googled Forest Glen and seen exactly where it is. So in Forest Glen there is an enormous building on Linden Lane and you'll see a Japanese Pagoda right in front of it. Yes, a true to form, authentic color paint, bamboo what not Japanese Freakin' Pagoda. That'll make you say something like "This Is the FR*&*in' Catalina Wine Mixer!".. of buildings. And then you'll say, "Why have I never seen this before." Here's some real short history. I did the research for you. The building was built as a Hotel/ Vacation Resort in 1887 for DC vacationers: Ye Old Forest Inn. But that didn't work out. Apparently the people who ran it were less than savvy. Then in 1894 it became an all girls school. And it remained that way until 1942. But, as you remember, we were dragged into WW2 in 1942 after Pearl Harbor happened December 7th 1941 "A Day Which Will Live In Infamy". Quick side note. In addition to Pearl Harbor the Japanese on that day also attacked the following: American ships the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu, Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippine Islands,Wake Island. And the next morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island. Something I didn't know because everything is really ethnocentric here in America. And now back to National Park Seminary So the building in 1942 became sort of an Annex for Walter Reed and was controlled by the army. But in 1977 most of the buildings were left abandoned. Which essentially became a playground ( a very expensive and beautiful playground) for vandals. After years of neglect and vandalism a company called The Alexander Company helped in it's rehabilitation for the purpose of preserving this listing on the "National Register of Historic Places." For a very long time an organization called SOS (Save Our Seminary) has been working to raise money to preserve and repair so many of the historic buildings, structures, and intricate details that make this place so G-D Da*n Magical! The building used to face railroad tracks where people would travel off the railroad and right onto the campus. Now, that railroad is 495 so the front faces a non accessible point. Coming up from Linden, you're actually coming from the back and don't get to see the entire majesty of what the Seminary is. Quick info: National Park Seminary- the name After Ye Old Forest Inn the school took notice of Rock Creek Park which was constructed and opened during that time ( an attraction that many people were coming to see), the spot was named "National Park" in reference to being so close to that site. The Seminary comes from the older meaning of seminary which is: "a school of secondary or higher level for young women." So the campus is big 23 acres. And on that campus lives several sorority houses done in an international theme ( I KNOW! Awesome!) Which explains the Japanese Pagoda- some of the others include a : "Dutch windmill, a Swiss chalet, an Italian villa, An American Bungalow and an English castle" Quick note- In 1936 the National Park Seminary was renamed National Park College and served as a very prestigious woman's college for a while. The name was changed back to National Park Seminary after it was reacquired from the army. The campus is brilliant and beautiful. Large sculptures decorate the beautiful buildings at almost every turn. A mix of styles inside the buildings. Especially the wonderful ballroom. The site is just something to behold. They do tours on Every 4th Saturday at 1PM Here are the rest for 2014 - They start at 1PM and are 5 bucks per person Saturday, June 28 Saturday, July 26 Sunday, August 3 Saturday, August 23 Saturday, September 27 Saturday, October 25 Saturday, November 22

I've seen a lot of water tanks. Nearly all of them are boring and forgettable. Some are not:…read more The Giant Penis in Ypsilanti MI: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ypsilanti-water-tower-ypsilanti?hrid=n7mkjkQ-PxF4OICBGQLo6Q The Giant Dixie Cup in Lexington KY: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dixie-cup-water-tower-lexington?hrid=d3f8MadsyvYAJiFwG0Vcug The Peachoid in Gaffney, SC: https://www.yelp.com/biz/peachoid-water-tower-gaffney?hrid=1yVcejo353VlCHINw7YWGw The Giant Baseball in Fort Mill, SC: https://www.yelp.com/biz/baseball-water-tower-fort-mill?hrid=uxn7C0DT4bFlhJA2mivOcg Add the Earthoid to the list of not forgettable. In 1980, the students of Montgomery College's Germantown campus were tasked with designing the water tank that stood on the edge of their university. After a vote, the students designed that the spherical tank would emulate our wonderful planet. Using a National Geographic globe image and satellite photos for reference, artist Peter Freudenberg got it done. The global is approachable with a parking lot nearby for your ideal selfie. Thank you, Atlas Obscura https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/earthoid-water-tank [Review 14267 overall, 1591 of 2020, number 589 in Maryland.]

If you enjoy finding the quirky in the D.C. area, stop by the Earthoid Water Tank on the Germantown…read morecampus of Montgomery College. It makes for a beautiful picture and parking is really close.

This agency is worse than the MVA! Service is sooo slow, the people there do not take the effort…read moreto help you in any way, permit technicians are impossible to reach and the fees are outrageous for any project you might be working on. A great example of a government black hole sucking the blood from small businesses. Avoid this place at all costs!

Over the years I've pulled several permits from this office as well as DC and in Virginia. I have…read morenever had such fast, efficient service as I did last week. Over the past several years, I've gone to the office and been turned back to fix A, B, and C. When I returned, work completed, I'd meet with someone else who would require me to go home and change D, E, and F. I think my record was 6 trips before they look at my plans on that job. 311 said this had all changed. Dominic Deyo was the first to meet with me and was super helpful. The previous day I was misinformed by 311 about one thing. I had been told that printing my plans on 8.5" by 11" paper was acceptable. Dominic showed genuine concern and understanding and then assisted me in getting them printed right then and there on the correct size paper. 2 hours later, I'd met with 3 other employees (who were also very reasonable and efficient) and I walked out with approved plans to finish a basement!!! Same day, one trip. While 311 was wrong about the size of paper I needed to bring in, the 311 person was correct about the permit office's efforts to make the process MUCH easier and FAR more efficient. It really felt like an office full of people who truly care.

The Howard County Police Department is absolutely wonderful! ! I had the pleasure of working…read moreclosely with the Howard County Police Department when I was a Lead Loss Prevention Agent at Nordstrom in Columbia Mall. The assistance I received from your Dispatchers and Police Officers was truly outstanding and amazing. The HCPD knows how to perfectly handle criminal matters while displaying high intelligence and empathy for people. I miss working with you and you have my highest respect! Thank you for all the incredible work you do keeping everyone safe!