A beautiful, summer-like day in the spring brought me outside to Gravelly Point. The park was…read morepacked, but I was still able to find a nice spot far enough away to feel alone. Seeing the planes come around the corner and get closer and closer until they're directly over you is such a surreal experience. Every 2-3 minutes, another plane is heading towards you. I enjoyed seeing the variety of airlines as well.

If you're looking for a unique activity on a nice day, I highly recommend Gravelly Point. It has…read moreplenty of green space to lay down a blanket, set up a picnic, and watch airplanes fly right above you! Perfect for a date night, solo adventure, family time, or group fun! There are also plenty of walking/biking paths, some picnic tables, and portapotties. It's also really fun to people watch. There is free parking but be warned that the lot gets a little hectic/crowded in the evenings.

Another one of my favorite places to simply enjoy on a nice day. It's romantic enough for sunset…read moreviews on one of the many benches and scenic enough to stop and mentally relax. Highly recommended and if you're up to it, take the trail and see more of the beauty that this area has to offer. Great for cyclists, runners, walkers, and families!

Didn't know this actually had a name. Who knew! Skip the banter, the answer is YES! VISIT! Everyone…read moredoes! It's a staple landmark in DC! Story Time! I came to the Georgetown Waterfront in my Season of YES, which apparently includes saying yes to waterfront views, questionable boat dynamics, and accidental raccoon contour. My friend wanted to show me all things water for a memorable Holiday weekend, so Georgetown Waterfront was the obvious meet‑up, because this girl was NOT driving to Potomac, MD. Boats, docks... I was getting the full tour of our brown waters of the DMV. And honestly, this area is perfect: lively, scenic, and full of characters to watch. The park area has no tie‑ups, so if you want to have a picnic off your boat, the park grassy area is a short walk away. I grew up in DC and if you did too, you already know the rule: You do NOT get in the Potomac. We were raised on stories about what's in that water; dead bodies, secrets, evidence, probably a missing chapter of DC history. And no, it's not saltwater. It's Potomac, MD water: a very specific shade of brown that politely tells you to mind your business. Fast forward 25 years... Potomac still looks brown, still looks suspicious, still looks like it has a backstory it refuses to share. But here I am, floating on top of it like I'm not fully aware of its reputation. Now let's talk about the people‑watching, because THAT is the real attraction when you come to the Georgetown Waterfront. You've got the oldies but goodies, seasoned gentlemen with boats, confidence, and clearly the budget to sponsor a whole afternoon. And then you've got the young women they're "hosting," who look like they were born after the iPhone. The dynamic is... noticeable. The math is mathing. If I feel out of place with someone who is 16 years older, I can only imagine how these college girls felt. But let me give it to these girls, they laughed at the jokes and listened to stories from these men's "good ole college days"... 45 years ago. It made for GREAT entertainment. I found myself staring like, "Should I ask their ages or just assume this is a mentorship program?" I chose silence. Once a woman can be your daughter... I don't know. It's a little off‑putting. But here I am, on a boat, sharing space with someone's grandpa and someone's young college daughter. Seasoned men taking younger women out is a thing, and here I am watching the circle of life. Very interesting. I realize in this moment older men just want companionship and they will treat women to dinner and fun for the exchange. Eeeek. At one point I caught my reflection and realized the "charcoal contour" on my face. I looked like I'd done a charcoal face mask and forgot to rinse, nope, just hair dye from a hopeful silver fox. Not sure why men do this to stop the aging. Grey is in! Stop putting in dye on your beards gentlemen! It's not cool. Suddenly the college girls' side‑eyes made sense. They were trying to figure out if I was okay or if I'd just escaped from a fight. Nope ladies, it was beard paint all over my face calling me out, like, "Let's give you more attention and Racoon Eyes." Overall, the Georgetown Waterfront is beautiful, entertaining, and full of life. Great views, great energy, and always something to look at, even when you're trying not to. Best place to come, relax, picnic, tie up (if you have a boat), and enjoy the restaurants all along the water. Tip: Use the DC Wharf or National Harbor for gassing up! Georgetown lets you tie up without a fee, chaos in the best way.

Awesome festivities, creative lights on boats, and community engagement at its best! Amazing…read moremusics venues, Pendry Hotel tables nicely designed outdoors with a fire pit, and a Santa photo op. Various treats and freebies offered, great concert - live music. Talk about clubbing on the pier! This evening of Jack Daniels partnership on a pier at the wharf was a full on Techno, old school, pop dance party! They did not spare much...DJ sounds, free tastings of Jack Daniels apple whisky and Jack Daniels rum and coke lasted from 6-9pm. The Boat parade was demonstrated how great a community we have on the the wharf. Followed by fireworks, this 30 year celebration of the holiday boat parade could not have been a better welcoming of the holidays! Kudos to the wharf for putting on an amazing event!

My husband and I love boats and sailing (and one of the things that drew us to each other). So it…read morewas pretty humorous that we had consistently missed the Parade of Lights for the entirety of our relationship...but quite honestly, isn't that the way it seems to always go? Well, this year, we put it on our calendars well in advance, and made a point to head down for the Parade of Lights. So, first of all - if you haven't heard of it before, the Parade of Lights is on the Potomac...as in, it's a parade of *boats*. The parade starts off in Old Town Alexandria (down by the Torpedo Factory), and ends up on the DC Wharf on Water Street, where all the boats dock, and there is a big awesome after party. We opted to watch from Alexandria, as we weren't really in the mood to deal with drunken revelers (I know, so unusual for me!), and I think we were ultimately glad we did. Although the docks were crowded (seriously, get there early and stake a spot!), the view was perfect. The boats were all decked out in lights, each boat with a different theme (although there should be a drinking game...whenever a boat's theme is "Christmas", you do a shot. You'll be drunk 15 minutes into this thing). So the good: The event started right on time. The kick off was supposed to be at 5:30, and the first boat pulled into view at 5:35. Awesome. Some of the boats are decked out incredibly creatively It's not your usual parade There was a professional radio DJ (I didn't catch which one...Tommy something?) that provided the commentary and filled up the time when the boats lagged behind The not so good: The DJ that was providing the commentary ran out of material about 1/3 of the way through and he started to read off tweets...which I pretty much loathe (even though I'm a huge fan of twitter) Some of the boats really lagged, so there were periods where you would just stand there in the cold waiting for another boat to pull into view It is COLD. It's the beginning of December, on the water, at night. OMG. SO. COLD. All that being said, it's a quirky, off the wall little event, and I love the creativity that the captains put into their boats. Definitely fun and weird.

Took metro to the game, short walk to the stadium. Plenty of food or drinks options if you want to…read morepregame outside, but also plenty of options inside as well. Stander high stadium prices here. Most vendors quick to process orders and keep the line moving. For hot days there are mister fans in various locations to cool the summer heat. Good views throughout the park to enjoy a game or event!

Being a New York sports fan it's hard to imagine attending a live sporting event without an element…read moreof menace. A spur of the moment trip to see the Nationals in DC was an easy audible with close proximity to the Metro and a knowledgeable, hardworking staff to smooth all the edges. One note. If you look for tickets on-line, the Nats will force you to create an account with MLB.com -- a task which is somewhat involved since I have no interest in buying the team and only want two tix. As the Nats run a cash-free organization, the easiest thing to do is go to their ticket office directly outside the center field gate and they'll text you two tix without the MLB nonsense. Being an avid ticket stub collector, I should deduct a star but what the hell, the evening was a blast. A beautiful ballpark and a great time. Five easy stars.

National Independence Day Parade is a crowded event on a very hot day. It is nice to go to the…read moreArchives and see bleached out and unreadable Declaration of the Independence or the Constitution, signed by a few chosen ones. It is very proper on this day to view it in the Archives. When you are done, you pass people who sat on the curb for many hot hours to see one hour parade. The parade is patriotic and going nicely and fast. My biggest let down is the total lack of diversity in the high school bands from Arkansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and many other states. They represented different parts of America but they did not represent America, the melting pot of the cultures, I know. It was great to see the parade again and I am good for another 10 years....

7/7/20 *I enjoy the 4th of July and give it four stars. What…read moreyou read farther down are just my thoughts.* The 4th Of July,  The Red, The White and The Blue. As a kid I remember getting very excited about the fire works, going swimming at the swimming pool  or some other holiday event with my parents. In my teens and as a kid, I enjoyed seeing people getting very patriotic with dress wear and of course, The Fourth of July Parades. On very special occasions, I got to be apart of the 4th of July parade...( hope I am not confusing this with some other parade).  As a kid doing such a thing was amazing experience. As an adult aside from this being a national holiday and get paid...(unless your employer doesn't pay for national holiday unless you are  working that day, but that is another story...) I haven't  been to a fourth of July gathering unless you count last years Forth of July in Washington State. Yeah, I watched the fireworks from the rooftops of my aunt's house.  We even celebrated the event with twinkies and ho-hos.   Delicious and disgusting  all in one....but for one and all, they were available. I also saw the events unfold on Canada Day, but didn't get to see the fireworks.  I missed them by a second. Then there is my friend Jasmine Paddington (yes, I gave her a fake last name) wrote a lovely review on some of the history behind her country's events.   She wrote something that I had been thinking about for a while.  Funny how one review  I wrote can inspire someone else,  who than inspires me to write what has been on my mind for a while. If you saw the movie The Shining,  there are a number of things that you might miss or not understand. Check out The Shining Ending Explained on YouTube for more details. It mentions something that stayed with me for years. The movie is fiction,  but there are things that are real and I will get to that in a moment.  In school I remember learning about the American Revolution,  The French and Indain Wars, Western Civilization, Eastern Civilization. I remember some teachers going into what happened with the Native Americans, but it wasn't as detailed as Black History. As I watched the ending of The Shining,  I thought about how one group of Americans celebrated their freedom from The British,  then thought about how this day wasn't as good a day for the Native Americans.   Thoughts of their rights being stripped away from them, their land being taken away, even their very lives. I thought about deals being made only to be broken. Yeah, in The Shining the Native Americans were pissed off.  I think about how land someone owns and how it has been taken away by someone else.  This was not just done by the Caucasians or Whites, but by all races and species as well.   All these thoughts ran through my mind from the movie to the here and now.  Yes,  some people know a little bit about the history of 4th of July aka Independence Day, but not all people or specifically Native American feel happy about The Fourth Of July. In short, these are just my thoughts and I am writing about.  I still Enjoy the Fourth of July, but as of today, I learned more about it. Its interesting how some things can trigger memories or thoughts. Just writing this review got me thinking what my ancestry is.  My wife and a few other people think I might have Native  American bood in me or something else all together...to this day, I still haven't found out.

Lady Bird Johnson Park is a small park that takes up most of Columbia Island in the Potomac River…read morecreated in honor of the work the former First Lady did around urban beautification. Here's why it's worth a visit: 1) Park: It's a larger park with lots of trees, flowers and picnic tables in shade for family getaways. There are trails throughout the park including one that leads to a pedestrian bridge to the Pentagon. 2) Parking: There's a free three-hour parking lot near the marina. 3) Memorial: In the middle of the park is a memorial for Lady Bird's husband, President Johnson. 4) Views: The views from the park are stunning. You can see the entire National Mall from across the river. If you need a park with fewer people and lots of shade, go here!

Took a wrong turn and that's an easy thing to do in this part of town, trust me. Entering this park…read moreturned out to be a pleasant surprise. Decided to get out of the car and start walking down the trail and this turned out to be peaceful as all get out. A few yards into the tree line and you hear birds singing and insects chirping and the city washes away. The tall trees provide plenty of shade and relief from the afternoon sun. A few hundred yards down the trail you come to a clearing with a giant rock formation in the center. This is the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac. There's a whole backstory to this memorial grove told by Lady Bird Johnson herself. Just press the button and listen to the recordings. From here facing east you can see the Potomac River and it's a beautiful spot. It's easy to see why President Johnson chose this location. He used to come here when he wanted to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the White House. The Mount Vernon Trail passes through the park so watch out for joggers and cyclists. You can find restrooms and trash cans close to the parking lot and snacks are available at the Columbia Island Marina.

The DC Cherry Blossom Bus Tour with Tidal Basin Guided Walk…read more I've been a resident of the DMV for 15 years and welcome the opportunity to show the highlights of D.C. when members of my family come for a visit. My sister Mary lives in Delaware and had long wanted to experience the color and drama of the Cherry Blossom Festival. These visits can be frustrating - we never really know when the blossoms will be in full bloom, and how long they'll be pretty and photogenic. This year (2026) was no different. The DC Cherry Blossom Tour, hosted by USA Guided Tours, was our go-to provider for this outing. After I ordered our tickets for a mid-week 10 a.m. four-hour tour, I received a prompt acknowledgement from TripAdvisor that the reservations were ready. I made the reservation just a few days earlier, so it was great to see the email that acknowledged our tickets and told us where to go to join the tour. The logistics involved in getting to the correct bus were easy: my sister and I showed up at the Navy Memorial, across the street from the National Archives (which is on the Yellow line Metro). A tour representative was already there and did a great job of getting us into the proper queue for our tour (USA Tours had four different tours departing that morning). The tickets were scanned and we were on our way, right on time. Highlights of the tour included walking through the cherry trees with abundant blossoms, photographers everywhere, and really pretty expressions of an early summer day in the District. We could see across the tidal basin to the impressive carved statue of Martin Luther King, Jr., which we headed to after spending the first walking excursion in the tidal basin and then the FDR Memorial. Our guide did an outstanding job of providing backstories and context to the places we visited, including the Lincoln Memorial, the World War II Memorial, and the Vietnam War Memoria. We had ample opportunities to stretch our legs, take free bottles of water, and use restroom facilities (as the bus did not have one on board). Both driver and guide handled their responsibilities very well, and we all had an excellent opportunity to see the blossoms. And, just as our guide had predicted, a severe thunderstorm rolled through the tidal basin later that day and wiped out 100 percent of the blossoms we enjoyed earlier that day. Luck of the draw!

It was pretty nice, fun and delightful. The costumes, foods,…read moremusics, colors, products, people, parade... all was really enjoyable! I can't wait for the next year! There is a band consist of Japanese Embassy stuff. They were good! I tried, kimono, hat,... There is a chopstick, origami, fan, anime characters, bowls,...all was from traditional Japan culture... Next year I will get ready with traditional Japan costume and make up!

Meridian Hill Park is so underrated, far enough away from downtown that tourists either don't know…read moreabout it or is too far for them to get to it (not really a close by Metro stop). I held a birthday party here years ago. I have visited this spot dozens of times when I lived in DC and yesterday I visited again to see the flowing fountains! Definitely much more vibrant, clean, lively, and energetic now. People biking, walking, reading, napping, hammocking, and just hanging out. Great spot to meet with friends, plenty of sunny and shaded spots, with clean bathrooms up on the northeast side near Euclid St. If you have an opportunity to visit, visit!

Following many years of dilapidation, the fountain at Meridian Hill is finally working again. The…read morespace was hopping when I visited, and it's no surprise. A couple of individual stall bathrooms are working on the top level. Most people though, were sitting in the lower domain and enjoying the views.

This park is a special hidden jewel in Bloomingdale. It is a private park maintained by neighbors…read moreand nestled behind a city block of houses surrounded by ally. It has beautiful landscaping and a number of community events including holiday lights, a community yard sale with food, entertainment and contests. Their is a movie series in the fall and other special events like Pride in the park which brings in thousands of dollars a year for maintenance upkeep and improvements. Bring a blanket and a frisbee and a friendly dog and hang out.

Crispus Attucks Park is a true neighborhood park. It's in Bloomingdale surrounded by rowhomes. If…read moreyou didn't know it was there, you'd easily miss it. Once inside, you'll see a large green space with benches, gardens, and a space for dogs. They sometimes host neighborhood events as well. One of my favorite parts of this park is the guestbook under one of the benches for visitors to sign and share wisdom/thoughts.