Newly renovated, besides the stunning design, the biggest improvement are the wide pedestrian…read morepathways on both sides allowing for runners, walkers and bicyclists to pass without crowding each other.

Cyndy's Bottom Line: The historic site where Mclean originated…read more Mclean originated in this vicinity after-the electritied Great Falls and Old Dominon railroad began operating in 1906. The community of McLean is named after one of the wealthy men who bought out the GF&OD charter in 1902, John R. McLean.

Before this review is over You'll know everything about NOVA…read moreBut if you go by car You won't get very far In a jam behind some dude's Land Rover Easily some of the worst traffic I've ever experienced, though DC proper and Maryland are not better. I went to school in Fairfax, those were simpler times. I loved it, although I would recommend other schools to those wanting a true college experience. My Uncle lives around here and I know it well. He lives out in the bougie parts of Manassas, and that's just too far away, although it's beautiful. I recommend Falls Church, specifically the Eden Center, the Viet capital of the East Coast really. Even though Annandale is famous for being the Korean heart of perhaps the whole of East Coast (only K-town in Los Angeles is more Korean, of any place in the US I've been), it has a lot of other great things too. Such as Indo-Pakistani, Peruvian, and many more. Not to mention The Block which is one of the hottest places to hang out, with the snocream and poke place inside. DC food in general - Falafel Inc in Georgetown. Burger Shack in Centreville. In MD burbs, Sardi's (Peruvian Chicken), Silk Road Choyhona (chicken kebab), hot pretzel and banana shake at Sadieanne's inside Dutch Village Farmer's Market in Upper Marlboro. Gyros at Yia Yia and Plaka. Late night, these 3: Kabob Palace, Amsterdam Falafel, Hard Times (Alexandria - Terlingua Red). La Casita for Salvadoran. Mazadar for Afghan. Dessert at SnoCream in Annandale. Also District Doughnuts in Georgetown, York Castle - crazy tropical flavors. If I had to pick one suburb to hang out, in all of the DMV, I would pick Annandale. The tragedy is that I used to live in Annandale and I never understood how wonderful it was until I had to move away. Youth is definitely wasted on the young. Yes Annandale is amazing for culture and food, such as The Block, a cool dance club/indoor food hall full of mostly Asian treats. This is absolutely the cool hip place to hang out in the DMV. All the cool kids are here from many different ethnic backgrounds, which is awesome. I can't really list the highlights of the place because I only come here for sno-cream. So far anyway. I loved it but I loved it more when it was on the bus and was a novelty and had the feeling and the decor of something truly unique and special, whereas it is now just your typical hipster spot. I even wrote a rap about The Block to finish this review. I love K-Pop but I don't like ROCK I love Molly Ringwald and Kelly Le BROCK Like Robin Thicke I have a big C**K Like the Chilli Peppers I keep it in a SOCK Actually, everything I said is a CROCK Trying to find my pee-pee's like the search for SPOCK It's skinnier than the second hand on a CLOCK It's the reason girls always laugh and MOCK It's why my little row boat never can DOCK It's a key so small it could never fit a LOCK I'm starting to believe I'd be better in a FROCK Or in an old gulag in the Eastern BLOC Anyway, come on in, you don't have to KNOCK I won't take off my pants (you'd faint from SHOCK) Instead you and I can run (not WALK) To the place where more than Seagulls FLOCK It is to NOVA teens what soy sauce is to the WOK It is to Yelp what Nessie is to the LOCH Yeah let's all go and get dessert at The BLOCK WHOCK I mean What.

Sometimes I just want to walk to Silver Spring without having to deal with the bus. If not because…read moreof the stress of waiting on a system whose willingness to get me from point A to point B is hampered by its unreliable schedule, then it's certainly because The Silver Pass provides this proactive pedestrian with a straight shot to the downtown area. Situated between a fire station and Mayorga, the The Silver Pass gives walking folk a means to travel safely underneath railroad tracks and alongside heavy traffic. The walls flow with dark colored, horizontal lines, appropriately giving you the impression that you are venturing forward. Also, on either end of the Pass, you'll find tiled mosaics depicting the colorful inspiration of its artists. Although The Silver Pass is not much to marvel at, it is enough to appreciate. Without it's convenient pedestrian walkway I'd have to add another 5 minutes to my trip. Sure, sometimes it smells funny and I question whether it's car exhaust or piss (I try to avoid touching the walls), but The Silver Pass serves its purpose as a convenient walkway, and I'm fine with that.

Thursday afternoon I headed down to The Birchmere to see a concert that I was really excited to see…read more- Moya Brennan. For those of you that may be unfamiliar with the name - if you've ever heard of the Irish Supergroup - Clannad - Moya is the lead singer of Clannad. Moya is also Enya's older sister. I always try to arrive at The Birchmere 30-40 minutes before the doors to the Box Office open at 5:00 pm. When picking up will call tickets you've ordered over the phone or internet, they give you a stub with a number on it. You then hang out in the bar of the Birchmere, drink, and wait for them to open the doors to the Music Hall at 6:00 pm. They then call for folks to enter by those numbered ticket stubs they hand out. So, getting down there early means you will get in the Music Hall early and be guaranteed reasonably good seats. Traffic was bad and I arrived later than I normally do - it was about 4:45 pm when I arrived. but the line was not to bad, there was only nine people ahead of me in line. I thought I was prepared for the cold weather and dressed warmly - but it was frickin' cold out! Even just standing outside for 15 minutes! I picked up my ticket, bought a second ticket for a friend and left it at the Box Office for her with her name on it, and went and hung out in the Bar with my friend Robert and ordered a Dominion Ale. This was the second time getting to see Moya perform. I saw her last performance at The Birchmere a couple of years ago when she toured to support the release of her album "Two Horizons." When the doors to the Music Hall opened at 6:00 pm, since we only had 9 other parties in front of us, we managed to secure a nice table right down in front of the stage - front row seats! Yaaaaayyyyy! Robert and I ordered dinner - we both opted for the Cajun Gumbo - it's okay as Gumbo goes, I've had better, but I've also had far worse. I also continued drinking Dominion Ale. The performance started promptly at 7:30 pm. Moya came out with her band. She announced that the evening would be a combination of music from her two latest albums - "Signature" and "Irish Christmas" plus some old Clannad songs. So throughout the evening we got to experience her take on Christmas songs. Moya has a beautiful voice, and she is a kind, funny, and beautiful soul. Her essence shines through in both her music, and her as a person. She is very sweet! She sang songs from throughout her career, including some classics such as "I Will Find You," the theme song from the movie "Last of the Mohicans" which was done by Clannad. She also sang "Robin (The Hooded Man)" some of you may have seen a British TV show from the 1980s entitled "Robin of Sherwood." Clannad performed the theme song for that show "Robin (The Hooded Man)." The crowd went nuts when she played "I Will Find You" and "Robin (The Hooded Man)." Her Christmas songs were just ethereal. Wonderful. Beautiful. Joyful. Just to be there, and experience her, feel her, was beyond any words in the languages of men to adequately describe what I felt. She sang a number of Christmas songs - my favorites were "Deck The Halls," "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "The Wexford Carol" and "Silent Night." "Silent Night" was especially beautiful. After the performance was completed, the crowd stood and applauded and applauded and applauded until she came back out. They performed three final songs and ended with "Silent Night." She sang the song, first in Gaelic, then in English, then she motioned for the audience to join her in singing the song. There was a short 10 minute intermission during the performance - I used that time to duck out to the store in The Birchmere and purchase her two latest albums "Signature" and "An Irish Christmas." After the concert, we got in line out in the Lobby to meet Moya and have our CDs autographed by her. I was sixth in line so I did not have to wait long. She is such a lovely person, I got the chance to ask her several questions to which I've been dying to know the answers. I got to ask her about her first name - her real name is spelled "Maire" with an accent over the "a" but we stupid Americans were always mispronouncing it as something else - she has been called everything from "Marie" to who knows what else. Even though her real name is spelled "Maire," it's pronounced "Moya." If you go back and buy her early albums - you will see they are under the real spelling of her name. Anyway she changed to "Moya" for marketing because it was easier. I then asked her if Clannad had disbanded as they had not released an album or toured for a terribly long time. She laughed and told us that Clannad was getting ready to gear up for a UK/European Tour. I asked, hoping against hope - might we get to to see Clannad tour the U.S.? She said if they can work it out - find the right promoter - that the answer would be yes! I have my fingers crossed! It was a beautiful evening of music!

This piece was made by Ethan Kerber in 2014. Kerber, who goes by the name Midnight Metal Works…read moreInc., fabricated the piece at TechShop. You will find it in a little duckoff spot in the Crystal City Business Improvement District. It is part of the larger Art Walls collection. Kerber specializes in metal graffiti art. This sculpture is made of welded steel and he used using three-dimensional modeling software to create it. He added a couple of shades of blue to the sculpture to give it some color. Kerber uses a series of abstract/graffiti style letters, symbols, and shapes to form the sculpture. The sculpture does resemble graffiti that you would see on a wall somewhere and the title plaque the title of the sculpture and Kerber's name in graffiti text. There is a little bench in front of the sculpture and you will find metered street parking available on the street in front of the mural. I will admit, this sculpture is not a destination piece. It is worth a quick look if you are in the area. Most viewers of this sculpture will be passerby's or going to eat at one of the fine eateries on the street. With that being said, I recommend making a visit here part of a larger itinerary.

This nature-inspired sculpture is the work of John Ruppert. It was funded through the DC Office of…read morePlanning's Streets for People grant program and was sponsored by Mount Vernon Triangle CID in collaboration with HEMPHILL Artworks, The Wilkes Company, and Quadrangle Development Corporation. The piece is based on landscape, the processes that have formed it, and humanity's relationship to it. It was installed in an area of DC known as Mount Vernon Triangle in 2024. It measures 5 feet tall and 8 feet wide and is made of powder-coated chain-link fencing. The choice to use green represents spring and new beginnings. It is also meant to interact with the gardens' foliage during the growing season and serve as a memory during the winter months. You will find an informational plaque with information about the sculpture on a pedestal in front of it. The piece is very simple and is in great shape. But it should be noted that it was only returned to its original location because it was crushed this past winter. This is a decent piece. I will admit, though, it is really hard for me to decipher its meaning or the artist's vision. Anyway, as with most sculptures that I have visited and reviewed in the past, this is probably not a very long stop. It is not a destination attraction. I was there less than 5 minutes. So, you may want to consider adding stops at other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip.

This is an abstract piece that was painted by Rachael Wolfe-Goldsmith in 2020. It was commissioned…read moreby Demand Justice, an organization fighting for equality and representation within the Supreme Court System. There is metered street parking within a reasonable walking distance. If you would like to park, get out and take a closer look. To give this mural some background, the Supreme Court is over 231 years old, and not one Black woman has ever been confirmed or even nominated to serve on it. They have been passed by and overlooked for a seat on the highest court in our nation for far too long. ⁠ ⁠ Wolfe-Goldsmith created her vision of three different black women who could step into that role. The Supreme Court is also in the painting. Along the bottom of the mural, you will see women protesting during historical and current moments, where court decisions impacted black communities. The phrase "She Will Rise" is subtly painted across the mural in transparent letters. This is painted in an abstract fashion, which I normally do not like. However, it works for this mural, and I really love the mural's message. The artwork in this mural is really nice, and it is in good repair. It should be noted that the honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson was appointed the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court in 2022, 2 years after this mural. Anyway, as with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is probably not a very long stop. I was there for less than 5 minutes. So, you may want to consider adding stops at other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip.