Category Archives: Around Town

August 3, 2012 · 10:00 am

Birding in Georgetown

 

While GM was looking out his back window last night, he happened to notice a bright yellow bird munching on the flowers of his basil plant:

The shot up above is when the bird flew off to a wire after GM stepped on to the porch. GM has never seen such an exotic looking bird in Georgetown. However, upon researching he determined that it’s just an American Goldfinch, which is hardly rare.

While Georgetown has plenty of green-space for an urban neighborhood, the fact is that we don’t have a particularly exotic stock of wild birds flying around, at least as far as GM can tell. Maybe a few hummingbirds here and there, or the occasional hawk flying by, but nothing to out of the ordinary.

Or is GM just not a very observant birder? What sort of interesting birds have you seen around town?

 

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July 18, 2012 · 10:00 am

New Georgetown Yoga Studio Opens

A new yoga studio has opened in Georgetown, toponymously named Georgetown Yoga. It’s located on P St. and 26th, right next to Jean Pierre Antiques.

This is a local production. It was opened by Eli Hengst, a longtime Poplar St. resident. This isn’t the first Georgetown commercial foray for Hengst; he used to own Mendocino Grill.*

Of particular interest to the GM household, Georgetown Yoga will offer programs for toddlers and babies. This will be popular with Mrs. GM and Little GM, who now trek all the way up to Little Omm in Tenleytown for their baby yoga needs. Continue reading →

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July 9, 2012 · 10:00 am

Anyone Missing a Bird?

This isn’t something you see too often: Somebody found an (apparently) lost white bird in the alleyway off of P St. at 33rd. The avian protector believes the bird is possible a dove.

So if you’re a west Georgetown resident missing a white dove-looking bird, call 202-345-2400. Chances are pretty good that this is it.

It would be quite a lucky stroke if this is indeed a lost bird. GM once saw a bright green parakeet flying around 32nd st. GM definitely could be wrong, but he’s pretty sure DC is not in the natural range of wild parakeets. Before GM could even begin contemplating how to catch this bird (salt on the tail?) it flew away.

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July 5, 2012 · 10:00 am

People Worth Knowing Right Now

GM ran this article last year during a heat wave, and with the onset of another stretch of unbearable heat, he decided to run it again.

It’s incredibly hot outside already. And there’s no better way to cool off than a dip in a pool. But what if you don’t have a pool, and the public pools aren’t open? What you do is get to know someone with a pool. And it turns out that the city helps you identify whom to befriend.

Among many other data sets, the city keeps a record of all the pools in the city. And better yet, they keep the data in mapable form. So a couple quick clicks on Google, and voila, a map of all the pools in Georgetown. All the blue squares above are pools. Now you just need to figure out how to chat these neighbors up. Or just jump their fence when you know they’re not around (kidding!)

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June 26, 2012 · 10:00 am

Great Temporarily Closed Sign, Or Greatest?

Seen in the Georgetown Dinette window:

June 09 2012

Dear Friend

We are away from store about two weeks for family matter.

We are very sorry.

Don’t be mad, sad, cry.

We’ll be back soon and happy together again.

Emmy and Harry

Great temporarily closed sign, or greatest?

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June 22, 2012 · 10:00 am

Stuff to Do to Stay Cool


Photo by Dissolved.

It’s wicked hot out there right now. And you probably just want to stay inside all weekend. But you can’t stay inside forever! You’ve got to get outside, and here are some activities you can do to stay cool:

Jack’s Boathouse

Jack’s Boathouse is at the end of Water St. just on the other side of Key Bridge. They rent out canoes, kayaks, and GM’s new favorite: stand up paddle boards. You pay by the hour, but they’re not terribly strict about watching the clock on you.

So long as it hasn’t rained heavily recently, jumping out of the boat for a quick dip is safe. (Although, GM recommends avoiding opening your mouth). You can just slip off a stand up paddle board, but if you want to get out of a canoe or kayak, you should run it aground on a sand bar.

Jack’s gets pretty crowded in the afternoon, so GM recommends getting there early. Continue reading →

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June 14, 2012 · 10:00 am

Prettiest Block in Georgetown?

GM has long admired the 3200 block of P St. just west of Wisconsin. But now that the street rehab is mostly over for this block, he now believes it’s the prettiest block in Georgetown.

What’s not to like? It’s got the historic cobblestones with the newly restored trolley tracks. It’s got a beautiful tree canopy. It’s got a great collection of little shops ranging from a used book store, a stationary/tea store, Ed Solomon’s bridal boutique, a gourmet chocolate shop, to a high end antiques store. And it’s got the majestic Addison school anchoring the south side.

Little mini-neighborhoods like this, with their daily rhythms, are the building blocks to a great neighborhood. That it’s absolutely picturesque is gravy!

If you don’t agree, what block do you think is the prettiest?

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May 8, 2012 · 10:00 am

Stachowski Charcuterie Opens

Last week, Jamie Stachowski’s new charcuterie store opened in the old Griffin Market space, and its a fantastic new addition to the neighborhood.

Stachowski should be familiar to many east Georgetowners since he’s been bringing his sausages to the Rose Park Farmers market for years. Or maybe you saw him on the History Channel:

Right now, the market is just starting to fill out, but it’s already got a great selection:

On the right side are Stachowski’s sausages and cured meats, including drool-inducing whole logs of pancetta and prosciutto.

The left side has more traditional fresh meat. GM bought a nice skirt-steak cutlet, it was quite tasty.

GM asked Jamie what he planned to do with the big empty space in the center of the shop. He responded that he would add some seating for customers (the shop sells sandwiches and drinks). He also mentioned that they would likely sell cheese and other charcuterie-complimenting products. Continue reading →

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April 5, 2012 · 10:00 am

Tip: Get a Season Pass to Dumbarton Oaks

While GM certainly has an occasional complaint about the way Dumbarton Oaks can seem to begrudge visitors, he nonetheless thinks the estate is an amazing asset to the neighborhood and he visits it often. Often enough that he typically buys a season pass each summer, and you should too.

Here’s why: season passes are $55 for an individual, $75 for a couple, and $85 for a family (couples with children under the age of two can use a couple’s pass). Normal tickets are $8 a pop. So if you’re a couple and plan to visit the gardens at least five times between March and November, the pass pays off. If you’ve got older children, it pays off even faster. Continue reading →

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March 26, 2012 · 10:00 am

Georgetown in Motion: Dumbarton Oaks

GM’s back with some more cinegraphs from around Georgetown. Today he captured the pebble garden from Dumbarton Oaks. Enjoy!

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