Downtown Mall (Charlottesville, Va.)

I just love this town.  I was in Charlottesville, Va.on New Year's Day (weekend) and took a late afternoon stroll through its downtown mall.  The downtown mall is a historic 'urban park' pedestrian-only mall and serves as the centerpiece of tourist and local attractions in Charlottesville.  The mall was once a downtown street (Main Street) and today it serves as a pedestrian plaza featuring a vibrant mix of shops, offices and restaurants.  At one end of the mall is the NTelos Wireless Pavilion - an outdoor amphitheater where live entertainment takes place.

Downtown Mall

Silver Spring

On today, I made the 50-mile drive down to Silver Spring, Maryland to catch the subway into Washington D.C.  The subway station is located in the heart of Silver Spring and is about a 30 min. train ride into D.C.  The weather was quite deceiving on this mid-December afternoon - mild temperatures, near sunny skies and no jacket/sweater required.  I'd guess the temps. got up to the high 60s - which is absolutely okay with a warm-minded person as myself.

Silver Spring is, perhaps, one of the three urban centers of Montgomery County, Maryland (Bethesda and Rockville being the other two). Silver Spring is what we urban planners would label as an 'edge city'.  Edge cities are urban communities located at or near the 'edge' of city boundaries and have a high concentration of businesses, residence and entertainment.  Silver Spring is a perfect example of such.

Below are several photos of 'downtown' Silver Spring, that includes scenes from the weekend farmer's market and a cool artsty Christmas tree situated in the downtown plaza area near Ellsworth Street.

End Of Summer

My summer ended with a weekend trip to Ocean City, Maryland.  Ocean City is a beach resort that rests at the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.  It was a warm, sunny September weekend and my trip so happened to coincide with the annual Bike Fest weekend.  I didn't go to Ocean City for that event; I went for the scenery, sand and the sun.

Discover History

In the fall of 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture will open its doors at the National Mall in Washington DC.  This awakening will occur after 13 years of planning and design.  The Museum (according to the Smithsonian Institution website) will be "devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, art, history, and culture".  I recently had the opportunity to visit the site where the Museum is nearing completion.  The site is on the National Mall, at 15th Street, just across the street from the Washington Monument.  Not only will the Museum have exhibits, it will also host ceremonies and performances.

National Museum of African American History and Culture - Washington DC

the UCLA game (my trip to L.A.)

The University of Virginia football team opened the 2015 season with an away game vs. UCLA.  I felt that this would be an opportune time for me to experience the west coast and to see my team play a very good football team.

I took the 5-hour airplane ride from Dulles Airport (in Loudoun County, Va.) to Los Angeles, California a day before the game.  Having never traveled that far before, I was ecstatic about the prospects of what the west coast would be all about (if it was for only 3 days).  I arrived at LAX airport around 10:30 am Pacific time, early enough to hop the shuttle bus to the 'aviation' transit-rail stop.  This train would take me into downtown L.A.  Once in downtown, I made a transfer to the 'gold' line which took me to my final destination: Pasadena, California.  Pasadena is a lovely 'edge city' - most of its downtown architecture is of a 'brownish tan' color, with palm trees aligning the clean, festive streets.  The game that I would attend would be in Pasadena at the famous Rose Bowl and we (Virginia) did lose: 34-16 - not a surprise.

Below are photos of downtown Pasadena, the Rose Bowl and a beautiful church I saw in the Koreatown section of Los Angeles.  * Please check back in the weeks to come, as I will include more commentary and photos about my visit to Los Angeles and Pasadena.

Pasadena, Calif.

Pasadena, Calif.

Rose Bowl

a church in Koreatown (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Remember the Alamo

The Alamo

Last summer, I had an opportunity to visit San Antonio, TX and I took the above photo of the Alamo.  The Alamo is famously known as the "Shrine of Texas Liberty" - the Battle of the Alamo became an enduring symbol of a heroic resistance to oppression and a struggle for independence from Mexico.  The Alamo was a Franciscan mission where in 1835 a group of Texan volunteer soldiers occupied the mission to resist Mexican invaders.  The Texas forces eventually prevailed and the Alamo became the symbol of Texas freedom from Mexico.

Awakening

For those of you whom have visited the National Harbor "town center" in Prince George's County, MD, you most likely have experienced "The Awakening".  The Awakening is an aluminum sculptured statue of a 'giant' buried in the sand along the shore of the Potomac River.  It's a must-see at the Harbor and has become a iconic symbol of (I believe) the renaissance that has taken place along the county's shoreline.  If you have yet to visit the National Harbor, do make it a place to see whenever you are in the Washington DC area.  It's easily located off of I-95/495 and there's shopping, dining, entertainment and a soon-to-be casino and live entertainment venue that's slated to open next year.