They're Proud to Call Washington Their Home

Thursday, April 24, 2008

This year, we asked readers to participate in The Guide. We wanted them to share some of their local expertise by telling us about their favorite places in the city, what they like about living here and what advice they would give newcomers.

In response, we received more than 60 short essays. We heard from readers in their 90s and in their teens, from lifetime residents and just-off-the-bus newcomers. We learned that some of the District's most popular qualities are unique to the city: the Mall, especially with the monuments illuminated at night, the pervasive sense of history and the international flavor of our populace and restaurants. But readers' other reasons for contentment were more universal: closeness to family members, the neighborliness of their part of the city, the trees in their yard.

When it comes to favorite destinations, a few dominate -- the Mall, Union Station, Rock Creek Park, Eastern Market. But there are also enthusiastic proponents of the National Cathedral, Ben's Chili Bowl, Hains Point and the National Zoo. (The zoo's prairie dogs are highly recommended.)

Many readers referenced the ease of getting around, including several kudos for Metro and one particularly heartfelt ode to taxi drivers. And, it appears, as city dwellers, our readers really appreciate their access to nature. Beyond Rock Creek, there were raves for the National Arboretum, the cherry blossoms, the C & O canal, Anacostia Park, the Georgetown waterfront, and running and biking trails throughout the District.

Although tourist-watching is one reader's pastime, another noted his favorite time is Thanksgiving and Christmas, when the tourists are gone and he gets his city back.

Below are dozens of responses we received. Read on, to meet some of your neighbors.

Anacostia as Oasis

I recently purchased a new home in Anacostia in Southeast Washington. It is an oasis. My back yard bumps into Fort Circle Park. Oftentimes, when I walk out my front door, I see deer in my near back yard. When I lie down in my bed at night and look out the window, I see towering oak, pine and maple trees. I see stars twinkling in the sky. I hear squirrels, rabbits and insects. I smell what seems like fresh country air. It feels like my house is sitting in the middle of the woods. When I drive out of my complex, I see the Washington Monument, the Capitol, tree-lined streets, steep hills. Not to mention that Anacostia is full of rich history. I live a few minutes from work, shopping and entertainment. Besides, how many people can say they live near the Anacostia waterfront? It's a wonderful place to call home.

Paula Day

The Shadow of the Capitol

Living in the Eastern Market neighborhood of Capitol Hill, I had a part-time job bartending. I regularly walked four blocks home at 3 or 4 in the morning. This required me to cross Pennsylvania Avenue at Eighth Street in Southeast. At the median, I always paused to look at the Capitol in the distance. I soaked in its brilliant white dome against the still blackness of the city night as it shone upon me like a beacon of freedom. I bathed in that freedom and the pride I felt living in the shadow of the Capitol. I recalled the fear I felt on Sept. 11, 2001. I remembered dreading that a plane could be headed toward the Capitol. Then I looked to the still-standing Capitol and felt defiant resilience, strength, hope and optimism. After that, I continued crossing the street to go home, where I slept soundly.

Ryan Eades

Natives Aren't Afraid to Drive

I was born and raised in the District. My nation's capital has it all. My wife and our 6-year-old daughter also love it. Many people simply miss out on the eclectic lifestyle of African American families such as ours.

So why do many newcomers believe most residents are from elsewhere? Not sure. . . . I don't have enough time to list all my family members and friends who also are lifelong residents.

Here's a little insight from my proud "D dot C dot" family to yours:

Why do I like living here? From Woodridge, I can walk to a restaurant or drive downtown. (I said 'drive.' A real D.C. resident drives anywhere and finds legal parking. No suburban whining here!)

Best advice for newcomers? Enroll your child in the Capitol Hill Cluster School (yes, a public school!). Beware: The vibrant CHCS PTA wants you!

Best place to visit? Stroll through the National Arboretum.

Anthony W. Ball

New Resident Is Overwhelmed

I've lived here in the District for a total of eight days, so I might not even qualify, but I love this city! This is the central nervous system of our country. It's chaotic, crowded, busy, vibrant, multicultural, historical and can be cold (I'm from Texas).

Everything has a history -- from the monuments to the local eateries. You walk to the bus station and pass people from every country, some living and working here, some visiting for the first time. The traffic is crazy, and the parking is worse. The Department of Motor Vehicles is surprisingly efficient. The Washington Post has great editorials. The monuments at night are magical.

We're in the process of electing a new president, and history will be made again right here. I can't imagine a place I'd rather be right now.

Bonnie Lesnick

Commuting by Rock Creek

My Rock Creek Park commute to work each morning from Northwest to Silver Spring is a delight. I leave my condo and head down Grant Road (a pre-Civil War country road). Next is Ross Drive (named after one of the 1890s park builders). As often as not, I pull off to picnic site 10 or 11 and do a meditation stroll among towering trees. I am particularly attached to the twins and triplets: two or three trees growing on one root system.

There was only one other car by this point on my trip today. Next, I make a left turn onto Beach Drive, along the meandering creek, only one car going my way and two heading south into the District. A right turn onto West Beach Drive, and another to North Portal Drive, no other cars, the first traffic light and on toward the towers of Silver Spring with all-day parking for $3.50.

Jac Smith

Liberated Washington Women

Washington women are the most interesting and liberated of those in any city I know in the United States. For one thing, they are not slaves to fashion, but wear what suits them best, depending on the occasion. New Yorkers, who are fashion clones, have commented negatively that many women in Washington walk to work wearing comfortable sneakers with their business attire, planning to change at the office. . . . This phenomenon is just a visual reflection of the independent spirit that motivates D.C. women. They do not define themselves by the status of the men they might be married to, their occupations or what fashion writers decree. I do not need to add that many of them can carry on an intelligent conversation on almost any subject.

Terry Parmelee

Diversity on So Many Levels

You've heard the phrase "worlds within worlds." That's how I describe Washington, because within the city are many neighborhoods ranging from super-funky to very elegant. We live and work among people from all over the world. The diversity makes life interesting, and having friends from all over the globe enriches one's life.

Newcomers and visitors should know that D.C. is so much more than a government town. We have great restaurants and clubs in addition to the wonderful standard tourist sites. Whatever one's mood or fancy, there's a place for it here.

One of my favorite places is the National Cathedral. I go there to walk around, relax in the storybook gardens, just sit and think and browse the gift shops.

We also have boat trips on the Potomac, the Georgetown waterfront and a marina, fish market and restaurants in Southwest.

Diane Gibbs

For Families and Empty-Nesters

In Washington -- as in no other U.S. city -- a successful professional can live in a split-level suburban house, with tall trees surrounding a backyard swimming pool and basketball court, and still walk to his downtown office. For 30 years, I was able to escape commuting and enjoy the rich local urban culture of theater, opera, museums, restaurants and lectures, while living in the type of home Americans regard as most suitable for our family-oriented lifestyle. Now, with an empty nest, we've moved to an apartment at the Watergate, which, besides its river views and in-house shopping, is next door to the Kennedy Center and in easy walking distance of Metro and most of our daily needs. Where else in America is that possible?

Peter D. Ehrenhaft

The City All to Himself

Being a fifth-generation Washingtonian, I live for Thanksgiving and Christmas, when I can have my city back. Having worked many holidays downtown, I loved standing on a downtown corner and enjoying the moments when people who come from someplace else are gone for the holiday, and there's no traffic. What a wonderful feeling.

William L. Mills

Meet-and-Greet Neighborhood

I love being in a real neighborhood inside this city of ours: the Eastern Market/Capitol Hill area, where there's always someone who knows your name. Early-morning jaunts on weekends through the market to talk politics and cold cuts in Spanish with Jose Canales; showing off my limited/creative Greek while getting fresh produce from Leon Calomiris; and talking football with Melvin Inman and his boys while contemplating turkey jerky. All are unique pleasures. Watching Matty be Matty at the Tune Inn has a special charm, and a walk down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Mall or Botanic Garden can be a stroll down memory lane, as I meet and greet friends old and new. It is indeed a place I can always be comfortable, accompanied or alone. Perhaps not a city along the lines of Los Angeles or New York City, but a neighborhood metropolis, that is Washington!

Peter Levine

'Capitol Hill Tree Lady'

I am not a native Washingtonian but my roots here are deep. I came to the area after spending two years in Africa with the Peace Corps. Foggy Bottom was an ideal location for a young single -- close to work, plus nightlife. When I married, my husband wanted to walk to work. No traffic jams for us. We decided not to spend our middle years chauffeuring our sons to various activities -- let them take Metro. By the time we were empty nesters, I was the "Capitol Hill Tree Lady." I couldn't bear to pull up my roots and leave my trees behind. Now, I have purchased my first Metro Senior FareCard and occasionally think twice before heading upstairs in my three-level house. But this is not the time to put down new roots. I'll age in place with a little help from the Capitol Hill Village.

Margaret Missiaen

Southeast Library Is Her Haunt

As a 16-year-old girl who grew up in D.C., there are many places that I enjoy going to and visiting. But there is one place that I enjoy the most. On a Saturday evening, I enjoy going to the Southeast Neighborhood Library near Eastern Market. I enjoy it because it is a quiet place to go and just relax. When I go there, I love to get on the computer and visit many Web sites. Once I am done on the computer, I enjoy looking for a great book to read. Going to the library is great because I can just sit, think about things and know that I am in a quiet environment.

Shavari Cox

Places to Pretend and Ponder

I will share my secret places with you, if you promise not to tell anyone. These are places I go to play hide-and-seek with peace and tranquility.

Way far back in the Old Stone House garden on M Street, you can pretend you are in a Robert Louis Stevenson poem. At the Gandhi statue on Massachusetts Avenue, you can sit and let his words inscribed there carry you to a higher level. Sitting at the Dupont Circle fountain, you can daydream that you are at the Dam Square in Amsterdam. On 29th Street in Georgetown, south of M street, there is a spot where the canal and the river seem to come together, and you can revel in the beauty of the neighboring waters.

Of course, there are many more such places, but before I reveal them, you must show me first that you can keep this secret.

Margery Leveen Sher

The People Are Mad Cool

Even though I didn't grow up here, I now consider D.C. my hometown after living here 12 years, and it still gets better every day. I live in the city, so I love the entertainment -- the bars, restaurants, sports and, of course, the tourist-watching. I also love the fact that you can get from the city to either the mountains to ski or the ocean to surf in less than three hours. Of course, the people are great, too. People always talk about D.C. as a city of transients, but if you get to know the locals, they are mad cool people.

When friends and relatives come in town, I have to take them to Gravelly Point in Arlington. D.C.'s museums and monuments are amazing, but how often do you get to see a Boeing 757, going 150, mph fly less than 100 feet above you. It's awesome.

Brian Mark

First, the Franciscan Monastery

I have lived in Washington most of my life. I love living here. The bus stop is at the end of my block, and I walk to the Fort Totten Metro station in 15 minutes. I'm a senior, and it's good exercise. I have access to three different bus lines.

When I have visitors in town, or even my friends living here, who are unfamiliar with "the Church," I take them to my special place, the Mount St. Sepulchre Franciscan Monastery in Brookland. My favorite place there is the catacombs, a beautiful hidden treasure. You can pray, meditate or just sit and "be." That's the place to go! The grounds are especially beautiful in the spring when flowers are blooming!

Best advice for newcomers: Visit the monuments first and then the catacombs.

Doris Brown

Anacostia Park 'Has Everything'

As someone who has lived in Washington all her life, I would say that Anacostia Park is my favorite place. It has a little bit of everything for everyone. On a nice summer day, you can have a picnic on one of the many fields. If you have children, you can take them swimming, skating or to the playground. They have a basketball court and a tennis court for athletes to practice. It is also a great place for family gatherings. There are many tourist attractions along the Anacostia River. One of my favorite is the war boat that is used to show how sailors lived while out at sea. That is why the Anacostia Park is my favorite place to go in Washington.

Jasmine McPhaul

'Fascinating Mixture' Is Allure

Washington, D.C., how much do I love thee? Let me count some of the ways and utter inconsistencies, from the sublime to the mediocre and down to the appallingly bad and unfair. It's the fascinating mixture in the bag that makes up the allure.

Where else can I:

· Visit monumentally magnificent, mind-bogglingly masterful museum art?

· Get drunk on the bountiful beauty of the cherry blossoms on an early Sunday morning?

· Admire great architecture of buildings big and small, new and old, or shake my head in disbelief at actively ugly behemoths?

· Experience our streets' perennial plague of potentially perilous potholes?

· Enjoy smooth rides on our Metro trains when they function, or suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous managerial derailments?

· Hang out with interesting folks of all colors and ethnicity?

· Totally enjoy strong, live, creative, thrilling, first-rate, year-round theater productions, our own symphony and all other performing arts?

· Salivate over international cuisine?

· Have access to embassies from all over the world?

· Live in the nation's capital but be five minutes away from the luscious greens of Rock Creek Park or the National Arboretum?

· Breathe the same, oft-polluted air as our locust-like politicos who have done away with our parking spaces in the name of security?

· Pay taxes without representation?

· Have every conceivable branch of government at our fingertips?

· See strong and steady progress to leave behind the formerly disastrous administration of our city, a progress that now begins to thrive under the steerage of a remarkable mayor and those he appointed to run with him?

Renee Gier

Ah, Yes, the Cherry Blossoms

I am a 10th-grader at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School. My favorite place in Washington would be where the cherry blossom trees are located downtown and the parks. The reason I chose the cherry blossom trees is because when they come out in the spring, they look miraculous as the colors of red, pink and white come about. I also chose the parks (any park), because they are places where you can just relax and have a picnic. Or have a special occasion with your family or friends.

Kionna Bell

'Everything Is in Reach'

There are many reasons why I enjoy living in Washington. I enjoy living here because everything is in reach. You do not have to travel far just to go shopping. Everything is right there. Metrorail can take you almost anywhere. My favorite place to ride Metro is to the Boulevard at Capital Centre in Largo. When I go there, I like to shop and go to the Magic Johnson movie theaters. I also like living in D.C. because there is a lot of action here. If you are into politics, D.C. is the place to be. The people here are very friendly. I love D.C!

Christine Cauley

Sharing America's Front Yard

I had wanted to move to Washington for a decade but was actually quite unfamiliar with the city. My first impression (from the driver's seat of a yellow moving van) was a late-night look at our national monuments and government buildings, awash in white lights. After a two-day drive, it was a resplendent welcome to Washington. Rented sight-unseen, I instantly loved my apartment's location. An abundance of energy radiates below our small balcony overlooking Penn Quarter. Now, after a year of living blocks from the most public of places in the capital -- the Mall -- I've grown to think of America's front yard as my own back yard. Brisk walks in all seasons are my favorite exercise. So, do I consider myself fully at home in the District? I cheer the Redskins but hail from Dallas Cowboys country. I think that means yes.

Greg Staley

Friendly, Smart Cabbies

We've got incredible restaurants, world-class art and great public transportation, but nothing beats a D.C. cab ride. Admittedly, most cabbies drive like maniacs scurrying through traffic like roaches running from light. But once you are inside a cab, whether for a zone or more, it's an experience like nowhere else. Everyone has a cab ride story.

Our cabbies are smart. They're funny, opinionated, incessantly plugged into talk radio and eager to talk. Their favorite subjects are race, religion, politics and what makes the United States great or lousy. A D.C. cab ride is everything you can't get from gruff New York, silent airport shuttle mercenaries or, for that matter, your own family at Thanksgiving.

Washingtonians are often accused of being out of touch with the real world, blinded inside the Beltway. But all it takes is a cab ride, a question or two to get your driver talking, and you're in for quite a ride!

Carolyn Alsup

Urban Living Next to Nature

One of the greatest things about Washington is its mix of urban living with nature. You can be shopping in the amazing, dynamic neighborhood of Georgetown, then hop on your bike at the C&O canal towpath, and immediately be in the woods along the Potomac. Or you could be at a farmers market in the bustling Mount Pleasant neighborhood, complete with a strong ethnic El Salvadoran influence, then go down a side street and be in Rock Creek Park, in the center of a huge forest.

Chris Franks

Prairie Dogs Have Her Heart

Let me preface my remarks by stating that I do not work at the National Zoo as a volunteer or paid employee.

The zoo totally wipes away the stress, anxiety and frustrations of everyday life. When you enter the zoo, all of the above just vanish. One is at once bonding with nature and the animals that traverse this earth. The prairie dogs have captured my heart.

These little animals evoke more smiles and laughter than any other exhibit in the zoo, or so it seems. When visiting the exhibit, you can't help but notice the joy and merriment on the faces of little children, not to mention the adults. The prairie dogs kiss when they greet each other. They are very, very protective of one another. When the crows pass overhead and emit loud noises, the prairie dogs scamper into their tunnels.

I could go on and on about these little animals, but time and space do not allow me to elaborate further. They make me feel very, very happy.

M. O'Rourke

D.C. Tops Other Big Cities

Lots of U.S. cities have interesting neighborhoods, good restaurants, nice parks, fine colleges and rabid home team sports fans. Washington certainly has all that, plus all the government sites, museums and other capital city and tourist stuff.

But what I love are the other things that make Washington special:

· Livable neighborhoods right in the city, connected by the finest subway system there is (even if it doesn't go to Tysons or Dulles . . . yet).

· Two of the most beautiful airports in the country (and in the case of Reagan National, the most convenient), plus a train station that was worth that 20-year wait for the renovation.

· The most interesting and sophisticated local television, radio and newspapers of anyplace except -- maybe -- New York.

· The best-educated people in the country, even if they're mostly lawyers.

· Better running and bicycle trails than any city east of the Mississippi, and air clean (enough) to enjoy them.

Rick Jenney

Flying Into National at Night

Traveling by air is stressful and depressing these days: Find a place in the maze of lines inching toward the security gates; be patient, very patient; have boarding pass and official personal identification in hand; have liquids less than four ounces visible in a zip bag; grab a gray bin or two and hoist them onto the conveyer belt, along with the carry-on luggage; take off shoes and outerwear (hopefully without holey or smelly socks); remove laptop from its case and open; and hope a metal object (coins, belt buckles, jewelry) doesn't set off the body scanner. Finally, collect everything again from the fast-moving gray bins and repack, put on shoes and coat, don't forget the loose ticket and personal identification, and then race to the departure gate. Whew!

But for anyone fortunate enough to be flying into Reagan National at dusk, the images of the Capitol's monuments, lighted like opals against a velvet cobalt sky, are a uniquely beautiful reward. It is the sight I treasure when returning to Washington.

Diane Cummins

Kudos, Union Station Architects

I am a native Washingtonian. What I really like about living here is the diversity of the people and beautiful sites. My favorite place? That's easy: the new and improved Union Station. Its shops, places to eat and so many people moving in and out; it is by far the best thing that could have happened to D.C. I go there almost weekly to eat and/or shop or just to watch the beautiful people. I've met a lot of people at Union Station and have given directions and recommended places to eat. Just walking around the three levels can be fun and good exercise. The kids, adults, seniors, travelers, workers, train personnel, shop owners, customers -- all these people make Union Station a marvelous landmark. I truly thank the architects who made this place so beautiful with its marble and statues. It is my favorite place to visit in Washington.

P.M. Overton

Her Favorite Place is Windom

My favorite place in D.C.? Windom Place. Named after the colorful, radical reformer, senator William Windom of Minnesota, and called "Place" because it is not a through street, Windom Place is nestled in the middle of American University Park in upper Northwest. It is my favorite "place" because we walk or bike to the subway, grocery store, Turtle Park and our children's schools. Italian, German, Spanish, even Bulgarian, are spoken here. A community in the truest sense, neighbors lend maternity clothes, babysit for each others' kids, give rides to the airport, meet quarterly for book club, feed pets, water plants, lend cups of sugar, share theater tickets, deliver gourmet meals when someone is ill and offer comfort when loved ones die.

Twenty-three years on this quiet block have passed quickly. There might be other places that are equally wonderful, but surely none better.

Kathryn Ray