Good byes and Summer to organize!

When you are "expats" in D.C., summer is a period of good-byes. June is one of the busiest month for us grown-ups as well as for kids to farewell their friends. School ends, some of their friends will go to another place...then they already know that it will be their turn to leave in a couple of years. As soon as they wipe their eyes, here comes the summer vacation of...about 2.5 months!!

July-August are most annoying months for stay-at-home mom who is too used to spend time alone in a silence. You better prepare yourself to constant noises or/and to constant proposals like "Mom, do you want to play soccer with me?"(Sorry son, I don't feel like kicking a ball when it is 90F, oh it is Fahrenheit, in Celsius to which I'm familiar is around 32C) or "Mom, why don't we go to ride scooter?"(Sorry again but I am around 40 years old, I can't ride a scooter in a street with you and scream Yoo-hoo!!)

My point is, how can both of us spend a "cool" summer?

Well, summer camp program is my savior. I begin to study religiouly brochures at Christmas season. I think we can classify those camps into four categories.
1. All day summer camps organized by private schools, counties or plenty of other private campanies
2. Sports or cultural activities camps
3. Specific objective camps
4. Sleep over camps

1. Normally registrations for summer camps begin in January. Yes, January, six months before summer!! If you want to enroll your kids to famous private schools like Maret, National Cathedral, Landon, St. Albans, Sidwell Friends(where Obama daughthers study) or Holton Arms etc, you apprently have to be very quick. Or you need to know someone who already studies there.
Otherwise, Montgomery county or YMCA organize also all day multiple activities camps.

2. My children normally go two or three weeks of one of these sports or cultural activities camps. You can find any sports actitivies even skating in summer! Just watch out, sports we need specific space like tennis, golf, ice skating or horseback riding fill out quickly. You have of course theater, music, pottery, drawing etc too. Glen echo summer camp

3. I always find amazing how diverse these activities can be. If you want to learn Japanese during your summer vacation in D.C...yes, you can! If you want to learn about a religion, you have Jewish camp. You can even learn how to manage your financial life at 5 years old...Wow!! If you are a future top model, you have to attend "Red Sprincle Fashion Beauty Course" or if you feel like you are the incarnation of M. Jobs at the age of 8, you can attend "electronic design camp"

You still have to work as a driver...but you can spend some precious quite moment and children learn and enjoy. This is our summer win-win situation!!

Prepare your summer(if you read this now, well, prepare for next year) and enjoy your(your kids and yourself) summer!!

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Outdoor activities outside DC.

Here again is that time of the year that I anticipate with great enthusiasm.  I love those couple of precious weeks where spring weather is truly present and we can enjoy the pleasure of wondering around, not in the city but in the suburbs.  Yes!, as much as I love going to downtown DC or doing outdoor activities inside the Capital, the truth is that sometimes I just need to escape from it and get in touch with the lay-down attitude and greenery that can only be found in the countryside.

With that idea in mind, a couple of weeks ago, while gazing through the NY Times, I came across the weekly edition of Bill Cunningham’s column.  The short video was about street fashion At the market.  Well, that day my family decided to visit the Spring Farm Tour in Loundon County, VA, just over one hour from DC.  So I thought it would be great if I could take Bill Cunningham’s idea and capture fashion at the farms.  I have to confess that the result wasn’t what I expected and that I couldn’t find any tenue that captivated my attention.

Although I failed in my pretensions, I have to admit that the trip was worth it just by the beautiful scenery and the delicious lunch we had.

Market Burger Fries and Shakes in Purcellville, VA, delicious food, locally sourced.

The next weekend, we wanted to explore the countryside of Maryland, so following the suggestion of a close friend, we decided to head to the Seneca Creek State Park, in Gaithersburg, and hike the Clopper Lake Loop. I have to say that this trip was a hit and both kids and grown ups enjoyed it a lot. 

The hike is safely done within a well-marked path and the 6.1 mile loop can be accomplished in approximately two hours.  The trail is not too steep, so is good for all skill levels, and the park itself offers an array of activities like bird watching, boat and kayaking rental, fishing, hunting, picnic areas and playgrounds.

After spending some time in the park we went to Butler's Orchard, a local farm in Germantown, well known for its pick your own (PYO) events.  I have been taking my kids here since they were toddlers and it’s a trip they love so much we visit the farm several times during the year. 

Once you arrive to the farm, you need to park your car and ride one of the wagons that will lead you to the fields, in this case full of deliciously ripe strawberries.  Once you are there, you are promptly assigned a row in the field where you can pick as many strawberries as you want.  They were small but definitely much sweeter than the ones we usually get at the supermarket.  We picked up a couple of pounds that we later enjoyed alone, with cream and in homemade marmalade.

So, no matter if you decide to stay in the city or to venture to the suburbs, the DC metro area will surely have something to please all the tastes.  Enjoy it!

Indoor activities lover, Maiko's outdoor activities pick for this summer

2 days out of 7, it's not enough to enjoy D.C. summer outdoor activities. It's very difficult to choose which event to attend, you will have plenty of them every weekend especially at this time of the year, outdoor sports events, music events, farmers' market etc. To study these interesting events, we can have a look at "Weekend going out guide" in the Washington Post annexe every Friday. You can of course check on the web site, The Washington Post "Weekend going out guide".

Here, I pick three upcoming outdoor events which I'm interested in.

 Silent Disco Party, on May 6 at Dupont Circle

(Photo from Silent disco party FB page)

Silent disco party on the Washington Post

The concept is so funny ; you download the playlist prior to the party. You gather at the hip, trendy place of D.C., Dupont Circle.You begin to play the playlist on your portable device then, you dance, all together but no loud music outside just in your ears! There will be no complain by neighbors because it is silent...If you just pass by without knowing what is going on, the scene may be very weird.

Ben Harper live outdoor concert , on July 30 at Wolf Trap

(Photo from Wolf Trap Ben Harper concert site)

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts is a majestic natural setting for over 100 performances across all genres every summer. Home to the architecturally stunning Filene Center and the charmingly intimate Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods, the 117-acre Park offers dining and hospitality amenities throughout the summer season, and year-round recreational opportunities, including hiking trails, picnic areas, and sledding.

Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts is the official partner to the National Park Service in providing concert and performance programming within the Park. As a non-profit organization, Wolf Trap Foundation is dedicated to creating excellent performing arts experiences for the enrichment, education, and enjoyment of diverse audiences. (from Wolf Trap internet site)

I am a HUGE fan of Ben Harper. When I was still young and sweet only 20(!), I was on a trip in  London and I discovered he would play at a live house. I went to get ticket in vain, it was already sold out. I couldn't give up so I wandered in front of the live house. One fat man approached me asking what was wrong with me. I explained that I came from Japan and I absoluetely wanted to see his stage. Miracle happened, he gave me a ticket! Thanks to this kind stranger, I could get in to the concert. One more surprise, this stranger was on the stage playing the guitar with Ben Harper! One of my sweet memories of my twenties.

 Color Vibe 5K Washington D.C. on Sep 5 at RFK Stadium

 (Photos from Color Vibe site)

Again, the concept is funky ; while you run 5K, you will pass through color zones where you will get plenty of paint. Then finally, you will dance with your colorful attire! Sounds cool, isn't it? For someone like me, who doesn't find interest in just running in the street, this kind of event can finally encourage me to run(or walk) outside.

Find your activities for this long hot summer!

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Kayaking at Fletcher's Cove

With the warmer weather, I just can't wait to get out and explore.  Since coming out of my winter cave, I have been trying out the many gorgeous bike trails that Washington and Maryland have to offer.  Just a short ride from Bethesda, down the Capital Crescent Trail, will bring you straight to this little gem, Fletcher's Cove.

Fletcher's Cove is a part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park, an astounding 184 miles of bike trail hugging the C & O Canal, which stretches from Cumberland, Pennsylvania all the way to Washington, D.C.

At this quaint little spot, you can rent kayaks, canoes, bikes, and rowboats.  My friends and I rented kayaks at $13/hour and headed down to the pier with our life jackets and oars.   They set our start time twenty minutes ahead, giving us plenty of time to get situated in our kayaks before the actual rent time began.

And what a perfect day it was.  The water was so calm that we hardly noticed the current.  Here, you can even see the Washington Monument way off in the distance.

And this time of year, the geese couples are all over the place with their goslings. Two different couples crossed my path.  Aren't they so cute?

I highly recommend this as a morning adventure, preferably during the week when it's less crowded. If you'd like to drive there instead of bike, they have ample parking available and picnic tables for lunch afterwards.   

Outdoor activities in Washington DC

Before I arrived in Washington DC, I watched TV shows and wondered why all successful characters, living in the capital of the United States, practiced sports. In the series "House of Cards," Claire and Frank Underwood are always working out, rowing and running in the town, whether it is night or day. In "Captain America", I did not understand why the hero passed by people running and saying "on your left". And in the series "Veep," a comedy about the US vice-presidency, the main character hates fat people and associate obesity to weakness and lack of self-control.

What a surprise! Washington is not only a multi-ethnic and cultural city, it is perhaps the place with the highest concentration of exercise addicts in the US. Here, your body is also a business card and all people here "run" after a better performance to show success. (See also the article: Are Washingtonians Addicted to Exercise?)

The city breathes sports, with people running at any temperature of the year. Cyclists are also welcome, with cycling lanes spreading in DC streets and cycling trails in the parks, connecting it to other towns in the suburbs. There are also strong municipal incentives, the DC government co-finances a public bicycle system called "Capital Bikeshare". Annual fees are $ 85, and entitles users unlimited rides at no extra cost, as long as each ride is less than 30 minutes. In addition, there is a strong annual campaign: "Bike to Work Day", a special day, when people are invited to commute by bike. This year Bike to Work Day took place on May 15, with free distribution of t-shirts and gifts to those who joined the campaign.

Here is a description of my favorite bicycle trail in the DC area: starting at the Waterfront in Georgetown, I take the Capital Crescent Trail north to Bethesda and then I return through the Rock Creek Trail. The round trip takes about 2 hours. With some spare time, I stop in Bethesda for a brunch. I do the same thing when I ride to Alexandria (South of DC), in this case taking the Mount Vernon Trail.

My experience running and cycling in DC made me learn what Captain America meant by the expression "on your left". This is the popular command of the fastest athletes passing the slower runners or cyclists. It is a short version of "I am passing on your left. Be aware!". Cyclist here does not use the bicycle bell (which I love). The information is precisely the side where they will pass. And it's good to be prepared. In DC, even in a bucolic trail, you “have to be efficient”, to avoid being run over.

Veep

Captain America: "on your left"

Capital Bikeshare station

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What shall we do this weekend?

We have been enjoying a burst of summer here in DC over the past couple of weeks, outdoors again after the cold and wet of the past few months. My family couldn't agree on what to do last weekend so we ended up just going for ice cream (Dolcezza's salted caramel is the best), browsing for books and enjoying an early dinner on a restaurant terrace in Bethesda, a prime people watching spot. I loved hearing different languages that people spoke as they passed our table.

As much as we all enjoyed ourselves, I realised that we are missing out on a lot of the great things that millions of visitors come to DC every year to see. It's one of the side-effects of living in a tourist city, you forget that those attractions have something to offer locals as well. I lived in Paris for six years and only climbed the Eiffel Tower once and, despite living next door to Edinburgh Castle, for a year I never visited. In March, Washingtonian magazine published The Great Washington Bucket List: 50 Things Every Local Needs to Do. After two years here, we have ticked off very few of them. Click on the link to find your score. http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/getaways/the-great-washington-bucket-list/50-things-every-local-needs-to-do.php

The full article has some great advice on how to make the most of some very popular places and events. When we took our young son to see the Cherry Blossoms at the tidal basin he was put off by the crowds and more interested in what was going on on the basin itself, so I definitely agree with the suggestion that “it's fun and memorable to rent a paddle boat and see the blooms from the basin itself – where you won't have to elbow anyone out of your way.”

Yesterday we managed to tick off another item. Thanks to the European Union Open House Day we visited the British Embassy. My husband had attended a function there earlier in the week and was warned that the queues could be very long so we arrived just after the 10am opening. The embassy hoped to match the 10,000 visitors they had last year and I wouldn't be surprised if they did, given the crowds. Visitors could take a tour of the residence and gardens and there were lots of photo ops with volunteers promoting historic and contemporary Britain. You could take a picture with a cardboard Will and Kate, sit in a Union Jack covered Jaguar sports car or watch Morris dancers (very hard to describe so have a look at this clip, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sArAC2_ow2k).

Morris dancers performing in front of the British Ambassador's Residence

 There were Shakespearean performances and pipes and drums from the Scots Guard Band. My son was bored by the queues but enjoyed freebies such as sunglasses, a Scottish flag and a Welsh Dragon bookmark. Personally, I loved the gardens and the impressive contemporary art on display, which comes from the United Kingdom government art collection.

There were shuttle buses to help people visit as many embassies as they wished but we decided one was enough and left planning where would go next year. If you can't wait until then take a trip on the N2 bus (Friendship Heights – Farragut Square) whose route goes down Embassy Row to admire the buildings. I am now looking for the next item to cross off my Washington bucket list. It's arbitrary, I suppose, but a little spur to make more out of a lazy summer weekend.

Magic card / 魔法のカード

 As I wrote in my profile page, we were posted in Tehran, Iran, for 4 years before living in Washington D.C.. In Iran, foreigners did not have the right to open a bank account. In addition, because of economic sanctions imposed on this "rogue state", international money transfer was impossible. So every time we went back to Switzerland, we had to bring cash and change it into Rials in Tehran. When I was running errands in a bazar or a supermarket, I had thick wad of banknotes. The funny thing is when I had to pay a big amount of money, for instance kids' school tuition fee, it was like I was about to pay a ransom: cash in a big bag!
  
Here in the USA, you never have money with you, I mean cash. You always have this magic card called credit card. You use it everywhere: grocery shopping, online shopping, parking fee, and even just for a cup of coffee... Everything (almost) can be bought by this magic card! How convenient is life in the USA!
  
Yesterday, I got a call from my husband. He asked me if I had just tried to spend $1,000 at Macy's. No, I stayed home all day long. Apparently the bank had called and told him: "We identified an unusual transaction pattern on your credit card"...

Our hacked credit card was cancelled immediately. Great, our bank is able to block such a suspicious transaction to prevent an abuse.

 However, I was perplex. Nope, I never go to Macy's. Nope, I never (or it is extremely rare) spend $1,000 a day. But how do they know that? Through my credit card use, they know precisely what I buy, how I live and where I spend money every day! That's how they know that spending $1,000 at Macy's is unusual... Oh, they know my life style. THEY KNOW ME!!

The most frustrating part is, if one day I would like to get something expensive, not a purse that my husband never knows the price, but let's say a surprise gift for him!, My bank will give him a call to tell him that there is an "abnormal pattern of credit card use". 

Suddenly, my magic card seems less magic to me.  

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