Mal and Lauren

April 24, 2026

Glen Echo Park was first developed in 1891 as a National Chautauqua Assembly. The cultural gatherings, which began in 1874 at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, had started as training programs for Sunday school teachers but quickly grew into a national movement that remained popular through the early part of the twentieth century. The assemblies included lectures and talks on a variety of topics including science, religion, politics and literature as well as music, theater and storytelling performances.

There was only one Chautauqua gathering at Glen Echo Park and by the early 1900s the site had become the Glen Echo Amusement Park which it remained until 1968. Lauren remembers going there as a child. Today, it is a fascinating place to visit. Some of the buildings from its days as an amusement park remain and have been restored which gives it a nostalgic but somewhat creepy feel. We definitely would not want to be stuck there on a dark and stormy night.

As befitting for a place that started as a Chautauqua gathering place, it is now also host to many local arts and cultural organizations, as well as artist studios. There are also art, photography, pottery and glass blowing classes as well as summer camps and puppet shows for the kids. The large Spanish ballroom, a beautifully restored 1993 Mediterranean-style Art Deco building, is still considered one of the best dance halls on the east coast and is something of a Mecca for the Swing dance community, attracting dancers from throughout the country.

In its heyday, people rode street cars (trollies) directly to the park from nearby Washington DC. You can still see the tracks outside the entrance.

The park included a massive pool that could hold thousands of swimmers. Sadly, only the entry of the pool remains.

Our good friends Dale and Joe, who were visiting us from Connecticut, followed the advice on this building.

There are some beautifully restored deco buildings.

As well as a playground and large picnicking area under the trees.

There are a number of yurts on the grounds that are used by local artisans.

One of the park’s central attractions is its beautifully restored carousel which unfortunately was not open while we were there, so we couldn’t go for a spin.

The carousel has an interesting role in Civil Rights History. In 1960, a group of Howard University students formed The Nonviolent Action Group (NAG) to combat racism and segregation in the Washington DC area and chose Echo Park, which was segregated, for one of their first protests. With tickets purchased by a white NAG member, the students seated themselves on the carousel. Seeing black students in the group, the operator refused to start the ride. After a two and a half hour standoff, five black students were arrested for trespassing. A picket line continued outside the park throughout the summer, with the protestors enduring the oppressive Washington heat, threats of violence and a counter-protest organized by George Lincoln Rockwell’s American Nazi party. The protests ended on September 11 when the park closed for the season. By then they had gained widespread national support and over the winter, Attorney General Robert Kennedy intervened and the owners of the park abandoned their segregation practices. When the part reopened for the new season in 1962 it was open for all and remained that way until it closed in 1968.

Across the creek from the park is the home of Clara Barton (1821-1912), the founder of the American Red Cross. During the American Civil War, Barton became known as The Angel of the Battlefield. She organized supplies and personally delivered aid to the soldiers on the front lines, often risking her life. After the war she visited Europe where she learned about the international Red Cross movement. Inspired, she returned to America and founded the American Red Cross in 1881. The home in Glen Echo was built in 1891 not just as her home but also as a headquarters for the American Red Cross. She lived there until her death in 1912. It was designated a historic site in 1974 and is considered the first U.S. national historic site dedicated to a woman’s achievements. Unfortunately, due to ongoing preservation issues, the interior of the building is not open currently to visitors and the outside is very rundown.

April 18, 2026

In an already liberal area, the suburb of Takoma Park leans so far to the left that it has earned the tongue-in-cheek nickname, The People’s Republic of Takoma. Even the Takoma Business Center is decidedly Soviet Brutalist.

The Main Street is very quaint with quirky touches, including a tribute to a local rooster and a giant tricycle.

If you’re going to live somewhere, it may as well be terrific.

If you have a craving for old fashioned independent radio, we suggest you check out Takoma Radio (WOWD), voted Washington DC’s best radio station.

And if you’re looking for something to read, than you belong at People’s Book.

The sympathies of the locals are readily apparent in the neighborhood lawn signs.

If you are in need of a mural artist, you may want to give Nancy a call.

It is definitely one of the most charming neighborhoods we have walked through, with its colorful storybook houses, lining leafy streets. It was particularly beautiful as the azaleas are in full bloom.

The neighborhood is perhaps best summed up in the words of this young poet.

One group that, apparently, doesn’t garner the sympathies of the locals are the deer.

April 15, 2026

Many of Washington DC’s suburbs are, in fact, located in surrounding Maryland and Virginia. In fact, the Washington DC metropolitan area is often referred to as The DMV (District, Maryland, Virginia). Sometimes, suburbs straddle the border between the District and the neighboring state. One of these is Chevy Chase, one of the area’s most affluent suburbs. The suburb takes its name from an old English ballad (Apparently the famous American comedian whose real name is Cornelius Crane Chase got his nickname Chevy from his grandmother who knew the ballad).

Chevy Chase was developed in the late 1800s as one of America’s earliest streetcar suburbs. Infamously, but not unusually for the time, parts of Chevy Chase were deliberately developed to exclude Blacks, Jews and other non-white, non-Christian groups. It was not until 1948 that the Supreme Court in Shelley v. Kraemer ruled that these covenants could not be enforced. While the suburb is more diverse now, it is still less diverse than many of its neighbors.

The historic part of the suburb, where we decided to go for an after dinner stroll, is just across the line from the District. It is quiet and residential with tree-lined streets and large stately homes.

April 9, 2026

Williamsburg has two primary claims to fame. First, it is the home of The College of William and Mary. Founded in 1693, it is the second oldest college in the United States (after Harvard). Its students include Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and George Washington (who earned his surveyor’s license there). Second, it is the home of Colonial Williamsburg, a massive living-history museum which recreates life in 18th century America – specifically the years leading up to and during the American Revolution. Covering over three hundred acres, it includes over 80 original buildings and hundreds of reconstructed ones and is staffed by historians and actors in period clothing.

We watched an interesting presentation on printing and learned, among other things, that upper and lower case letters get their name from where the type was stored in the printers’ wooden cases.

Much of the clothing worn by the actors and historians working in Williamsburg is made on site by traditional craftsmen and women using eighteenth century methods.

March 26, 2026

In the cherry blossom’s shade
there’s no such thing
as a stranger
– Matsuo Basho

It is cherry blossom season here in Washington DC and crowds are gathering downtown to stroll under the trees that rim the tidal basin. Less well known as a spot to get your cherry blossom fill is the Maryland suburb of Kenwood. Over 1,000 cherry trees were planted in Kenwood in the 1920s and 1930s by the developers before they even built the first homes. While not quite as chaotic as downtown, the beautiful neighborhood of large stately homes still attracts sizable crowds. A windy or rainy day can quickly bring an end to the bloom, so with rain in the forecast we headed over to Kenwood during what was being advertised as the blossoms peak day.

March 21, 2026

Kensington is an outer suburb of Washington DC but it feels more like a small town with its tree lined streets of Victorian and Colonial Revival homes, small old fashioned shops and quaint train station. It even has a throwback full service gas station. On the first really nice day of the year, we went for a stroll.

At the center of the neighborhood is the National Guard Armory which was built in 1927 as a home for the Maryland National Guard. In 1974, the Town of Kensington acquired the property and it is now its Town Hall.

Here are a sampling of some of the homes in the town’s historic area.

The neighborhood has some great small independent stores and an antique row.

There are also some cool murals.

And a nice brew pub

Here is the train station.

And here’s the full service gas station.

Finally, even the local gym was in a nice old home.

February 13, 2026

It has been a few months since we first visited and blogged about Manhattan Beach. We thought then that it was one of our favorite parts of Los Angeles. Our recent visit firmly reinforced our initial impression. As the sun was setting, we walked out onto the pier and then along the boardwalk, passing by rows of multimillion dollar homes. Every hundred yards or so, narrow pedestrian streets rise up from the beach inland, often with lights strung above them, adding to the overall serenity of the neighborhood.

February 11, 2026

Mission San Fernando Rey De Espana, built in 1797, was the 17th of the historic missions established in California and is named for King Ferdinand III of Spain. It is definitely one of the largest missions we have visited so far and was once a massive agricultural operation with thousands of of sheep and cattle.

It also has the largest museum of the missions we have visited, taking up a number of refurbished rooms in the Convento, Built in 1822, it remains the largest two story adobe building in California.

There is even a room containing several hundred statues, plaques and paintings depicting the Madonna. The Mother of God, not the pop star.

The mission church had to be completely rebuilt in its original style after a massive earthquake in 1971.

Randomly, the mission is the final resting place of iconic American comedian Bob Hope and his wife Dolores.

Junipero Serra was a Franciscan monk who established eight of the Californian historic missions. His name pops up frequently as you travel through California, on everything from streets to schools. He was canonized (declared a saint) by Pope Francis in Washington DC on September 23, 2015 in the first canonization held on United States soil. The canonization was not without controversy, as opponents pointed out that the indigenous people had suffered greatly under the mission system that he had created. Many of the converts were not free to leave after baptism and were forced to work at the missions. Further, the missions suppressed the traditional culture and religion of the local people. The mission system also undoubtedly contributed to the catastrophic collapse of the indigenous population, as they were brought together at the missions where they were at much greater danger of catching and dying from the European diseases to which they had no immunity. The child death rates in particular were extremely high. As a result, many Serra statues have been toppled or removed in California which probably explains why this statue of Serra comes with a warning.

Less controversial and less austere, was the statue of this angel standing under an orange tree.