Out and About in Falls Church, VA

Sign Board at Sweet Water Cafe

Falls Church is off of the orange line metro station, with stops in East and West Falls Church.  It is possible to get from the heart of downtown DC to Falls Church via metro in about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the train schedule.

When we first moved to the area a few months back I went for a trek from our apartment to the Falls' Church city center, which was a good 3.5 mile hike from doorstop to doorstop.  Watching the fall leaves literally pour off the trees into the neighborhood lawns of citizens helpless to the inevitable mess, and exploring the musty antique shops, 19th century churches, and local restaurants were the highlight of the trip.  Plus, with hills and heavy walking, I was able to have the 'just-stretched and am now sore' feeling the next morning that made me think I had actually accomplished something important.  That, or my huffing and puffing confirms that I am officially out of shape.  (My ego is sticking to 'having accomplished something important.')

Great Falls Hike on a Winter Day

We went into two antique/local artist shops that had a variety of random knick-knacks.  The dust-filled antique shop on the main road had all sorts of stuff, from Waterford glass, 1950s paraphernalia, and Santos (Catholic religious icons) to 1970s paintings, African masks, and coin collections.  The other shop was off a side street and had more locally produced art items (including claywork, painting, and crafts) and several art studios upstairs.  I like to go into community run stores to see what local flavors are selling.  Falls Church also has a Venezuelan restaurant (connected to a Motor Lodge) that I have been told has surprisingly good food.  The downtown itself is safe and a number of families were trekking about on Sunday afternoon with kids in tow and babies perched atop happily smiling fathers.

What we were ultimately drawn to in Falls Church was an offbeat Clare and Don's Beach Shack restaurant that served up Florida Kitsch and California Casual with a remarkable sense of comfort.  Inside the Beach Shack, walls are laden with individually painted and inscribed flip-flops, brightly colored wall hangings, beach sayings, and absolutely no sense of irony (even as we took off our winter coats to sit in a raffia-palm rooftop).  This type of mom and pop shop is my kind of place.  I was reminded of growing up in Laguna Beach and San Clemente, California: it relayed that effortless, affordable, surf-style--that sand-between-your-toes and still-in-your-hair laid back kind of vibe.  It's weird how such an environment suddenly makes me feel 'home.'  I actually forgot I was in Virginia until I stepped back onto the cool, crisp streets.  The fish and chips at the Beach Shack were good and the chopped salad I had was nicely finished (read: I polished me plate, argh).  We're planning on going back for trivia on Wednesday night before we leave for India.

And so the Cupcake said, with her big brown eyes, please don't eat me!!!  Nevertheless, a tasty endeavor of chocolate induced guilt awaits you at the Falls Church Greek deli...

In the main part of downtown, the Mad Fox is an upper mid-range restaurant and brewing company that has friendly service, locally brewed adult beverages, and snacks such as Frickles (fried pickles) and Dutch-Indian style meat poppers.  If you step outside of the main center of Falls Church, the Dogfish Head Ale House on 6220 Leesburg Pike is an amazing brewpub with a number of beers on tap to pick from, including seasonal ales like Punkin' and Raison d'Etre (reason-to-be) as well as high gravity beers up to 15%!  At 9 bucks I thought the six-serve sampler (or 'flight') of Dogfish Head beers was well worth the investment.  We sat and caught up with an old friend there for nearly four hours.

Am I feelin' lucky?  Oh yeah.

Other sites of interest in the area include Castro's Bakery, Mexican restaurants near Safeway, Pho and more Pho, and Peruvian, Lebanese, and Afghani foodstops ... let the eating commence!  Eden Center, a Vietnamese shopping center with restaurants, markets, and Chinese medicinal herbs, had a fantastic Chinese New Year celebration including traditional dragons, firecrackers, drums, and gongs.  Apparently the year of the Dragon is propitious for having babies, so the expected increase in childbirth this year among communities recognizing the astral calendar is marked to go up 15%!


                    We are definitely exploring
                      our local surroundings!    

                              Catch up soon!

DC's National Zoo

"Pink is the new Black" 

This past weekend I checked out DC's downtown National Zoo.  The last time I went to the National Zoo I was seven years old, obsessed with all things panda, and ended up leaving with both panda face paint and matching earrings to boot.  This time, unfortunately, I left face paint free but I still had a wonderful trek checking out the lions, tiger, and zoo bears, oh my!  The best thing about the National Zoo is that it is open to the general public at the cost of FREE and is an activity you can share in for an hour or two over several days or for a very full afternoon with family.

Hey good lookin'!

I recently saw a cartoon that showed the proverbial white-haired God mastering the details of his kingdom's creation.  It showed four white bears going through a massive supernatural printer that was quickly running out of ink: the first one out became a black bear in the west, the second one emerged as a brown bear from the south, the third one was a combo of black and white Rorschach blots--panda of the east, and the last poor guy went through God's printer virtually unscathed--a white polar bear residing in the north.  And that, my friends, is why we have different types of bears--the ink cartridge wasn't working and needed a bit of a reboot.  Cartoons make things so simple...  Anyhow, I was thinking about that image as I stared at the Panda ma and her cub, both playing with plastic rocks meant to make the exhibit appear natural.  The cub was no bigger than the size of a Great Dane, and impressed upon me that pandas will continue into our children's futures.  I've heard that at the zoos in Japan, zookeepers working with the animals dress in panda suits when walking amongst them so as to not disturb the breeding cycle of the notoriously elusive panda.  Pretty incredible.

Single and ready to mingle...

The National Zoo now houses a bridge overhang into the elephant sanctuary; a large pool with variously shaded pink, hot pink, light pink, and white flamingos; the altogether fascinating and deeply expressive gorillas and orangutangs; small varietal monkeys and chimps; a family of lions and a few tigers; zebras and exotic birds; and reptiles and small rodents.

On this visit, my favorite encounters involved the flamingos, gorillas, and lions.  The flamingos were having some sort of turf battle amongst themselves and so begin to squawk, flap their wings about, and nuzzle adjacent flamingo partners within their open nabbing beaks.  Within thirty seconds, I saw more flamingo action than I had seen in several previous flamingo visits elsewhere.  The Columbia Zoo in South Carolina (which is not free), for example, has an open view without fences separating the viewer from the flirty flamingos.  I prefer fence-free, but hey, these DC flamingos were willing to give a show for nada, so not too shabby.

Here Kitty, Kitty!

The tiger was hidden amongst his backdrop but the lions, who are usually sleeping when I walk by, were actively playing, faux-fighting, competing for the top dog (er--cat) position, and generally relaying quite the National Geographic-worthy performance.  There were ten in total visible, all female except for two male juveniles who were yet to grow into giant, Mufasa-style manes. (All the kids around us were quoting lines from The Lion King.)

Zen and the Art of Meditation

It turns out all the action from the lions was due to dinner time, aka raw meat city.  So if you want to check out the lions while their active, come to their place just after 4.  By 4:30, most of the lions are back inside.

The gorillas, well, I am so impressed with the way their eyes and body language connotes compassion, general curiosity, and a sense of humor.  Some gorillas like to play with their food (again and again) and this seems to fascinate the little ones, who scream in delight at the chewed up specimens.  Other gorillas will use epic comic timing to spray water towards its captive audience.  A man to my left, in the viewing room, sat directly at the eye-level of one magnificent gorilla and just sat there while eating an apple.  I noticed the gorillas would follow my own eye movements, perhaps both bewildered and intrigued by the hairless, photo-flashing homo sapiens across the thin layer of glass.

What are YOU lookin' at, huh?!

Looking into the eyes of an old friend.

I am reminded of Frans de Waal's work, The Ape and the Sushi Master, which addresses the (seeming oxymoron) of the anthropological and cultural nature of animal relationships and intelligence.  De Waal talks about how pigeons with a little food encouragement could quickly decipher not only between Picasso and Matisse paintings, but on period-specific artist styles.  Impressive.  Plus, a number of animals (including crows) create tools or manipulate their environments so that they can have better access to food, the ladies/gents of their species, or a comfortable living space.  It was helpful to read about how the preconceptions of the researchers affected what and how they conveyed the cultural relations of animals--basically how our own worldviews shape how we perceive the worldviews and mind frames of others.  Those Bonobo in the DRC really have struck many academics for a loop.  Same with the dolphins and their unerring draw towards non-productive pleasure behavior, er-hum.  I think we often give animals too little credit: elephants mourn, beavers build, birds sing, whales relay messages, and the mating habits of most reflect tact, courage, and long-held (embedded or learned) traditions.  I find animal culture fascinating, and I think that the animals watch us just as much or more than we watch them.     

I've heard that checking out the National Zoo's animals when the weather is cooler means they are more likely to be active.  (Hot = Siesta time).  So maybe it's worth it to put on a hat and sweater.  Plus, from late November through December, a light show with giant fluorescent-bulb pandas, elephants, zebras and the like will greet you in the dark of winter.  Pretty sweet deal for a day or evening, and then if you are up for a bite afterwards, Adams Morgan (at the metro stop) is just a few blocks away.

Trekking About DC

Summer's end

 The last few days I have been keeping myself busy meeting new friends, visiting family, playing tennis, and trekking about DC.  At U Street and 13th we found an amazing borough that has an entire city block of Ethiopian restaurants.  Ethiopian food differs from most other African cuisines because it combines Italian propensities with Mediterranean, Arabian, and East African spices.  (Try the sour Injera bread with lots o' dipping side dishes and you will not be disappointed.)  Around Clarendon we found a local pub hotspot, Harry's, and a Mexican restaurant with bangin' guacamole in Ballston.  In Falls Church is Eden Center, a Vietnamese food haven with loads of restaurants carrying pho, boba tea, and market stalls selling jack fruit, durian, lychee, and the small sweet bananas that I get a hankering for every few weeks.  Durian is a pointy, long-developing east Asian fruit that is likable to rotting flesh or extraordinarily stinky cheese: my great aunt Leeta had a taste for the fruit after living in Indonesia for three decades.  She regaled us with tales of tourists getting kicked out of hotels for opening durian in their rooms and permeating the filter system with its uncanny pungency.  Mmmm.... not for the light hearted. 

DC Religious Sites

National Cathedral, DC

 Anyhow, it's good to back on the DC stomping grounds, especially while the weather gives off its last warm rays of a still straggling summer.  The DC metro, amazingly, is spotlessly clean, at least in comparison to NYC subways.  This is mostly due to the more recently constructed infrastructure and the strictly followed rules of no eating or drinking on the metro--I heard someone got kicked off once for (gasp!) chewing gum.  In NYC, conversely, I sat on subway cars that exploded into all-out food fights, with french fries turning into teenage rocket launchers.  Needless to say, I am thrilled to be back in a city where international food predominates and mixed fashion, religious fusions, and multiple languages litter the open spaces with a frenetic hybridity that begs the onlooker to stretch her own sensibilities. 

An architectural dream: lots o' chiseling

 

I am also curious to see how my own sense of style, speech, dress, and demeanor will shift to match new community expectations.  I am looking forward to representing America abroad, as well, which should be an educational experience.  Having to explain your own cultural norms and mythos (like a big old dude being magically transported worldwide overnight to children's households by flying reindeer) always puts things into perspective.  Just because I don't know about it, or am not used to it, doesn't mean that it isn't meaningful for a large majority.  That's one of the reasons why I find cultural relations so fascinating: norms and the expected are constantly questioned and evaluated.  Who says hot pepper fish and rabbit stew isn't a great breakfast snack?  (Well, besides the rabbit and fish?)