My Ultimate DC, Maryland, and Virginia Bucket List(s)

I have lived in northern Virginia for over 18 years now.  I've explored and played a lot in DC/Maryland/Virginia ("DMV"); but, there are still a surprising number of sights and activities I have yet to see and do.  So in the interest of expanding my horizons and sucking the marrow out of my DMV backyard, I have created the Ultimate DMV Bucket List.

Or should I say "lists"...

Because I'm an anal-retentive lawyer, having only one list wasn't good enough.  After all, I need to keep track of what I've done versus what I haven't done.  Consequently, there are two lists...

So here you go.  If you have a suggestion for something to add to the list, please do so in the comments below.  (Note that most entries have hyper-links you can click for more information).  

Good luck whittling down your own bucket lists! 

THE "NEED TO GO THERE, DO THAT" 

DMV BUCKET LIST

MUSEUMS

• Newseum
• Koshland Science Museum
• Bureau of Engraving
• Goddard Space Center in Greenbelt
• National Museum of African American History and Culture (scheduled to open fall 2016)

WAR/HISTORICAL/MEMORIAL SITES

• Gunston Hall (George Mason's home)
• Gettysburg
• Fredericksburg Battlefield
• Lorton Prison Workhouse/Arts Center
• Titanic Memorial
• Kahlil Gibran Memorial
• Congressional Cemetery
• Frederick Douglass House
• President Lincoln's Cottage
• Go to the top of the George Washington Masonic Temple in Alexandria, Virginia

FEDERAL BUILDINGS

• Capitol Tour
• FBI Tour
• Pentagon tour 

RECREATIONAL

• Canoe on Potomac River (out of Riverbend Park)
• 50 States Bike Ride (62-mile bike ride down all named streets in DC)

ART GALLERIES

• Hirshorn

MUSIC and FESTIVALS

• Kingman Island Bluegrass and Folk Festival (April 30, 2016)
• Blues Alley (Georgetown)

THEATERS

• Arena Stage
• National Symphony Orchestra

MISC.

• Drag Breakfast at Perry's
• Baseball game at Aberdeen Cal Ripken Experience
• Embassy tour/event (any embassy!). Take advantage of Passport DC during the month of May, which is 31 days of programming by over 70 embassies and over of DC's cultural institutions.  You can even do the Around the World Embassy tour during that month, when more than 50 embassies open their doors to the public. 
• Research family history at Archives
• Marine Corps Barracks Parade/Procession
• Ride ferris wheel at National Harbor
• DC Ducks Boat Tour

THE "BEEN THERE, DONE THAT"

DMV BUCKET LIST

MUSEUMS

• All of the Smithsonian museums (yes, there's more than one!)
• Holocaust Museum
• Botanic Gardens
• National Arboretum and Capitol Columns
• U.S. Marine Corps Museum near Quantico, Virginia

WAR/HISTORICAL/MEMORIAL SITES

• Mt. Vernon (George Washington's home)
• Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's home)
• Montpelier (James Madison's home)
• Manassas Battlefield
• Arlington Cemetery (including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and changing of the Guard; and Kennedy's gravesite)
• U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis
• Ft. McHenry (home of the Star Spangled Banner)
• Pentagon 9/11 Memorial
• Washington, DC WWI Memorial 
• Einstein Memorial at the National Academy of Sciences
• Fort Washington Park (Maryland)
• Theodore Roosevelt Island and Memorial
• Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
• FDR Memorial
• Air Force Memorial
• Marine Corps Memorial
• National Mall tour (including Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, Vietnam Memorial, and Korean War Memorial)
• Go to the top of the Old Post Office Tower or Washington Monument (I prefer the OldPost Office Tower.  The views are better and it's less crowded)

FEDERAL BUILDINGS

• White House Tour
• Library of Congress
• Tour the Supreme Court and hear an oral argument 

RECREATIONAL

• Hiking at Shenandoah National Park
• Bike or drive Skyline Drive
• Hike Old Rag Mountain, 
• Hike Sugarloaf Mountain
• Luray Caverns
• Natural Bridge
• Great Falls Park
• Turkey Run Park
• Potomac Heritage Trail
• C&O Canal
• Billy Goat Trail
• Run/walk/bike around Hains Point
• Bull Run Occoquan Trail (encompasses three regional parks:  Hemlock Overlook Regional Park, Fountainhead Regional Park, and Bull Run Regional Park) 
• Prince William Forest Park
• Rock Creek Park Trails and Pierce Mill
• Run, walk, or bike the W&OD Trail (bike the entirety to Purcellville and back for 90-miles round trip!)
• Run, walk, or bike the Mt. Vernon Trail (18-miles from start at Roosevelt Island to finish at Mt. Vernon)
• Run, walk, or bike across Woodrow Wilson Bridge
• Wakefield Park trails

SPORTING EVENTS

• Washington Nationals game (baseball)
• Baltimore Orioles game (baseball)
• Washington Redskins game (football)
• Washington Wizards game (basketball)
• Washington Capitals game (hockey)
• DC United game (I've never actually been, but don't really follow soccer much)

ART GALLERIES

• Renwick

MUSIC and FESTIVALS

• Wolf Trap
• 9:30 Club
• Iota Club and Cafe
• Birchmere
• Smithsonian Folklife Festival
• DC VegFest
• Attend a variety of other festivals.  Here's a list of all DC-area festivals (including food and film festivals)

THEATERS

• National Theater
• Ford's Theater
• Warner Theater
• Kennedy Center

MISC.

• Virginia Wineries
• Exorcism stairs in Georgetown
• Old Town Alexandria
• Watch airplanes take off and land from Gravelly Point
• Jones Point Park and Historic Lighthouse
• Catch the July 4th fireworks over the Washington Monument
• See the White House Christmas Tree
• See the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree
• See the cherry blossoms

Please leave a comment below if you have any suggestions! 

I Hate the Cowbell...and Other Race Annoyances

Most of my friends (and their children) know that I hate unnecessary noise.  High-pitched screaming, banging, noisy children's toys, etc.  In fact, my good friend's kids know that when I come over, "Aunt Michele doesn't like noisy things."

At the very top of my annoyance list is the cowbell...I loathe the cowbell at races.  Loathe. Why can't people just cheer?  Why do you need to clang around some annoying piece of metal?  Clapping and cheering really is sufficient.

I recently saw the cowbell as the #1 recommended item on a holiday gift list from a running website.  May Santa Clause give huge lumps of coal to anyone who gets me a cowbell for Christmas...

The annoying cowbell...

So it got me thinking:  What else annoys me when it comes to races?  Here's my top 10 list:

1. The cowbell.  I think we've established that. 
2. The plastic hand clapper things that you shake back and forth and they make a clacking/clapping sounds.  Again, just use your own hands!  
3. Spectators who wait in line for the porta-potties with the athletes.  I know that spectating is a difficult task and that you're going to have to use the potty at some point, especially during a long event; but, please - yield to the athletes!  
4. Men's cut t-shirts for women.  In this day and age of racing, there really is no excuse for races not to offer a women's-cut t-shirt.  I have too many nightgown/race t-shirts.  
5. Gatorade.  Yuck.  It's too sugary and not as beneficial as people think.  There are way better sports drinks out there now, e.g., Ironman Perform.   
6. Bad post-race food that consists only of pizza and oranges.  Obviously people are doing athletic events because they want to be healthy.  While pizza can taste good after a long grueling race, there needs to be more options, including healthy, satisfying options for vegetarians/vegans other than oranges.    
7. Having to run around the finish line before you get to cross it.  I've done several races where you are tortured with having to run past the finish line and continue on for quite a ways before you actually get to come back and cross the finish line.  
8. People who rack their bike facing the wrong direction in transition.  Never fails, someone always hangs their bike the wrong directing on the rack.  Read the race instructions.  Ask an official hanging out in transition.  It's not hard.  
9. Running out of water at the aid stations.  This happened once during an Army 10-miler on a very hot day.  At one of the last aid stations they ran out of water with about 1/2 of the runners still out there.  I was appalled.  Seriously - you're the Army...aren't you supposed to be able to plan for major events?
10. People who don't shut-up during the National Anthem.  This really should be #1 on my list.  Show some respect and shut your trap during the National Anthem.  Be grateful that you live in a country where you have the privilege of being able to race...  

That's my list...

What's on your race annoyance list? 

PIT STOP: I'm Still Here...5 Quick Randoms...

Hey all...Just a quick note to say 5 quick things:

1. I hope y'all are at or nearing the end of your racing seasons and that you had an awesome year!  Use this cooler weather to start ratcheting back and entering the off-season - which doesn't mean to be sedentary! 
2. I've been pretty silent lately because I'm still trying to get my feet under me.  Haven't quite had the motivation to sit and write blogs, even though I feel I "should."  What this time has taught is that every time I say I "should," I probably need to be re-thinking my priorities.   There are lots of things on a consistent basis that we do because we think we "should" and it ends up adding a lot of stress.  We either need to eliminate the "should" in our life, or change our mentality about what we think we "should" do and try to make it something we "want" to do.  
3. I recently adopted a new dog!  And what a difference she's made.  Her name is Addie and she's a 6-year-old pit mix.  I adopted her from the Stafford County Animal Shelter, which has to euthanize for space.  So she was 6th on the "all dogs go to Heaven" list.  But I saved her and, in the process, gave some breathing room to other poor souls on the list.  October is adopt a shelter pet month, so if you've been thinking about it, there's no better time! And what a great way to do something great for another living being, in addition to adding some love and laughs to your household!  I've also created a Facebook page for Addie and will soon have a blog for her to spread information about how wonderful and misunderstood pitbulls are, and provide other dog-friendly advice/education.  Stay tuned for her blog, but her Facebook page (where she already has 1/2 as many friends as I do!) is www.facebook.com/addiethepitmix
4. I've been doing physical therapy for my knee issues that started earlier this year.  I think it's helping and would probably help more if I actually did the exercises every day like I'm supposed to!  But I did a 5k last weekend and it was my 2nd best 5k time ever, so hopefully that's a good sign!  One of the blogs I do want to do is about the exercises I've been using, so stayed tuned for this as well...
5. A friend of mine completed the Grindstone 100-mile trail run this weekend (which was actually 102 miles!).  It took her 36.5 hours, over 2 nites, through some very grueling terrain.  I don't know how she did it!  In my mind, she's a true champion.  One definition of "champion" is a fighter or warrior.  She's also a Goddess - one who's admired and idolized and is a symbol of grace and beauty.  It's made me think about what goals I want to set to show off my Warrior Goddess.  Now that the race season is winding down, it's the perfect time to start thinking about your goals for next year so that you can plan your off-season accordingly.  

That's all for now...hopefully I'll be back soon...In the meantime, here are some questions and a picture of Addie: 

Addie is a 61-lb lap dog and total goofball...I'm so lucky to have found her!

1.  How was your race season?  What was your best race and why? 

2.  In what ways do you "should" yourself into doing things?  Are there "shoulds" that you could either eliminate or try to change to "wants?"

3.  Have you ever adopted a shelter pet?  Share pics if you have them!

4.  Have you suffered any injuries this season?  Have you recovered from them and, if so, how?

5.  What goals have you accomplished or can you set for yourself for next year to show your Warrior Goddess or Warrior God qualities?