I've driven over this bridge countless times but never knew about the tigers. Sculpted by the same…read moreartist who sculpted the bisons of Dumbarton bridge, Alexander Phimister Proctor. This bridge is in the middle of a largely residential area and therefore you won't find yourself pausing to enjoy it unless you live nearby, but it's one of the little curiosities in DC that deserves a mention. The bridge actually spans Piney Branch Road, and it is on 16th St. As such, one piece of online documentation from the Library of Congress calls it the "16th St Bridge over Piney Branch Parkway." Whatever its name, it's the tigers that make it interesting. Yes, they're tigers. Not black panthers as wikipedia calls them... All four tigers seem to have been cast from the same mold. So next time you're racing up or down 16th Street (aka "God's Highway" because of all the religious centers located on it) see if you can't catch a glimpse of them.

Now, you too can say "Ahead warp factor one!" and enter Warp Drive! Just mind the speed limit!…read more Life is good! Enjoy the warp!

Located on 16th Street and K Street, the mural is difficult to capture in a photo, on ground level…read moredue to its size. The letters are about 30-35 feet in height, for 2 blocks long to H Street. Commissioned in 2020 on June 5th, the birthday of Breonna Taylor, an unarmed Black women killed by 3 police officers in Louisville, KY the same year, in here home. The mural and the renaming of the street was announced by Mayor Bowser during the time of protest in Washington DC for the killing of George Floyd. The letters are spelled out in all capital letters in yellow along with the Washington DC flag. From stories above, the mural can be seen very vividly. I walked the full stretch appreciating the artist work as well as the expression of its creation.

A two-block section of street leading up to Franklin Park and the Whitehouse, Black Lives Matter…read morePlaza is a remarkable sight in Washington DC and sends a clear message, rooted in love and the fight for racial equality. The portion of 16th Street (between H & K Streets NW) on which the mural is showcased, plays host to many local and community based events that are not only for African Americans....but for ALL. It was created as an outcry to heightened political tensions and police brutality in America during the pandemic -- summer of 2020. And, has been a standing landmark since. I've been here on several occasions myself during George Floyd protests....to Juneteenth celebrations and DC statehood forums. My most favorite time spent here were for the FIT DC Health & Fitness events and classes....some of the best outdoor events to experience, especially the weekend morning yoga and boot camp classes which are all sponsored and made free by the City. Today, it remains a public gathering place and allows for future visitors to reflect on the words inscribed "bright yellow" on the street. Definitely a sight to take in and see when visiting DC or walking around the city. Located outside of the White House on 16th Street NW, it was officially renamed by Mayor Muriel Bowser as "Black Lives Matter Plaza NW." The area is open to all and visitors are often seen taking photos at all times of the day of the mural on one of the nation's capitol most iconic streets. It's a cool place to be and see. * ELITE TIP: Parking can be difficult in this area of downtown DC. Pay attention to the signs to avoid expensive parking tickets. My suggestion is to save the trouble and take the Metro subway. The nearest Metro subway station is McPherson Square, on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines.

Getting to explore D.C. for a few days was definitely an interesting experience. Of course, this…read morecity is known for every single museum (all have free entrance) they host, but damn this city has a solid graffiti and pop-up art scene outside of those that are hosted within the museums. When I grabbed a coffee at La Columbe, I was immediately surprised by the multitudes of graffiti around this alley. From my peers- it seems like this wall is a new addition to the local art scene and man is it mesmerizing! This is a spot that you'll find plenty of folks taking those insta-worthy photos and simply buffing their photo book. So grab a coffee or treat around here, check out the Love Wall, and explore the alleyway.

This review is for the Cochon 555 2019 edition in New York City. I noticed there were no reviews…read moreyet for this year so thought I'd share my experience. The venue - This year's Cochon 555 was held at the Weylin event space in Brooklyn. The building is a NYC landmark, formerly known as the Williamsburg Savings Bank. Recently renovated, it's a beautiful space with a grand dome & stunning architecture (classic revival according to Wikipedia). Venue is five stars all the way! The food - Around 4 stars overall. Since this was my first Cochon 555, I don't know how it was in previous years, but I'd say it was good. The lines weren't too long & there was enough food. They ran out of oysters. The tacos were incredible. The cupcakes by The Perfect Purée were my favorite sweet. The hibiscus cupcake was wonderful. The drinks - Cochon555 is known for its excellent wine selection. This year included a wine and cheese pairing which was incredible! It was a well curated selection, including Orin Swift 8 years paired with Nancy's Camembert amongst others. There were many great wines scattered throughout the event. Also, Rum from Venezuela and mixed drinks. To top it off, they had a Punch Kings punch contest with 5 different barkeeps. Fountains, bowls, and even one with coconut milk & orange bitters. Very creative ! And good too. Five stars for the drinks. Overall value - I purchased my ticket for 75$ It was more than I wanted to spend but I don't usually have time to go to Cochon 555 and I've heard so many good things about it over the years. I think it's a little expensive, compared with other food events that offer more food stations & larger servings. For NYC it's a good price when you factor in the wine & average cost of a decent meal at some of the better restaurants. Would I go again? Yes but I'd much rather go to Cochon's Heritage Fire. The one they have in Napa looks incredible; it'd be cool to schedule a trip to the Napa valley & add this to the itinerary. Probably will never do it, but I can dream.

So the gang gave me the honor of the FTR since I created this yelp event which I am honored to do…read more Even though I just got home from this fabulous event, I will attempt the glorify this event in words with as few spelling mistakes as possible. I had a lot of wine. To be completely honest, words escape me with how great this event was. It was held at the newseum and while at times it seemed a little crowded, it was never that bad that you had to complain. As far as the amount of food, there was SO MUCH FOOD PER PERSON! They in no way ran out of food. They served the little piggies from 5pm till about 8pm nonstop. Some food stations ran out of food, but there were other places you could go. For about the last hour we all said at least once, "I can not eat another thing" and then we always found another delicious bite to eat. Chef Scott Drewno of The Source won the big prize and deservedly so. He served food up until the last person left the room. He said he had about 14 dishes plus cocktails. Bryan Voltaggio was my honorable mention because he had this homemade soda which was probably one of the best things I tasted tonight. It was a cream soda-makers mark-chestnut-hamhock- SODA. It was really..... WOW. But SD really took the prize for me with his bacon peanut brittle, pork cider cockails, and so many other things. I saw other things people eating but I could literally not eat another thing. It was that much food. It was great to taste all the other wines as well. There was an after party on U Street which was a great place to keep the party going and talk with the chefs. Overall, it was completely worth the $125 entry fee (feels like a steal) and want to go to each chef's restaurant and support the wonderful work and artistry they do. I would totally go to this event in the future.

I received multiple emails about the Fit Foodie 5K race Weekend a while back and then saw our CM…read morewas giving away tickets to both Sunday activities and jumped on a chance to enter to win them. Thanks Gretchen! It was awesome! I signed up for the Sunrise Celebrity Yoga class with Kristin McGee (love her) and had a blast! It was a challenging power flow yoga session-just as I expected. Kristin is a very skillful instructor and the staff from Spark Yoga walked around to provide hands on modification, which I thought was a nice touch. I actually wish the boot-camp session had not been at the same time, because I would have loved to do both. Maybe next year? The brunch tables were being set up as we did our practice (which I found to be a little distracting, but I guess that is what happens with outdoor yoga) and looked lovely. After the hour session we were encouraged to stop by the vendor booth to get samples (magazines, snacks, seed packets, water), meet Kristin and the staff from Spark Yoga. I hope to participate in this event again next year.

I was SUPER DUPER excited when I found that I won a pair of tickets to Cooking Light & Health's…read more'The Fit Foodie 5K Race Weekend!' This annual event started back in '13 in San Diego, and had expanded to Fairfax, VA and Austin, TX for the '14 year - yahoo! The premise of this event is to encourage a healthy lifestyle - a balance of being fit with a combination of cooking and fitness demonstrations, so that you can have the pleasure of both worlds of working out hard and that you can also indulge in healthy food at the same time. This year, the event has teamed up with City of Hope, as this charity focuses on treatment and research for cancer, diabetes, and other life-threatening diseases. Checking in was a breeze; I was able to attend the Celebrity Sunrise Yoga, held at the Mosaic, presented by PlainSmart. The celebrity trainer for this event was Ms. Kristin McGee, where the attendees were able to do some balancing and strengthening yoga moves, great for all skill levels. Intense/relaxing, all at the same time! Another event that you can sign up for was the Obstacle Course Bootcamp and even a Celerity Chef Brunch that you could attend with an additional registration/cost. A great way to jump-start a 'healthy' week! I would love to check out the event next year, and look forward to having them again in NoVA! :D Thanks for the opportunity, Gretchen! :D

Not as big as some of DC's other food festivals (Taste of Georgetown, Truckeroo, etc.), but still…read moreworth the trip. Family-friendly and cheap eats. Barracks Row Main Street is already a pretty tight spot during non-event days, so...foot traffic IS to be expected. Just be patient and make the best out of a well-meaning event.

I went to the annual Taste of 8th with some girlfriends on 5/2/15. I had been several years before…read moreand remembered enjoying it. I was curious to see what had change. Although there were an ample amount of restaurants that participated this year (e.g. Spring Mill Bakery, District Donuts, Chesapeake Room) I remember more restaurants participating when I had attended several years prior. My girlfriends and I enjoyed some very generous helpings of food (and some of the items you could take away, like mason jars/glasses that Capitol Teas provided). Each of us left Taste of 8th filling full. The event was very organized (and appeared to be entirely volunteer run). To attend the event, you have to purchase a book of 5 tickets (each ticket gives you 1 tasting) before the event (90 % of the booklets are sold prior to the event). If you don't get a booklet ahead of time they "release" the leftover booklets to the public at and/or around 2:00 PM. (The event starts at 12:00 PM.) I personally liked this strategy because the most popular restaurants did not run out of food until the last 20 minutes of the event. (FYI you can use as many tickets as you want at the same restaurant.) It was a nice change. I have been to similar events where restaurants run out of food (often because the organizers did not have a good idea of how many people would be attending). Taste of 8th was a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon (helped that the weather was gorgeous) and if I am free when it happens next year I'd be interested in getting a group of friends together again.

I knew Norman Lane from when I worked in Silver Spring. A funny story about Norman, one day the…read morefire dept. went on a call to see about a person down by the railroad tracks, they found another Silver Spring bum, he was Dead. When Norman was told this news, he said, that guy was just a bum. Norman pretty much kept to himself, but when police wanted to know about some crime in town, they would check with Norman.