Angelina M. Lopez
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Contemporary Romance Author, Hyperromantic
Take a Tour of D.C.'s New Chocolate Factory
I imagine many families with young children will take a tour of this newly opened and locally owned chocolate factory hoping to re-create a portion of the Willy Wonka experience. But the website recommends that only those 10 and over go on this $10/person tour for a reason. Rather than displaying rivers of chocolate and lickable walls, the Harper Macaw tour is all about displaying the intentions of its young owners to save one corner of the planet with cacao beans planted, harvested and transformed into chocolate the right way.
As my family and I drove up to the Harper Macaw chocolate factory off Bladensburg Road NE in D.C.'s Brookland neighborhood, my wise-cracking teen son observed, "There are no tubes full of chocolate coming out of the top. Zero out of ten."
I imagine many families with young children will take a tour of this newly opened and locally owned chocolate factory hoping to re-create a portion of the Willy Wonka experience. But the website recommends that only those 10 and over go on this $10/person tour for a reason. Rather than displaying rivers of chocolate and lickable walls, the Harper Macaw tour is all about displaying the intentions of its young owners to save one corner of the planet with cacao beans planted, harvested and transformed into chocolate the right way.
Head chocolate maker Sarah Hartman and her husband, Colin Hartman, began producing fine chocolate in September and opened the factory to tours in December. They were drawn to D.C. because they liked the manageable size of the area, the fact that they can see the sky, the food scene, and the relative absence of local chocolate.
They source their cacao beans exclusively from three farms in Brazil, Sarah’s home country. Brazil has lost 90 percent of its Atlantic Forest, which provides a necessary canopy for cacao beans, and has slipped from being the third largest producer of cacao beans to sixth. By supporting farmers who are producing cacao in a sustainable way and re-investing a portion of Harper Macaw profits into rainforest restoration, Sarah and Colin see an opportunity to make an impact while producing really good, distinct-tasting chocolate.
Owner Colin Hartman handing out cocoa nib samples as he stands next to the roaster.
“Without good cacao beans, you can’t make good chocolate,” Colin says at the beginning of our 20-person tour of the factory. It’s the same sentiment winemakers use about their grapes, and — like winemakers — Sarah and Colin give “single estate” status to chocolate bars sourced from individual farms in Brazil. The 77 percent Amazon Rainforest bar is from Tomé Açu and the 74 percent Atlantic Forest bar is from Vale do Juliana. The two other bars Harper Macaw is currently producing are the 67 percent Dark Blend and the 52 percent Milk Blend.
Colin leads the tour with chocolate dust on his blazer and an apology for “going into a lot of details on these tours.” No apologies are needed. The hour-long “bean to bar” tour — from seeing the bags of beans fresh off the boat from the Philadelphia harbor (Colin drives there to pick them up), to seeing the equipment used for cleaning, roasting, winnowing, refining, grinding, conching and tempering the chocolate — is a fascinating, in-depth story of how a product is made with love and care.
The tour ends with a chocolate tasting: samples of all four chocolate laid out with crackers and seltzer to cleanse the palate and an entertaining explanation of how to enjoy the chocolate with all five senses. The little ones may not like it, but us big ones certainly did.
Take a Chocolate Factory Tour
Harper Macaw
3160 Bladensburg Rd NE, Washington, DC 20018
Get to the tour early so you can sample Harper Macaw's amazing treats while you wait
Tours of the Harper Macaw chocolate factory occur every Saturday on the hour between 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on a first-come, first-serve basis. People have already discovered this gem, so arrive by the :30 if you want to go on the next hour tour.
Harper Macaw's four fine chocolate bars are currently available in their shop and at a variety of locations around the D.C. area, including the Red Apron shops at Mosaic and Penn Quarter. They plan on releasing more products in May.
The Perfect Virginia Hiking Trail for the Holidays
A perfect holiday outing when you have an onslaught of guests is one that takes very little effort on your part but delivers spectacular "oohs" and "aahs." The Buzzard Rock North hiking trail in the George Washington National Forest provided that for me and my family the day after Thanksgiving.
A perfect holiday outing when you have an onslaught of guests is one that takes very little effort on your part but delivers spectacular "oohs" and "aahs." The Buzzard Rock North hiking trail in the George Washington National Forest provided that for me and my family the day after Thanksgiving.
We'd decided to #OptOutside with REI (they closed their stores on Black Friday and encouraged everyone to go outside), and Buzzard Rock gave us an effortless way to work off some of the pumpkin pie while still knocking our socks off. Why was it perfect?
1. Buzzard Rock is an hour from the Beltway.
Straight out on I-66 and just past Shenandoah National Park, getting to the trail head only takes an hour from the Beltway. But that drive west that quickly turns tree-thick and hilly makes you feel like you're getting away from it all.
2. Buzzard Rock is a short hike to -- and through -- lots of goodness.
It's a two-mile hike to the cliffs, and that hike is a pretty one: winding through tall trees, crossing streams, over hills and dales. You do switch backs and ascends near the end, but except for one portion, I really didn't huff and puff. And I have NOT been getting to my kickboxing class. It's an all-ages, all-abilities kind of hike.
3. Buzzard Rock loses its leaves.
As we meandered, we noticed pretty hillside views that we wouldn't have been able to see in the summer and early falls months because of the leaves. I'm sure the leaves are spectacular in the fall. So are the crowds. Hiking Buzzard Rock in the winter will allow you to see more of the countryside with fewer people around (although the small parking lot got packed early on the day after Thanksgiving. Learn about the TICKET we got below.).
4. Buzzard Rock has enormous wow factor.
We were tooling along and beginning to ascend and noticing some pretty views when -- BAM! -- we hit a switch back that gave us a spectacular view of the rural countryside, a creek and ponds below. It truly surprised us. Buzzard Rock offers up a lot "ooooooooh" in its short two miles.
5. Buzzard Rock makes you feel like you've climbed a mountain.
After that first "wow" view, Buzzard Rock truly ascends for a short bit; here's where some huffing and puffing come into play. But it's totally worth it. Because at the top, you walk along a narrow ridgeline bordered by jagged slabs of rock that you can clamber on and capture astonishing views of Fort Valley below. The roads are like lines. The cars are like ants. You're high. You're cool. And you and your crew didn't even work that hard to get there.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
THANKS TO THE WASHINGTONIAN FOR INSPIRING US WITH THIS GREAT ARTICLE ON THE HIKE. THE ARTICLE ALSO INCLUDES POST-HIKE RESTAURANT, DESSERT AND WINERY IDEAS.
HERE'S MORE DETAILED INFORMATION ON THE HIKE FROM HIKINGUPWARD.COM.
Buzzard Rock Hiking Trail
Parking lot: The trailhead is at a small parking lot outside Front Royal, at 3087-3139 Mountain Road/Route 619. DO NOT PARK ON THE ROAD!!! The lot was already full when we got there at 10 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving. So we parked just outside the lot, on gravel between the lot and the road. We truly didn't see the No Parking signs. When we returned to our car, a nice trooper told us why we got a $20 ticket. But the other cars, parked after ours, along the road and touching the asphalt -- they were all being TOWED!! Yes, towed. DO NOT PARK ON THE ROAD!!!
Where are your places to hike in the D.C., Virginia Or maryland? Please let me know below. I'm always looking for the next Great outdoor Adventure!
A Fall Walk at Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve
The spooky origin story of Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve, the blazing fall colors and the fact that there’s a warming tavern meal and a cold beer just around the corner in Leesburg convinced me that there is no better place to take a walk during the stretch between Halloween and Thanksgiving.
In the early past of the 19th century, a farmer was traveling home on a dark and blustery night after a nip at a Leesburg tavern when he heard the wind shrieking over the hills of his property. His animals became as unsettled as their owner. When he got home, the Irishman claimed there was a “banshee on the reeks,” a wild witchy spirit screaming across his Virginia hills and dales.
His frantic report established the name for what would later become the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve, 725 acres of public grasslands, forest, creeks and ponds in Loudoun County south of Leesburg. The spooky story, the blazing fall colors and the fact that there’s a warming tavern meal and a cold beer just around the corner in Leesburg convinced me that there is no better place to take a walk during the stretch between Halloween and Thanksgiving.
Banshee Reeks has over 20 miles of trails. Our two hours of exploring took us over easy trails that ran across meadows erupting with cotton-topped stalks, through shadowy forests, in between breaks in overgrown blackberry bushes and alongside ponds with small memorial benches for relaxing. We didn’t see much wildlife at the nature preserve – an occasional caterpillar or symbiotic bug on the cotton plants – but we didn’t see any people either. That was the best; having these wide vista views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and all that fiery leaf color and the quiet pathways all to ourselves.
Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve
21085 The Woods Road Leesburg, VA 20175; Open Saturdays and Sundays, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
In-Between Tip: After your exhilarating fall walk, head to historic Downtown Leesburg for a great meal in the same area where the Preserve's original owner would have enjoyed one. We've had amazing meals and unique experiences at The Wine Kitchen, Tuscarora Mill Restaurant and Windy City Red Hots with their authentic Chicago-style hot dogs. For dessert, go to the West Loudoun Street Cafe for ice cream and milkshakes or pick up an incredible pie at Mom's Apple Pie.
Last minute addition: I just discovered this great video about the Preserve created as a community service project by the DC Area Drone User Group. How cool is that?
How to Throw a Comfort Food Dinner Party
Fall is an ideal time to prepare comfort food, the fatty, buttery, bacony dishes our moms made that now occupy the menu of every hip restaurant in the country. While I champion taking your time with this Comfort Food dinner party, I also offers ways you can shave a little time off the top. I'm not responsible for what happens to your waist.
In the spring and summer, I advocate easy entertaining. Throw a six pack in the cooler, some chicken and zucchini on the grill and you're good to go. But the advent of fall beckons us indoors. Lures us into sweaters and snuggling into the couch and eating foods that are oh-so-bad for us. So I find myself wanting to take my time with a fall dinner party. I want to create a setting that makes my friends want to linger; cook foods that will compel us to stick around the dinner table while we digest.
Fall, then, is an ideal time to prepare comfort food, the fatty, buttery, bacony dishes our moms made that now occupy the menu of every hip restaurant in the country. While I champion taking your time with this Comfort Food dinner party, I also offers ways you can shave a little time off the top. I'm not responsible for what happens to your waist.
1. Prep and planning
Apron by Dr. McNinja creator, Christopher Hastings
Fall is a good time to begin using the dining table again, so limit your invite list to the number of people you can fit around it. Sending everyone an email is fine. Do your grocery shopping the day before the party. Try to reserve party day for just decorating and food cooking. Sounds extravagant? Trust me, if one partner can be responsible for driving kids to baseball, walking the dog and grabbing lunch, and the other partner can get Zen with the party duties, both partners will be less flustered when guests start knocking at the door.
Time-saving tool: Peapod. I let this grocery delivery service deliver the bulk of my groceries and then head to a specialty market for items like fresh-baked desserts or stand-out salad fixings.
2. Decorating
I used to go overboard decorating for dinner parties, but now I have three secret weapons: Candles, flowers and white plates. White plates create a clean canvas for all that delicious food. Candles can be used in the middle of the table (judiciously so they don't get in the way of food passing or conversation) and in the living room. And inexpensive grocery store flowers in appropriate fall colors add a touch of pizzazz. I know it doesn't sound like much, but taking your time setting up these three details before guests arrive will enhance the sense that it's a special night at your house.
Time-saving tool: Placemats are an inexpensive and quick way to add flair to your table. The ones I use are from Ikea and cost $3. I also have them in black and silver.
3. Menu
What are your favorite Comfort Foods? Let me know in the comments below or on my Facebook page. I'd love to add to my Comfort Foods menu.
Off Season Tubing in Harpers Ferry
As summer draws to a close, it would seem wise to put aside such warm-weather activities. But what I learned from that gorgeous Monday white water tubing with the help of the Harpers Ferry Adventure Center is that there is no better time to go than when no one else is going.
Floating down the Potomac River with my butt in a tube and the 85-degree day warming my arms and legs, I had one thing to yell at my husband, who was bumping easily on some light rapids a few yards away with a peaceful smile on his face: "How do you like this for a Monday?"
He'd taken a long weekend to celebrate his birthday, and on this particular beautiful Monday just before Labor Day, my family of four had the whole stretch of the Potomac River near Harpers Ferry, WV to ourselves. For the entire 6-mile, 3-hourish white water tubing ride, the only people we saw were the ones waving at us from atop the pedestrian bridge that crossed the river.
They looked like ants. Little envious ants.
As summer draws to a close, it would seem wise to put aside such warm-weather activities. But what I learned from that gorgeous Monday white water tubing with the help of the Harpers Ferry Adventure Center is that there is no better time to go than when no one else is going.
"Our motto is, 'If you can think of it, we can make it happen,'" said Chase Gregson, an employee at Harpers Ferry Adventure Center, in reference to the many out-of-the-box adventures they put together for customers. "We've had people go white water rafting or tubing when there was snow on the ground."
Now, for me, that would be pushing it. But Gregson says temperatures at their location -- just west of Loudon County in northeast West Virginia, about an hour drive from the Beltway -- can stay warm until mid-October. Can you imagine bumping along in a tube, the wide expanse of the river all around you, and gazing at all the trees brilliant with oranges and reds and yellows? That's a way to see the fall leaves without the traffic!
White water tubing is a way to add a little spark to a tube ride. The tube acts like a bumper to the rock-causing rapids in the Potomac and you generally bounce off the rocks and spin away. The Adventure Center promises Category I-III rapids; on the day we went, we enjoyed bumps and some shoots, but nothing that felt dangerous. The Adventure Center appropriately requires everyone to be 12 and over; between the rapids and still water that requires paddling with your hands, it's easy for large expanses of water to separate various members of your group.
Chase with the Adventure Center offered these additional tips to guarantee a fun, off-season tube ride:
- Bring a wetsuit or rent one from the Adventure Center if you are concerned about the temperature of the water. They also rent splash tops, which are windbreakers that resist water and are not as constrictive as wetsuits.
- Wear close-toed shoes. This area of the Potomac River is actively fished and you wouldn't want your tubing day ruined by a cut foot.
- Call before you come if you're wondering about the conditions. The Adventure Center will not let you out on the river if there is ice flowing or lightening and thunder in the area. If you're already on the water when a storm hits, employees trained in swift water rescue will raft to you and get you out of the water.
- Come on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and early Friday if you're looking for a less-crowded experience. The Harpers Ferry Adventure Center is closed on Tuesday.
- The Adventure Center offers many deals after Labor Day. Check online before you go.
Yay to off-season tubing!!
Harpers Ferry Adventure Center
37410 Adventure Center Lane Purcellville, VA 20132
In-Between Tip: Harpers Ferry Adventure Center offers tubing, white water rafting, kayaking, zip lining, horseback riding, Segway tours, hiking expeditions and, come three scary nights in October, a Haunted Hayride and Zipline Tour. What better way to wig you and yours out than by zipping through a West Virginia forest in the dark?
Dogwood Tavern: Where Everyone Knows Your Name
That’s the thing about Dogwood, aptly named a tavern with its brick walls, large fireplace and beautiful wood-beam ceiling. Regardless whether you’re there for a Saturday night free-for-all or a Tuesday salad and tea, they make you feel welcome. They make you feel at home.
Whoever wrote that Cheers song was a sociological genius: “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name.” And it’s true. Sometimes you want to get out of the house and go to a place where you know you will be greeted warmly. But in the D.C.- area, with high-end prices and even higher-end attitudes from serving staff and bartenders, it’s not always easy to find.
That’s why we were struck when the first time we went to Dogwood Tavern in Falls Church, the bartender asked our names. Gave us his as he leaned over the long wooden bar to shake our hands. And then remembered our names for subsequent visits! One female bartender almost got me in trouble. I went in with my husband and she smiled genuinely at me and said, “We haven’t seen you in awhile.” My husband raised an eyebrow and wondered how often was I frequenting the local tavern without him.
Once a month for lunch! I’d order tea!
Photo from Dogwood Tavern website
That’s the thing about Dogwood, aptly named a tavern with its brick walls, large fireplace and beautiful wood-beam ceiling. Regardless whether you’re there for a Saturday night free-for-all or a Tuesday salad and tea, they make you feel welcome. They make you feel at home.
“We live in the community; our customers are part of us,” said Paul Taylor, beverage director for Vintage Restaurant Group, which owns Dogwood Tavern in Falls Church, Rhodeside Grill in Clarendon and two other Arlington neighborhood bars. “We want to give good meals, good drinks and make people happy. That’s something we can really excel at where sometimes other people fail.”
I called Paul to ask him what his organization emphasized in making a great neighborhood bar. Getting to know their customers is one thing. So bartenders will always ask your name; go in, you can test it.
Click to see menu
They also work hard to provide something that will appeal to all of their potential customers. Falls Church is a land of working singles, families and higher-end wage earners; Dogwood offers bands on the weekend and sports viewing on big screen TVs for the young, large and comfy indoor and outdoor dining spaces for families, and a great selection of craft beers, cocktails made with small batch ingredients, and interesting daily meal specials to appeal to those looking for a higher-end experience.
“We’ve definitely strived to create a place where we want to go eat and drink,” Paul said. “We love that our employees will stick around after a shift and have a beverage; they’ve worked really hard to create a welcoming environment so why not stick around to enjoy it. At the end of the day, the customers become family.”
For a long time, we were just once-every-two-to-three-weeks customers. But we were made to feel like family. We’re rabid University of Kansas basketball fans, and the bartenders would always chat us up about that season’s potential. We were even bigger fans of an appetizer called Potatoskinadilla (Potato. Skin. Adilla. All the deliciousness of a potato skin – the bacon, chives, sour cream, soft bits of potato – stuck in a cheesy quesadilla and grilled to a crisp char on the outside. Yum). We bemoaned its demise when they took it off the menu, but whenever it’s a special, the bartenders bring it to our attention.
With the opening of a rooftop outdoor bar this spring, we became once-a-week regulars, grabbing a drink on a happy hour Friday or a lazy Sunday afternoon. That’s when we got to know the bartenders: Rachel, Drew, Mike, Cassandra. If anything speaks to the embrace Dogwood provides, it’s the fact the many of these bartenders have been here since its opening in 2008. Restaurants have an incredibly high turnover rate of 62 percent, but Dogwood has created a place where both staff and customers want to stay.
"There are a lot of places around that you can go to for a meal or a drink," Paul said. "When there’s that many choices, you need to have a level of service that goes above and beyond. That’s sort of our mission."
Mission accomplished. Thanks for giving us a place where everyone knows our names.
Dogwood Tavern
132 West Broad St., Falls Church, VA 22046
In-Between Tip: On Monday, Sept. 8, Dogwood is inviting its customers to enjoy a whiskey event with Catoctin Creek Distillery, a Virginia whiskey-maker from Loudon County's Purcellville. Paul said he was particularly excited about the Peanut Old Fashioned they will have available. "What's more Virginia than Virginia peanuts and Virginia honey?"
To check out some beautiful drinks I've enjoyed at Dogwood Tavern, check out my Instagram feed or my Pinterest page.
A Day at DC's Creepiest Museum
On a beautiful summer day, I walked through the National Museum of Crime and Punishment and stared at some of the creepiest stuff on display in Washington, D.C. And it was fascinating. The National Museum of Crime and Punishment has done a great job of balancing our gruesome, pause-at-a-car-accident curiosity with the true curation, historical research and interactivity that makes for an enriching museum experience.
Update: I'm super sad to report that the National Museum of Crime and Punishment closed in September, 2015. AND YEt This blog Still gets so many hits!! some other quirky museums I recommend:
And feel free to download my free Book!
A "cadaver" laid out on an autopsy table. Medieval torture instruments that punctured and crushed fingers. The bullet-riddled car that once held the bodies of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.
On a beautiful summer day, I walked through the National Museum of Crime and Punishment and stared at some of the creepiest stuff on display in Washington, D.C. And it was fascinating. The National Museum of Crime and Punishment has done a great job of balancing our gruesome, pause-at-a-car-accident curiosity with the true curation, historical research and interactivity that makes for an enriching museum experience.
Located in the densely packed museum-and-restaurant area of the Penn Quarter, the Crime Museum seems to get overlooked for the more popular International Spy Museum down the street. It shouldn’t. Although a bit smaller, the Crime Museum offers plenty of bang for your 22 bucks.
The Crime Museum has three tales to tell as visitors wind through it: The first section focuses on crimes and criminals through the ages; the second focuses on punishment – the booking process, jails and law enforcement; and the final section focuses on case solving and modern forensic technologies. CSI fans will love this place.
Through each section is woven interactive elements for all ages. Young ones can test their cyber safety skills with hand-operated multiple-choice quizzes or they can tunnel out of a jail cell. Us older ones can gain more knowledge from the museum’s many interactive screens, participate in a lineup or we can try out our pursuit skills in a driving simulator.
What I like most about the museum – in all its creepiness – is its restraint. The boards soaked with Jesse James’ blood, John Dillinger’s death mask and the wall chunk from the St. Valentine's Day Massacre are all paired with careful, intelligent text that honors the items' place in our country’s history and minimizes the sensational. The section that I find the hardest to walk through, the one about modern-day mass murderers, is small and succinct, acknowledging the horrors we’ve witnessed without aggrandizing the killers. (Tucked into a corner, it’s also easily skipped if – like me – you want to keep the youngsters away from it.)
A Tour of the National Museum of Crime and Punishment
Crime Museum, 575 7th St. NW, Washington, DC 20004
In-Between Tip: After your dark trip through our nation's underbelly, refresh your spirits with a margarita at Jose Andres' light-filled Mexican restaurant Oyamel, which is just down the block on 7th St., NW. It's much easier to get a table at this festive restaurant with an inventive take on Mexican food during the day. And did I mention the margaritas?
Taking Tea at Historic Rosemont Manor
Going to a tea at the Historic Rosemont Manor in Berryville, Va., is everything little girls imagine tea parties are like when they put on their mothers' floppy hats and drink fruit punch out of tiny cups. As full-grown women, my girlfriend and I got to wear our pretty summer dresses and enter the elegant Southern-style manor where American royalty like the Kennedys once stayed. We got to drink tea from delicate rose-painted cups and eat peach scones topped with Devonshire cream.
Going to a tea at the Historic Rosemont Manor in Berryville, Va., is everything little girls imagine tea parties are like when they put on their mothers' floppy hats and drink fruit punch out of tiny cups. As full-grown women, my girlfriend and I got to wear our pretty summer dresses and enter the elegant Southern-style manor where American royalty like the Kennedys once stayed. We got to drink tea from delicate rose-painted cups and eat peach scones topped with Devonshire cream.
Downton Abbey is a hit for a reason. That show about a noble family and its servants living in an esteemed English manor encourages a certain amount of adult pretend. But for the two hours of the tour-and-tea luncheon at Historic Rosemont Manor, you can live that elegant lifestyle.
Like Downton Abbey, the history of Rosemont Manor is long and rich (I’m referring to the fictional history of the show, which I know, versus the actual history of Highclere Castle, which I don’t know). Originally built in 1811 as a merchant groom’s gift to his landed gentry bride, the manor has been home to a Union hospital, has been sold for a $1 and has been considered as a site for 90 luxury homes. Most notably, the home was owned by Virginia governor and U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr. The names of the many luminaries who visited him there – Charles Lindbergh, Albert Einstein, FDR, Eisenhower, Nixon, Johnson – are used to designate the manor’s twelve suites and four cottages.
We owe the fact that we simple folk can visit the place to the daughter of current owner William "Biff" Genda. When she saw its perfect location, at the top of a slope that overlooks beautiful park grounds and the Shenandoah Valley, she commented that she’d love to be married there. That lightbulb transformed the 200-year-old private residence into an elegant B&B and wedding venue that opened in 2010. The manor has hosted 64 weddings this year and already has 20 booked for 2015.
But back to the tea. On occasional Saturdays and Wednesdays, the Rosemont Manor hosts a three-course tea service for $44 a person. The event begins in the wedding reception hall with a champagne glass of fruit juice. We women in attendance looked like butterflies, and the staff treated us like honored guests. Director of Weddings Michael Haymaker led us into the home and explained its history and Manor House Chef Tona Bays talked excitedly about the three-courses she’d chosen.
Bays focuses on seasonal, local offerings and apologized for what she felt was a diminished peachiness to the peach offerings of the summer menu. Our area’s unending winter, she explained, hit the local peach hard. She had nothing to apologize for. The peach scone with peach preserves was rich with summer sweetness. I originally thought we’d be hitting a rib stand on the one-and-a-half-hour drive home, but the one-bite sandwiches, scones and desserts were substantive in flavor and surprisingly filling. I don’t know teas well, but these were delicious.
My girlfriend and I are already looking forward to the spring menu, when the area is exploding with azalea flowers, or the Christmas menu, when the house is done up for the holidays. There's no reason we have to limit our elegant make-believe to once a year.
Taking a Tour of the Historic Rosemont Manor
Refining Your Going-Out Palate at Capital Wine School
The Capital Wine School provides the chance for an engaging night out with classes that allow you to meet interesting people, learn something new and taste fabulous wines.
As I've gotten older, my enthusiasm for going out hasn't waned, but my enjoyment of the passive entertainment of a bar, a restaurant or a movie certainly has. Repetition breeds boredom. I want to engage, to do something, to even possibly learn something while I’m spending my pennies out and about in the world.
Wine expert Michael Franz chats with students after class
The Capital Wine School provides the chance for an engaging night out with classes that allow you to meet interesting people, learn something new and taste fabulous wines.
In Northwest D.C., throwing distance from Bethesda near the Mazza Gallerie, the Capital Wine School offers a variety of two-hour evening classes that explore all facets of wine knowledge. You can learn about Pinot Noirs from different parts of the world or you can explore the characteristics that make the wines of Bordeaux, Tuscany or Washington great. You can even take an introductory class that helps you understand wine better and eases the panic when you’re handed the wine list at a restaurant.
Jay Youmans
The Capital Wine School was started by Jay Youmans who is A) Washington, D.C.’s only Master of Wine and one of only 30 in the U.S., and B) one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. Well known in the wine world, Jay helps to train professionals in the wine industry at Capital Wine School with wine business classes and master classes for sommeliers.
He also taught two beginner classes that I took: Introduction to Wine Basics and the three-part Wine Basics: Comparing Grapes, Regions and Styles. As a newbie, getting instruction from someone with his depth of knowledge was a real honor. But neither he nor my "Secret Spain" wine class instructor, Michael Franz (editor of Wine Review Online and wine writer for the Washington Post until 2005) made me feel like I’d better be glad I was receiving such an honor.
What I’ve appreciated most about the Capital Wine School experience (besides incredible 1 oz-ish tastings of wine) is the lack of the pretension that you can run into in the wine world. Sommeliers, tasting room hosts and – the worst of them all – wine drinkers who fashion themselves "experts" can sometimes be complete butts. But the Wine School’s experienced instructors work hard to engage new wine drinkers, draw out honest opinions and share what they know for the benefit of the student.
The classes are held in a room above a dance studio, so the muted rhythms of salsa or hip hop will sometimes accompany your wine tasting class. Long tables face the instructor and clean glasses are arranged in front of each seat, ready for a pour. These are tasting classes, and while I seldom want to waste the incredible eight or more pours we get, I generally drive there and must get home. Small buckets are available for spitting or dumping your glass, and you’re encouraged to use them, if you’d like. Or you could metro and plan on a nice dinner after.
The classes aren’t cheap at $65-$85 per person for the two-hour tasting courses. But I paid that much for a concert ticket last week, and I certainly walk away from the wine class with more than a t-shirt. The class schedule is limited in the summer, but picks up again in September. I have my eye on two upcoming classes: Comparative Tasting of Pinot Noirs from Around the World on Nov. 29 and Michael Franz’s Eight Favorite Champagnes on Dec. 6.
I’m emailing my husband right now to let him know I’ve got a perfect night out all ready for us.
Capital Wine School
5207 Wisconsin Ave., Washington, DC 20015
In-Between Tip: Take advantage of the Capital Wine School's location just a couple of blocks south of Friendship Heights Metro station and take the Metro there. Then after your class, try one of the multitude of restaurants this area on the border between Washington, D.C., and Bethesda, Md., has to offer.
Want to discover more interesting and fun going-out activities in the DMV? Make sure to subscribe to In Between in D.C., where I post twice a week about fun things to do for us 40-55-year-old In-Betweeners.
Terror-Filled Fun in the Trees at Adventure Park
This was my family’s fifth or sixth trip to the tree-climbing and zip-lining adventure land in Montgomery County, and we’d ended every trip covered in sweat, showing off some impressive scrapes and bruises, and seriously psyched about our ability to look a leaf-strewn death in the face. Visiting The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring is like being in labor – the end result is so cool you forget about the screaming and crying that preceded it.
The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring
I was about 20-feet high in the trees at The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring, barely balancing on a wood board shivering beneath my feet, when I remembered, “Oh yeah, I’m terrified of heights.”
This was my family’s fifth or sixth trip to the tree-climbing and zip-lining adventure land in Montgomery County, and we’d ended every trip covered in sweat, showing off some impressive scrapes and bruises, and seriously psyched about our ability to look a leaf-strewn death in the face. Visiting The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring is like being in labor – the end result is so cool you forget about the screaming and crying that preceded it.
The Adventure Park is an elaborate, up-in-the-trees obstacle course. You choose one of the 13 courses (the level of difficulty is marked like ski runs from purple to double-black diamond), and then you work your way along the course by teetering from tree to tree across different challenges or “elements.”
A view of the "elements" at The Adventure Park
Sometimes you’re walking across sturdy boards with a tight, steady rope you can grip for balance. Sometimes you’re on logs swinging beneath you while the grip line sticks out at an awkward angle. Sometimes you zip line across. Sometimes you rope swing across. Sometimes you climb down an endless rope ladder that has you swearing, when you’ve kissed the platform at the bottom, that you will never again skip the arms when you’re at the gym.
None of these elements, the young and impossibly cute staff assures you, will result in your leaf-strewn death. Cinching you into your harness, walking you through a detailed training, and being readily available for the cries of “Staff help!” are all ways this young and impossibly cute (as well as friendly, patient and competent) staff insure your safety.
A staff member demonstrates safety equipment
They also help you believe in the “tweezle.” The safety of this park is dependant on the two locking carabiners on your harness, a “life line” that runs through every course, and the tweezle. The tweezle is a locking mechanism – you lock one of your carabineers onto a course’s life line at the beginning, and you are unable to unlock until the end. This way, should you slip off the insane tightrope that you’re supposed to be walking across, your harness will catch on the life line. Boosting yourself back onto the element is easier with the adrenaline-surge of your heart pounding.
If I can do it, you can do it
So why am I recommending this place so obviously meant for the young and fearless to In-Betweeners? Because, at our age, it’s easy to get too damn comfortable. I’m not presented with many risks anymore. And with two kids and a husband, I’m not interested in truly looking death in the face – ie. skydiving, mountain climbing, jogging. Staring at my feet (never the ground!) at Adventure Park, realizing that I’m actually balancing myself on that tightrope, and conquering an element that I was sure would defeat me leave me feeling exhilarated, powerful and capable.
And the view is fricking gorgeous.
Cost: $49 for ages 12+
Twilight tickets: $29, Mon-Thurs.; $39, Fri-Sun. (Available 3 hours before closing.)
In Between Tip: The park -- strewn with twinkling white Christmas lights -- is open for night climbing until 8 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturdays. I imagine it would be really fun with a group of adult friends. I can feel another blog coming on...
Angelina M. Lopez,
contemporary romance Author
Writing ferocious love stories
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