Vacations at Home  - Bill Cheng,  Aug 2007

Vacations at Home are defined as leisure time away from work devoted to pleasure and recreation without leaving town. 

Just like a tourist in town on vacation, you could visit a flowering garden, go hiking in a park, and dine out in a different

restaurant every night.  If you are a resident of Maryland or Virginia, you could explore and rediscover the beauty and

grandeur of the Nation’s Capital and its suburbs within a few hours in the comfort of air-conditioning cars.  You might revisit

the reasons why you choose to move there and reminisce what a great place it has been to build your career and raise a

family.  Vacations at Home offer a relaxed setting to socialize and improve communications with friends and family you care. 

 

In recent years, Washington DC and its suburbs have become a desirable home base for an increasing numbers of retirees

and their families.  After settling down there for many years, they find it even harder to leave when their children also find good jobs in the proximity of the Federal Government.  This article serves as a quick reference to Vacations at Home for the benefits of residents in the Greater Washington and Baltimore Metropolitan areas.  Our recommendations include physical and cultural activities that were selected based on two criteria:                                                                                                                                      

·        driving in two hours or less

·        best value

These recommendations aim at enhancing your quality of life without expensive airline tickets and hotel bills although dining

out in four-star restaurants could cost you arm and leg.  Recommendations are listed for eleven (11) categories below to

indicate places to go and things to do: 

(1)   Gardens and Flower

(2)   Hiking and Biking

(3)   Fresh Fruits

(4)   Birding

(5)   Museum/Library

(6)   Church/Cathedral

(7)   Movies

(8)   Afternoon Tea

(9)   Potomac River Cruise

            (10) Weekend Get Away

            (11) Dining Out

Readers are welcome to check out one or more recommended places on weekdays and weekends, depending on your mood and occasion.  These activities offer more insights into how local people really live and require a slower pace than guided tours available commercially.  

Our recommendations are largely based on subjective opinions and personal experiences as residents in Montgomery County, Maryland during the last 30 years. To expand this partial list, we definitely need to incorporate more entries from Virginia and

DC into this list and provide updates every year.  Readers are encouraged to send your feedback or suggestions to mailto:billhcheng@yahoo.com?subject=Feedback on "Vacations at Home"  This article is considered as a “stone” we throw out to attract “jades” in return. 

(1)  Gardens and Flowers

(2) Hiking / Biking

(3) Fresh Fruits

(4) Birding

PLACE	ADDRESS/ WEBSITE	PHONE	COMMENTS
Audubon Naturalist Society	8940 Johns Mill Road Chevy Chase, MD www.audubonnaturalist.org/	301-652-3606	Guided tour at 8AM on Saturdays rain or shine
TPC Club at Avenel	10000 Oakley Drive Potomac, MD 20854 www.tpcatavenel.com/	301-469-3700	Birding on Mondays when the club house is closed for business.

(5) Museum/Library

(6) Church/Cathedral

(7) Movies

PLACE	ADDRESS/ WEBSITE	PHONE	COMMENTS
AMC Theaters	11301 Rockville Pike White Flint Mall, Kensington, MD 20895	202-333-3456	Free movies on the third Wednesday of each month at 930PM
Bethesda Row Cinema	7235 Woodmont Ave, Bethesda, MD 20814	301-652-7273	Specialize in award-winning foreign films.
P&G Montgomery Mall Cinemas	Westfield Mall 7101 Democracy Blvd, Bethesda, MD 20817	301-767-9555	Free movies on the first Wednesday of each month at 9:30AM

(8) Afternoon Tea

PLACE	ADDRESS/ WEBSITE	PHONE	COMMENTS
Peking Eastern House	617 S. Frederick Ave Gaithersburg, MD 20877	301-63-1426	2PM-5PM  $3. Free wireless Internet access
Strathmore Tea Room	The Mansion at Strathmore 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda, MD www.strathmore.org	301-581-5108	Tue and Wed (1 PM-3 PM) $18. Musicians perform in the background.

(9) Potomac River Cruise

PLACE	ADDRESS/ WEBSITE	PHONE	COMMENTS
Capital River Cruises	Washington Harbor 31st & K Streets, NW, Washington, DC	301-460-7447	A 45-minute historical narrative sightseeing tour of Washington, DC aboard a small river boat.  $12

 

(10) Weekend Get Away

PLACE	ADDRESS/ WEBSITE	PHONE	COMMENTS
Back Creek Inn	210 Alexander Lane Solomons, MD 20688 bbonline.com/md/backcreek/	410-326-2022	Bed & Breakfast in Southern Maryland. Best to visit in Spring & Summer
Berkeley Springs State Park	2 S. Washington St. Berkeley Springs, West Virginia 25411 www.berkelyspringssp.com	800-CALL WVA	Best to visit in Spring and Summer Fresh mountain air . First bath house in US
Graves Mountain Lodge	Rt. 670 Syria, VA 22743-9999 www.gravesmountain.com/	540-923-4231	Southern family style meals. Excellent rainbow trout on Friday nights. Many Many return customers. Apple festival in Oct
Inn at Little Washington	Middle and Main St Washington, VA www.theinnatlittlewashington.com	540-675-3800	Five star inn and restaurant.  Reservation only
Longwood Gardens	Rt 1 Kennett Square, PA 19348 Longwoodgardens.org	610-388-1000	Fireworks four time a year (Spring - Fall)
Robert Morris Inn	314 N. Morris St, Oxford, MD 21654 BestCrabCakes.com	888-823-4012	Overnight shipping   “Best Crab Cakes” in Chesapeake Bay, rated by the author James Michener
Wades Point Inn on the Bay	Route 33 St. Michaels, MD 21663 www.wadespoint.com/	888-923-3466	Bed and Breakfast in Eastern Shore

(11) Dining Out