Month: October 2024

Meet Me at Rita’s

M's Adventures

As I have mentioned, I like old school places and there seem to be fewer and fewer of them in the greater Washington, DC, area. But, maybe I just need to look harder?

One day I was exploring up in the College Park area in Maryland. I had traveled for over an hour on the public transportation system taking two trains and a bus when I arrived at the location for my next bus. I was right in front of Rita’s Ice, Custard, Happiness. I decided to try out the frozen custard. Of the three offerings on the menu, ice indicates frozen ice cream types, frozen custard is an ice cream made with more egg yolks than regular ice cream, and happiness is the result of those two things.

I got a peanut butter milkshake as that is possibly the most “American” thing I could think of. It was thick and sweet.

Rita’s is the kind of place I would expect in a beach town but it is on a busy street (if one tries hard and closes one’s eyes, one can imagine that the traffic is the ocean?). Even so, they continue, so much so that they are now open all year round. To the side of the large parking area is a picnic area.

I asked a local if she had heard of Rita’s and she assured me that “everyone’s heard of Rita’s” which was sort of comforting to hear.

Little Free Library

M's Adventures

In the US (and in 120 other countries), you will see these little boxes with free books. They are part of Little Free Library, a non profit organization.

I have seen some towns where they have boxes with free tools or free food. I like this idea.

Seafood Tower

M's Adventures

If you are really into seafood, then there is a place for you in DC. At the Le Diplomate restaurant, they will serve you two or three level towers. We got the three level, for 4-6 people. It cost around $180. The photo doesn’t do it justice. When they brought it out, I took video and that was much more impressive (check out the video on YouTube or Instagram).

We asked for warm butter to dip our lobster, crab, and shrimp. While all seafood can be eaten raw, some of the items are cooked such as the mussels, shrimp, lobster, and crab. The oysters, clams, salmon, and scallops are raw.

We had this as our main course and it was a lot of food for three people. We also got other cheeses, cheese balls, and dessert. We also got complimentary champagne.

Urban Parks in Northern Virginia

M's Adventures

One of the things I like about living in the Washington area are all the parks and greenery. Having lived in Rome where there are lots of streets with no plants or trees, it is nice to live somewhere where there are plants everywhere, and lots of free parks.

Many of the parks have picnic areas and bathrooms. Many have parking lots. Plus the parks are free. Some are educational including signage about the history that took place along that road or about with information about the plants that grow along that path. Other parks are nature preserves and can be a bit “wilder” with hills, boulders, and forests.

Depending on what time you go and which park you choose, the traffic can get busy. On the paths that are split down the middle, you have to walk on the side with the traffic going in your direction (counter to when you walk toward oncoming traffic) and you will hear the “on your left” or “passing” as the cyclists whizz past you.