Washington, DC

Realizing that this year over 130 of my posts have been Photos of the Day and knowing next year there will be 366 photos I decided to that I should look back through them and pull out my five favorite photos of the day that I have posted over the past several months. All but one of the Photo of the Day photos have been taken by me and I hope that next year that I get more than just one person’s photo submitted. I always have plenty of my own photos to highlight in this daily post, but I would love to see others D.C. photos and be able to share them in this feature.

To submit a photo send me an e-mail at kjersti.wasiak@451press.net with the subject line of D.C. Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo, especially including location of photo when it is not obvious.

5. Kentucky State Tree on White House Ellipse: This is the photo of my favorite ornaments I saw on the trees decorated by the different states and territories this year.

4. Colorful Wall: This is a photo of the colorful stair wall I discovered at the Washington Convention Center when I went to the Green Festival.

3. Fall Colors: I enjoyed taking photos of fall colors this fall and this red leaf photo is one of my favorite photos I took.

2. Capitol Building: This is my favorite photo of the Capitol Building I have taken over the years.

1. Lafayette Statue: This photo is my favorite this year as it is just a great photo of the statue in Lafayette Square and the sky behind it has a great blue tinge to it and just the right amount of colds.

photo, D.C., photography

Photo of the Day: Day 133

Vermont Tree on White House Ellipse, December 2007
Photographer: Kjersti Wasiak

To submit a photo send me an e-mail at kjersti.wasiak@451press.net with the subject line of D.C. Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo, especially including location of photo when it is not obvious.

Photo of Day Beginning Post and Explanation

photo, D.C.

Wrap Up of results from December 24 - December 30

Washington Capitals (NHL):

12/26 vs. Lightning Won 3-2
12/27 @ Penguins Lost in Overtime 3-4
12/29 @ Senators Won 8-6

Washington Redskins (NFL):
12/30 vs. Dallas Won 27-6

Washington Wizards (NBA):

12/26 @ Charlotte Won 108-104
12/28 @ New Jersey Lost 106-109
12/29 vs. Miami Won 96-74

Upcoming

Washington Capitals (NHL):

1/1 vs. Senators
1/3 @ Bruins
1/5 @ Canadiens

Washington Wizards (NBA):

1/2 vs. Detroit
1/4 @ Milwaukee
1/6 vs. Seattle

Weekly Topics

D.C., sports, basketball, football

Photo of the Day: Day 132

Texas Tree on White House Ellipse, December 2007
Photographer: Kjersti Wasiak

To submit a photo send me an e-mail at kjersti.wasiak@451press.net with the subject line of D.C. Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo, especially including location of photo when it is not obvious.

Photo of Day Beginning Post and Explanation

photo, D.C.

Photo of the Day: Day 131

Rhode Island Tree on White House Ellipse, December 2007
Photographer: Kjersti Wasiak

To submit a photo send me an e-mail at kjersti.wasiak@451press.net with the subject line of D.C. Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo, especially including location of photo when it is not obvious.

Photo of Day Beginning Post and Explanation

photo, D.C.

Photo of the Day: Day 130

Puerto Rico Tree on White House Ellipse, December 2007
Photographer: Kjersti Wasiak

To submit a photo send me an e-mail at kjersti.wasiak@451press.net with the subject line of D.C. Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo, especially including location of photo when it is not obvious.

Photo of Day Beginning Post and Explanation

photo, D.C.

Since beginning this blog and moving to the D.C. area this year I have begun to really explore my favorite city and attend some of the fun events held here. This is my top five things I did and wrote about in this blog this year. Click the links of the five things to read the full posts I wrote about them.

5. Green Festival 2007: This was a fun festival to go to and learn about all the different kinds of green products that are out there. The best part of the festival was tasting the different food products available. I especially enjoyed the chocolates and buying some bars of my favorite brand of dark chocolate, Dagoba.

4. Holiday Display at United States Botanic Gardens: Of the different holiday displays I saw around D.C. this holiday season this one is was my favorite, although the trees on the White House Ellipse almost made the top five list as well. The display is amazing inside the gardens with the replicas of Washington, D.C. buildings made out of plant materials. Outside there is the large train display to be enjoyed.

3. National Treasure Event at the National Archives: This event was a lot of fun because even though I had already seen the whole Public Vaults exhibit in the past this treasure hunt allowed me to more fully enjoy the exhibit. It got you to really look at the things on display or watch the clips or even listen to the tapes played. It was a relatively easy thing to solve, but a lot of fun to do.

2. Madame Tussauds in D.C.: This October the Madame Tussauds Museum in D.C. opened and I went to it on opening day. It was the first time I had been to a wax museum and was pleasantly surprised to realize how photography friendly this museum is. I loved that you could take all the photos you wanted and even use flash, which is something you cannot use at many other museums for good reason, though.

1. National Book Festival: This was by far my favorite thing I was able to do this year. I had thought of going to it ever since I got a poster for the event in early summer. That was before I knew I would be for sure living in the D.C. area. This event was so much fun. I especially enjoyed going through the Pavilion of States and collecting all the stamps/stickers on the map. Of course, collecting all the free goodies such as pencils and bookmarks was also a lot of fun. I certainly hope to attend this again in 2008.

best of 2007, 2007, D.C.

Photo of the Day: Day 129

Train Model on White House Ellipse, December 2007
Photographer: Kjersti Wasiak

To submit a photo send me an e-mail at kjersti.wasiak@451press.net with the subject line of D.C. Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo, especially including location of photo when it is not obvious.

Photo of Day Beginning Post and Explanation

photo, D.C.

Photo of the Day: Day 128

Arizona Tree with National Tree in Background on White House Ellipse, December 2007
Photographer: Kjersti Wasiak

To submit a photo send me an e-mail at kjersti.wasiak@451press.net with the subject line of D.C. Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo, especially including location of photo when it is not obvious.

Photo of Day Beginning Post and Explanation

photo, D.C.

The AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C. is in its fourth edition. This edition is written by G. Martin Moeller Jr. This book is an interesting read about the architecture of Washington, D.C. The book is organized into sections about different neighborhoods such as Dupont Circle and Lafayette Square. Each chapter can be used as a walking tour with the help of the map that starts the chapter. The chapters include short descriptions of the different buildings chosen for architectural significance. The descriptions mostly tell of the buildings history and some include interesting information about how the building relate to the beginning of this capital city and the evolvement of the city to what we now know it to be like. Most entries also include a photo of the building discussed making it fun to read even if you are not actually walking around and seeing the buildings for yourself.

I would recommend this book for tourists visiting D.C. as well as D.C. residents and looking for something different to see, as this book includes many places to enjoy the outside of that one would not think of going to see because you cannot go inside. It is also a fun read if you are interested in architecture even if you cannot go see the buildings in person, as the book can easily be read as a book on the different architecture in D.C. and not just as a tour book.

Basic Information About the Book:

ISBN #: 0-8018-8467-5
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Year of Publication: 2006

If you have a suggestion of a D.C. related book that you would like to see featured in a future Book of the Week post, then please either comment on this post or e-mail me at kjersti.wasiak@451press.net

Weekly Themes

book, D.C.

Photo of the Day: Day 127

Arkansas Tree with National Tree in Background on White House Ellipse, December 2007
Photographer: Kjersti Wasiak

To submit a photo send me an e-mail at kjersti.wasiak@451press.net with the subject line of D.C. Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo, especially including location of photo when it is not obvious.

Photo of Day Beginning Post and Explanation

photo, D.C.

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone enjoys their holidays. If you are looking for something to do with the family over the holidays or to escape the family in D.C., then check out the things below that I have posted about Christmas in the past month.

National Christmas Tree and State Trees on the White House Ellipse: I originally wrote about this here. I have seen it both at night and in the daylight this year and both times it was fun. It is of course more fun in the daylight if the weather is cold, but either way stop by the Yule Log to warm up if you get cold.

My favorite holiday thing in D.C., though, is the holiday display at the United States Botanic Gardens. The replicas of different D.C. buildings are made out of different plant sources. They are all quite amazing, especially mixed with the different poinsetta plants. The holiday train display out front of the gardens is also spectacular to see and a big hit with the little ones. For trains lovers you may also want to check out the train display at Union Station.

There is also the Capital Christmas Tree, Zoo Lights, and the Holidays at Mount Vernon that I wrote about here.

Now for something D.C. related you can do nationwide this Christmas is go see National Treasure: Book of Secrets featuring scenes set in D.C. as part of this treasure hunt related to missing pages in Booth’s diary.

Christmas, White House, Merry Christmas, holiday, D.C.

Photo of the Day: Day 126

Delaware Tree with National Tree in Background on White House Ellipse, December 2007
Photographer: Kjersti Wasiak

To submit a photo send me an e-mail at kjersti.wasiak@451press.net with the subject line of D.C. Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo, especially including location of photo when it is not obvious.

Photo of Day Beginning Post and Explanation

photo, D.C.

Wrap Up of results from December 17 - December 23

Washington Capitals (NHL):

12/17 @ Red Wings Overtime Lost 3-4
12/20 vs. Canadiens Lost 2-5
12/22 @ Islanders Overtime Lost 2-3

Washington Redskins (NFL):
12/23 @ Minnesota Won 32-21

Washington Wizards (NBA):

12/19 vs. Chicago Lost 84-95
12/21 vs. Atlanta Lost 92-97
12/22 @ Indiana Lost 85-93

Upcoming

Washington Capitals (NHL):

12/26 vs. Lightning
12/27 @ Penguins
12/29 @ Senators

Washington Redskins (NFL):
12/30 vs. Dallas

Washington Wizards (NBA):

12/26 @ Charlotte
12/28 @ New Jersey
12/29 vs. Miami

Weekly Topics

D.C., sports, basketball, football

Photo of the Day: Day 125

District of Columbia Tree with National Tree in Background on White House Ellipse, December 2007
Photographer: Kjersti Wasiak

To submit a photo send me an e-mail at kjersti.wasiak@451press.net with the subject line of D.C. Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo, especially including location of photo when it is not obvious.

Photo of Day Beginning Post and Explanation

photo, D.C.