Let’s hear it for Alexandria, VA – the best hometown in America

If you haven’t been to Alexandria, Virginia you’re missing out.

We’re surrounded by some of the most amazing places in the country, and we have to opportunity to go to them for a casual day trip. From DC to Mount Vernon Manor, the history is endless, and so is the fun.

We live right outside of Washington, DC

A suburb of Washington, DC, there are so many places to go and things to do around Alexandria that the people who live here complain of nothing to do. We know there’s stuff to do, we’ve just done it all. There’s the White House, the US Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, the National Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, and the National Museum of Natural History, just to name a few.

The Metro takes us into the heart of DC, to wherever we want to go, which is way better than driving around in an attempt to find a parking spot in the nation’s capital.

The national museums and monuments are dank

We have the nation’s monuments and best museums at our fingertips. Ever since elementary school, we’ve had school projects that take us to the Smithsonian museums, and field trips on the Metro into DC. When a new museum was being built or unveiled, you had better bet our high school teachers were all over it to come up with a project to send us there, before we go ourselves. That said, one of the most recent additions to the Smithsonian museums was in 2012 as the National Museum of the American Indian, which is by far one of most amazing museums, inside and out.

The hub of bad smelling cherry blossom trees

Another must when you live near DC is the cherry blossom festival. Yes it’s gorgeous, but it smells atrocious. If you don’t believe me, go. Your eyes will be dazzled, but your nose will not be. People come from all around to see the cherry blossom trees all bloom in DC, and to be honest it’s one of the most beautiful things you’ll ever see. Fun fact, there was a cherry blossom tree near the playground of my elementary school, and when it bloomed you better bet it smelled less than pleasant.

We have aviation air shows because airplanes can be graceful too

DC is a military hub – Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Marine Barracks, US Naval Research Lab (NRL), US Naval Observatory (where the Vice President lives), Washington Navy Yard, US Naval Intelligence, Air National Guard, and Andrews Air Force Base, to name a few.

You get to experience fighter jets and stealth aircraft do acrobatic flying from right on the tarmac.

Georgetown: for the shops, for the docks, for the food

At one end of DC is Georgetown, home to Georgetown University, and close to George Washington University. Along the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers that border DC, Virginia, and Maryland, is the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. This is also a common school field trip destination. Rowing and kayaking on the Potomac is quite beautiful, especially in the spring, but beware of the wild yachts with drunk people in bathing suits ready to set anchor in the middle of the river, or dock right at Georgetown Waterfront.

You may think that the place to go in Georgetown for cupcakes would be Georgetown Cupcake, but the real place to go is Baked and Wired. Their cupcakes are more like mini cakes, and their flavors are better. Georgetown Cupcake is like a cupcake boutique, more cutesy and way more crowded, since they were on Cupcake Wars. They’re off the main drag of Georgetown, which is M St NW, so they’re not as often frequented, but it’s definitely worth going off the beaten track.  It’s also on the way to the waterfront, you so might as well pop in.

Georgetown is also one of the best, if not most expensive, places to shop. You’ve got H&M on the same road as Lulu Lemon, as well as Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, J Crew, and Patagonia. Now that you’ve got your thread, you need to hit up one of the many food places in town: the Chipotle classic, the original Sweetgreen, Pinkberry, Ben and Jerry’s, Baked and Wired, Dean & DeLuca, Good Stuff Eatery, Old Glory, Paul, Farmers Fishers Bakers is by far one of the best breakfast/brunch places I’ve been- some of the rowers and coaches of TBC’s summer rowing program would go there for breakfast after practice.

So many opportunities to be fit af 

Along the Potomac next to the Kennedy Center is Thompson’s Boat Center (TBC). Their summer rowing program is very extensive, from beginners to college and older programs.

The coaches are great, and the participants come from places all over the USA. The rowing program allows them to keep in shape over the summer while they are completing internships in DC.

We also have the biggest backyard to play in. The National Mall has wide open spaces with large stone and class museums bordering it, with the Washington monument at one end and Capitol at the other. It’s one of the most popular places to run, and makes for one of the most beautiful places to motivate you to move your feet. You often see pickup soccer games, frisbee games, and picnics on the green.

The Billy Goat Trail is the best hiking trail around, and everyone from little Girl Scouts to elderly couples on an active outing go. It starts at the C&O Canal and trails along the Potomac River. It’s a common family outing as well as a fun outing for friends. The trail isn’t just a flat or slight incline where you follow a smooth wooded path- there are rocks to climb and streams to cross. There’s also lots of scrambling up and down the rocks, sometimes near the edges of cliffs where there is a long drop to the river. Quite the adventure, if you ask me.

We’ve got everything on the first president of the United States

If you live in Alexandria, you’ve been to Mount Vernon estate (a National Historic Landmark), the home of George and Martha Washington, no less than three times for school trips. Historical Mount Vernon sits right in front of just the only roundabout where the inside lane has the right of way. They’ve updated the visitor’s center and entrance after you go through the gates over the years, but the rest of the place has stayed about the same over that past 15 or so years.

GW’s backyard is a beautiful place for throwing around a Frisbee, a picnic, or just sitting and enjoying the view of the Potomac River, and the historical landmark. The estate has it’s own barn of very large horses, which they actually use to pull the wheel that thrashes the grain. They do this to show historically how people lived and worked so we can better understand life over 200 years ago. It gives Mount Vernon an authenticity that not many historical places have these days. Some history that is lost in history books is reborn in the modern age.

We also have our very own prestigious library, the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington, which was opened on September 2013. The library has original Washington texts and documents among other [materials], which is open for visits by appointment only.

We also have the George Washington Gristmill, which was rebuilt and opened in 1933. It’s a common field trip for many Boy and Girl Scouts, and a historical outing for families.

Alexandria makes history on history

Another credit for Alexandria, Livability.com voted it the “best downtown in the USA,” one over Santa Monica, California, two over Greenville, South Carolina, and four over Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “Livability.com is a website exploring what makes small- to mid-size cities great places to live.”

Proving Virginia is for Lovers, Alexandria was ranked Most Romantic City by Amazon in 2016 as well as 2010 and 2011. Alexandria was ranked one over Miami, Florida, and two over Knoxville, Tennessee. This stemming from the pending Valentine’s Day orders among other “sales data,” like “purchases… of romance novels and relationship books, romantic comedy movies and downloads of romantic music by artists such as Barry White and Luther Vandross,… [and] sales of sexual wellness products,”  “Amazon bases its romantic city rankings on sales data from cities with more than 100,000 residents.”

I bet your town doesn’t have a giant Ferris wheel

Just across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, and just across from Alexandria, is National Harbor, Maryland. Now, there isn’t much to do here except shop and eat, but at the end of spring 2014, an enclosed-car Ferris wheel called the Capitol Wheel, was built at the end of one of the piers. At night, it lights up different colors and makes for quite the view. Another thing to do, although only from May to September or October is go to Boating in DC, which is based off of one of the docks. They rent single and double kayaks, paddle boards, and peddle boats. Most of the staff of Boating in DC is made up of local high school students, or local college student back for the summer.

One of my favorite places to eat is Potbelly’s, which you can only find at National Harbor (unless you want to go into the heart of DC), and if you haven’t been to one you need to go, it is the absolute best.

Another grand thing about National Harbor is the Gaylord Hotel, home to many conventions and ICE!, which is a story told through colored ice sculptures complete with ice slide, every winter.

An attraction to National Harbor is the Awakening statue, which is a statue of a giant in the sand with his head, arms, and legs sticking out of the sand as if he were trying to break free.

Fun fact, my high school crew team rowed out of the lot at the end of National Harbor.

Alexandria downtown is pretty sweet

If shopping is what you’re looking for in Old Town, King St is the main drag you’re looking for. We’ve recently opened a Lulu Lemon store and, coming late summer 2016, a long awaited Sweet Green will grace the Bittersweet Cafe, also on King St. Along the food line, King Street Blues is definitely top notch.

There’s also the Torpedo Factory Art Center. They used to make weapons there, but now you’ll find the most unique art anywhere from almost 300 artists. When you walk around, it gives the vibe of a beach side art fair. The entrance from the docks has a blackboard wall with a box of chalk so people can write on it- in an essence create their own art. It’s also home to the Art League, which gives all kinds of art classes for all skill levels.

It’s quite the opportunity to pick up a random book you know nothing about, or even know if you’ll like, and start reading it. I think it shows a leap of faith in the arts, even though it’s of printed word, to trust in such a new and unknown thing and take it in stride.

At the Market Square right in front of the Alexandria City Hall with the big water fountain, at Christmas time they have a huge tree and caroling.

We love our animals as much as we love our history

Old Town is one of the most animal friendly places there is. Most of the shops have dog treats in them, and some even let you bring your dog in, and sometimes even give them a bowl of water. Whenever you’re walking around along the streets, on the docks, or in the parks, you’ll find no shortage of man’s best friend. There are always people playing frisbee or catch with their dogs, even letting their dogs play with other dogs that frequent the park. If asked, a lot of the residents will let you pet their dog, which always makes a day a whole lot better.

We also have an animal shelter called the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria. You can go into the cat’s cages, or take them out if the cage is a small one, and play with them. The dogs have to stay in their cages and you can’t take them out, but you can pet them and feed them through the bars. You can open the cages of the bunnies and hamsters and chinchillas to pet them. These animals need to be adopted, and so interaction with humans is sometimes very welcomed by the animals, but it depends on their temperament. Fact: darker colored animals are less likely to get adopted. I wish I could have taken this little one home.

So my fellow Alexandria peeps, take pride in your hometown, and if you don’t think there’s anything to do, read this article and do it all again.