No place doing a kiddie happy hour anymore?

Wonderland Ballroom used to; as did the Reef (RIP, now Roofers Union). Johnny Pistolas upstairs. Grand Central, briefly (and, uh, they may not care to do this anymore).

Call a restaurant that you like that has a private room and ask if they would take a booking.

You can do bowling, but the kids are probably too small for that.

Are there any updates on the Wilson situation? I too am missing my weekly swim, and none of the alternatives are properly situated for me.

This is the answer.

Tell her that every middle aged woman within a 6 foot radius will come to her aid with the fire of a thousand suns fueled by thirty years of putting up with bullshit.

"Daring escape on metro" -- my first thought is how long did they have to wait for a train??!!!

Aw, but cut some slack here.

This poster likely just got a driver's license before everything shut down in a global pandemic. They don't have experience in how this works -- and likely missed out on a bunch of early adult experiences because of the pandemic. It sucks for young folks. Let's help them have some fun.

The public garage at the Wharf is $38 daily rate, if that helps.

If that's still too $$, you might look to find a cheaper garage and metro to the hotel. Take a look around the airport.

https://www.ecolonial.com/park-with-us/parking-locator/ will give you locations and a daily rate.

If you have not booked your ticket, look for a ticket to Washington National Airport (DCA). Even if it's a bit more expensive, you'll save in taxi costs.

You can take the subway (metro) from DCA to Union Station. One change. You can also take a taxi and it will be much cheaper than taking it from IAD.

I recommend hotels.com if you are looking for a good price. Use the map feature to find somewhere convenient.

Also a note that Amtrak trains usually leave on time from DC but if you are returning Martinsburg - DC, the train originates in Chicago, and may be later than advertised; something to keep in mind as you book a homeward flight.

This is written from the perspective of families with kids, but would work just as well for folks without.

Friday Night Meatballs

I personally prefer not to to ever ask anyone "where are you from" -- because, as you say, it can be a little off, and for some folks comes off as Why Are You Brown ?

In conversational and social settings, I like to ask "did you grow up around here?" -- which is much more what I'm really interested in asking! Making small talk or getting to know a person by asking a little bit about their background and history.

Anyway, OP -- I'm happy to say that yes, I'm not transient, I have roots here, but when people ask me where I'm from, it's usually an opportunity for me to talk about some of the other aspects of my identity.

"Where I'm from" is a complicated question. Layers. Like an onion. :)

I'm an immigrant. This year marks 20 years in DC. I did not go to high school, college, or grad school here. I came here because my husband got a government job.

I can definitely count a couple of good friends that grew up in the metro area.

Regular interactions -- the pandemic changed this. The place that I would routinely meet folks from more diverse walks of life than my own professional/social sphere was at our DCPS school. Post-pandemic my kid is in middle school and the opportunities for casual interaction with other families is much decreased, both because we are no longer watching 7 year olds on a playground together, and also because a lot of school interaction is now virtual.

While I'm definitely not FROM here, I've lived here longer than I've lived anywhere else, and my child was born here.

Thank you for saying this.

It's been 20+ years, but I came here from a tropical climate and for the first 2-3 years I was freezing cold in the winters.

I recommend:

• A heavy windproof winter coat/parka (Eddie Bauer is a good mid-range brand; they have a sale right now if you have a US address you can ship to.) Something mid-hip or longer is good. Women's jackets are typically longer and you can get knee-length, but most of the men's jackets I see are shorter, FYI.
• Gloves. They should be windproof and waterproof
• Warm socks
• Waterproof boots that you can wear in snow, slush, or rain

If you want to pick up good quality outerwear more cheaply, there are typically sales timed around public holidays. President's Day (Feb 20) might have sales.

Indoor spaces are well-heated, so I don't recommend thermals. If you wear thermals under your clothes, you'll be too warm indoors when you take your coat off.

I've been a regular at this for years.

I couldn't figure out if it wasn't as good or if I was having pre-COVID nostalgia and was just sad that it wasn't the *same*. They've refreshed some of the lights and replaced the old animal-shaped wire light displays with animal shapes with plastic skins and internal glowing lights. They aren't not nice, but they aren't the same.

We missed the eagle that flies overhead, and some of our other favorites had retired, but those displays were many years old. We REALLY missed the dancing trees, where the lights went on and off in time to the music. Turns out I really like those.

Also miss going on a quiet cold weeknight.

My guess is that the real limiting factor here is lack of staff.

Friends Of the National Zoo

So sorry for your loss.

You might like Constitution Gardens. About a 20 minute walk from Farragut North metro. A quiet green spot with a pond and views of the Washington Monument.

He is a joy and a delight.

Do you know how your position is funded? Organizations work in different ways -- some have diverse grant funding, some have funding from 1-2 sources including foundations, some have donor funding. Some positions may be funded from a specific donation stream. Others may come from overhead.

I recommend that you ask about the funding stream for your specific position (I recommend this to ANYBODY applying for jobs in the non-profit sector).

Do you have internal annual reports available to you? Those sometimes also have annual funding details.

<checks date>

I suspect that's what passes for spooky in some parts of DC, no?

Walk an avenue? Here's a nice article about walking Mass Ave:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/massachusetts-avenue-users-guide/2020/10/28/f37042fa-0d6e-11eb-8074-0e943a91bf08_story.html

Blue Goose Market, Hancock, MD. (A ways out of the city though -- that's about a 90 minute drive from me.)