Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Tag: Washington DC

  • Hurricane Irene Now a Memory

    Hurricane Irene finally finished with the Washington, DC area. We do have one last rain band that needs to work its way through. Then we should have clear skies by noon. I’ve been up since 5:00 am, partially because I’m an early riser, partially because I couldn’t sleep for the obvious reasons. I’ve noticed the…

  • All Those Modes of Transportation

    I brought my elementary-aged son to “bring your child to work day” back in April. I wasn’t sure he was going to enjoy the event but he had a fine time. And I learned from it too. It was wonderful to see my very familiar office space through the eyes of someone who had never…

  • Mistaken Identity, Part 2

    I call the second case of mistaken geographic identity the “Invasion of a Maryland Beach Town!” This instance of mistaken geography happened long before my birth, and all the way back in 1941. It became Howder family legend. And it will undoubtedly pass along to our progeny for generations to come. Some families bestow royal…

  • Tourist Options During a Government Shutdown

    The benefit or the curse of living in the Washington, DC area — and the jury is still out on that call — is that national and international news for everyone else is our local news. Currently we can’t escape the theatrics of yet another impending government shutdown. Here’s to hoping that the immature politicians…

  • Maps from the Museum

    There is a fine selection of inexpensive and free museums available to me in the Washington, DC area. Of course those including the renowned collections of the Smithsonian Institution. The only drawback is that everyone else has the same easy access too. Crowd avoidance and timing become important consideration. I find that January weekends work…

  • My Unnatural Fixation with the American Meridian

    I’ll go ahead and crank up the old cliché generator. See if you can select the one you think would be most appropriate to the current situation: I’m like a dog with a bone; I’m pulling a thread from the sweater; I’m beating a dead horse, or all of the above. The American Meridian continues…

  • More Oddities in Washington, DC

    It was great to be offered an opportunity to submit a guest post on Google Sightseeing, following in the footsteps of Kyle Kusch of The Basement Geographer. Google Sightseeing is one of my all-time favorite blogs and I read it often. So it was a pleasure working with its principal authors, Alex and James Turnbull.…

  • National Mall Flood Plan

    The Washington Post featured an interesting map of the 100-year flood plain in the vicinity of the National Mall in Washington, DC, accompanying the article, Flood plan proposed to protect Washington Mall. It discusses a construction project that’s just about underway. When completed, it will keep a large crescent of land dry if the Potomac…

  • American Meridian Gathering

    I draw your attention to a comment from faithful reader “Craig” on my recent Third Anniversary announcement. I know a lot of you use RSS to skim through the articles so you probably didn’t catch it. He said, “Maybe we should have a Twelve Mile Circle Happy Hour to celebrate” and he even offered a…

  • USA’s Worst Weather

    We’re #1! There are many times in one’s life when that’s a fantastic proclamation and a source of pride. It could be when a favorite sports team wins the big championship. Maybe it’s a university with a top-ranked academic department. Or perhaps it’s a city judged to be the best place to raise a family.…