DC's Secrets

One of the best things about the DC area to me is that it is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. that still retains a smaller-city feel. Some of the prime examples come up early and often: the downtown building height restriction and the European-inspired city layout, for example. I'd say some of these also contribute to the paralyzing traffic, but when you get past that, I can buy into it.

Once you move from downtown, however, there are other places here that make you forget you're in one of the most powerful cities on earth. Take the extreme southeastern corner of Montgomery County and the tip of Northwest, for example. Several weeks ago, I was on my back from Gina's house on a Sunday afternoon. For some reason, the Beltway was blocked once again, so I tried an alternate route south down River Road and the Clara Barton Parkway. As is usually the case with driving in DC, I missed the crucial exit to cross over to the G.W. Parkway, so I found myself in hilly, tree-lined parkland that reminded me a lot of home. All I had to do was squint and pretend that an 18-wheel coal truck was going to meet me around the next bend, and I very well could have been in West Virginia. I broke free of the forest and passed a water treatment facility before officially entering the District, the first blocks of which could have been any small town in the hills.

When I think back on encounters like this, however accidental they may be, it makes me appreciate living here that much more: just when you think you have this area figured out, there's always an unexplored corner or a story of a Fairfax County farm that lets you milk cows that piques your interest that much more, not to mention the articles about the higher-than-average offerings of farmer's markets and park areas. There are worse places to carve out your early career.