Cheverly 11/08/06

Cheverly MD is a leafy suburb of Washington DC, and is something of a pool of tranquility away from the freeway and hubub of the busier areas. It is an area of gently rolling hills which gives it a slightly quaint feel- maybe because it breaks up the usual huge expanses of tarmac and building that characterise alot of DC. There are a couple of churches, a playing field with nets for baseball and soccer, and a little barbeque area in amongst some trees. The houses are similar, but there is plenty of variety. A typical house is built partly of red brick and wooden weatherboards, which gives it a fairly un-English feel. It is also common for houses to have a broad porch area around their front doors with a plant or two to add colour and interest. Letter boxes line the streets and some of them have little American flags that pop up when the mail is delivered. A few houses have a larger flagpole with a scaled-up version of this symbol of patriotism.
The yard behind Gareth's house encompassed a couple of trees: one evergreen spruce with delicate thin green needles which sway gently in the breeze; and another with purple flowers which had grown a little beyond its intended size but was now to big to move. Both trees gave shelter and shade to numerous little birds which darted out from the cover to peck at one of several bird feeders around the garden, before a larger rock dove or pigeon swooped in to satisfy its own appetite. The squirrels were the most ambitious and acrobatic of all the creatures. Although the feeders had been designed to stop them getting at the food they could usually find a way around. Sometimes they would cling to the thin twine and descend precariously from a brance high above, and at other times they would leap from the trunk of a tree and try to land on the top of the feeder which would swing wildly with the force of the impact. Having reached the mesh-covered container they would hang by their back legs from the top and dangle languidly as they picked out any peanuts that were within reach. Having either eaten their fill or tired from the exertion they then just dropped off the feeder, and after landing nimbly on the lawn they scampered off into some other part of the garden.
I wanted to see some of the local area today, as I had seen some of the centre but little of everything else, so we drove around to see Maryland University, and all that entailed. It was a large campus, and all the buildings were very similar in being new, and made of red brick with white collumns outside the entrance halls. There was plenty of shade thanks to many large pine trees which also contrasted pleasantly with the white and red of the buildings.
The most impressive buildings were the gym and sports hall, which was simply huge (and apparently very popular) and the music department which, having clearly been purpose-built, was very impressive. The building itself was large and contained many practice rooms and rehearsal studios, and in the centre was a large concert hall with a ceiling designed to preserve a high level of accustic quality. It really was amazing, and no-doubt contributed to the high quality of the department.
There was also a full-size football stadium with a capacity of about fourty thousand. It dwarfed the pitch and clearly showed the significance and prestige of American football in the Varsity league. The stadium was apparently on a par with many smaller club stadia back in England, in terms of capacity, and much better in terms of the pitch.
Most of the rest of the day was spent buying food and drink for a bbq, and my long awaited opportunity to sample the great American hot-dog. The ritual, as I think it is fair to describe the preparation of such a bbq, is strict. Everything from the specific brand of 'dog' to the specific mustard, chilli, sauce, ketchup, and so on, is carefully monitored, and individual tastes are fiercely defended. This being my first time for a 'real' hot-dog, I was recommended two different types of sausage. Much pleased by the legitimate excuse to indulge myself I tucked in to platefulls of salad, honey-marinaded beans, potatoes, pasta salad, devilled eggs, and of course some all-American 'dogs'. Now, the presentation of an American hot-dog is by no means simple. Of course you take your roll and sausage, but then you add several spoonfulls of chilli, any number of different sauces, mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard. The combined effect of all this can only be described as superb. It is very tasty indeed, believe you me. I am fully prepared to admit that they surpassed my expectations, which were not low in the first place. It may be the reason for so much obesity in the USA, because so much of the food available is very, very tasty, and really not neccessarily expensive. At least there are many healthier alternatives to McDonalds.....
Later that evening we drove over to a water-side suburb of DC to visit G's girlfriend Lauren and friend of hers, Anthony who just finished an internship with a business in DC. The area was a popular and expensive one, with many good restaurants and bars, and also lots of shops open late and glistening with shiney jewelry and little window lights. A few groups of bikers with gleaming silver and black leather bikes were parked up outide several bars, and there were occasional shouts as a rider warned off a car reversing too close for comfort.
There were also several little boutiques and ice cream parlours, much to the pleasure of many tourists in need of cooling refreshments after hours of striding around the back streets and parks of DC. I found the lemon sorbet most gratifying.
There was, however, a downside to this relaxed, friendly, and otherwise inviting little place. Apparently extending throughout the States, there is a policy of checking I.D. before any sale of alcohol is made in a bar or restaurant. Although I think it is safe to say I appear at least a little older that an average 21 year-old American guy, I was nevertheless called upon to produce some form of Government issued I.D. Much to my horror the bar girl was quite intransigent, and despite my most imploring appeal to her better judgement I was flatly refused a drink. The word is that anyone who appears less than about thirty years old will be automatically I.D'd. Freedom and responsibility. Forget passport to the sun; passport to a pint was far more to the point.
Abandoning the bars in that area (as many surrounding bars had seen us leave and no-doubt operated the same policy) we strolled around to the quayside to be met by a small number of people gathered around a character perched on a little stool and playing lively music on a guitar and a little drum. Around him were several pavement artists sketching characatures and charcoal images of beaming volunteers and boats and the moon over the water. From behind us a tall lean man in jeans and wearing braided hair cautiously introduced himself as Charles, and earnestly explained that he was collecting for impoverished children in Africa. He proceeded to perform a rap about people not taking the problem of poverty seriously, and how everyone should spare some change that they no-doubt posessed, and all embellished with his imagination. It was half convincing, and he was rewarded with some coins from amongst us. Interestingly, I would soon meet a second doubtful individual with another half-convincing story about helping poor children, but more on that later.
After wandering idly for a while in a park, and narrowly avoiding several sprinklers that appeared out of the lawn, we set course for Laurens place and a bottle of beer on the decking in her garden. It was a distinct contrast with the hustle and bustle and ambience of the cosmopolitan street life that we had recently left, but was nevertheless pleasant.
On the route back to Cheverly we passed the Pentagon which seemed large even in the American sense. In my rather drowsy state I missed the short opportunity for a photograph, but the highway was not the best vantage point anyway. One excuse to return........
The top of the Washington Monument was also clearly picked out in bright lights against the darkness that enveloped the city, but the shutter speed was down to about two seconds and we had passed rather alot in that time. I have no idea how the photo will look. Soon enough I will find out, but before that there are two more days to write up.