maryland mentioned?!?!?!?!?!?

DMV Area and Maryland Highlight and Hangout Spots

Note: None of the businesses I list on my site are any sort of moral endorsements.

Shop Time!!!

Gaithersburg, MD

I grew up in the apartments next to Rio, so I watched Downtown Crown be formed right before my eyes across the street when I waited for the bus stop. The area used to be a huge vacant farm land for a long time. Here have some lore about that mysterious brown building jutting out of tht area.

Kentlands Market Square

Gaithersburg, MD

There’s a Wikipedia page about the quaint lovely Kentlands neighborhood.

Pike and Rose

North Bethesda, MD

Fairly new bougie shopping and hangout place close to the North Bethesda metro station. I enjoy going to the Call Your Mother and Sur La Table location here.

The Mosaic District

Fairfax, VA

Much like Pike & Rose, this is another bougie newly developed shopping and living area. They have an Angelika Film Center & Cafe there which often plays nice independent or foreign films. This is also where they have a mini Bloomingdale store called Bloomie’s… that's a thing now apparently.

Clarendon Crossing

Arlington, VA

Also pretty bougie, expect to pay for parking there.

Montgomery Mall

Bethesda, MD

This is like the one childhood mall of mine that has managed to stayed alive… the food court is pretty. It used to have an Arclight Theater location there.

Bethesda Row

Bethesda, MD

BOUGIEEEEEEEEEEE as FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 I was there walking by the Foxtrot location in this place on the day Foxtrot decided to kill itself. I hear a guy behind me say “Wow, they really weren’t there for that long.” I don’t know how to say it but Bethesda Row has so many expensive brand stores that I’ve never heard of with logos in that fuckass modern font. Are you guys liking the Purple Line construction

Tysons Corner Center and Tysons Galleria

Tysons, VA

For the longest time, my dumb ass thought these were the same place but no. They are two separate malls that are just close to each other. Tysons Galleria is hella bougie with designer end brands left and right. I go in there and the most normal ass t-shirt there costs $200. Definitely fun for the average window shopper but not so much for the average buyer. As for Tysons Corner Center, they have a sushi conveyor belt restaurant in the middle of the mall which is eye-catching (unfortunately the sushi isn’t very good IMO). They also have a store that takes a 3D scan of you or your pet and then 3D prints a tiny version of whatever was scanned. In case you ever wanna do that. There is also a neat candy store called Lolli & Pops. As for the city of Tysons itself… I don't know how to say it, but it feels rather corporate-oriented and artificial. You’ll understand if you go there. I can’t tell if it’s because of all the modern and shiny new development but after being around other places… something about it just feels stale. They have the Capital One headquarters there and you can feel its presence hovering over you.

Arundel Mills Mall

Hanover, MD

Last time I went, there was this one store with crazy whimsical suits called "Why Not Fashion". Not sure if that’s still around, but this is where you would shop if you were a Tumblr Sexyman. There is also a Live! Casino next to it in case you guys wanna gamble. This is where the Medieval Times representing our area is located and that’s the key highlight of this mall.

The Wharf

Southwest Waterfront, DC

Bougie DC waterfront that is built next to the historical Municipal Fish Market. Concert venues The Anthem and Union Stage are also here. You can get to The Wharf by taking the metro to L'Enfant Plaza and walking for about 10 min. It's too expensive to park anywhere.'

Downtown Frederick

Frederick, MD

I love walking around here! It has the library, the Carroll Creek, and all sorts of local eclectic shops and restaurants. To my memory, street parking is free after 5pm or on a Sunday. Other than that, there is the Carroll Creek garage for paid parking.

Not a hangout place but a big shout out to Frederick Community Fridge on 15 W Church St in Downtown Frederick. Described as “mutual aid collective distributing food and supplies to those who need them.” It is next to the Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ.

Old Ellicott City

Ellicott City, MD

Much like Downtown Fredrick, take a stroll across Old Ellicott City for the sight of lovely and unique local stores. So dandy … so quaint! Around winter time, they have a bunch of model trains in their window displays. Points of interest: the Forget Me Not Factory gift store has unlimited holiday knick knacks. Everyone that I have shown this place too was amazed by how dense it was with stuff. Please check it out.

Savage Mill

Savage, MD

My ass did not know about this place for the longest time. It’s basically a repurposed mill factory made into a mall. They have a huge antique store, a pottery studio inside, a vintage toy store, and many nice gift places! Please check this place out, it is a hidden gem. I can’t help but feel like COVID killed a lot of the stores that used to exist here, because it’s a little empty at the moment.

System Source Computer Museum: Hunt Valley, MD; This building is a 3-in-1 package! It has System Source's Computer Museum of various vintage computers. I went there to attend a computer repair workshop and met some interesting and passionate people. It also has the National Electronics Museum and the Bloop Museum (museum for things related to physical media entertainment). The Bloop Museum got funding to move to Pittsburgh sometime this summer. Nevertheless, I can't believe I didn't know about this wonderful place beforehand. For anyone into this stuff, I overheard about an event known as VCF East being held in New Jersey.
Glen Echo Park: Glen Echo, MD; It used to be a mid century art deco amusement park. It has since been revamped into arts facilities. If you're driving there, make sure to set your GPS to “5801 Oxford Road, Glen Echo” for it to take you to the main parking lot.
Brookside Gardens: Wheaton, MD; They have a gorgeous rose garden! They also have an indoor butterfly garden, a gift shop inside the information center. 50 acres of wonder!
National Seminary Park: Silver Spring, MD; Very riveting and rich history. Whimsical and interesting architecture. That ballroom is insane. Most of this place has been turned into private apartments, but they do guided tours for the place once every month. Apparently someone lives in the Pagoda there. I wish that was me.
NASA Goddard Visitor Center: Greenbelt, MD; Cosmicals cosmicals cosmicals. Make sure your GPS doesn't take you to the other side of the NASA campus that can only be accessed through government clearance. Had that happen to me. Access the visitor area on the main NASA Goddard Entrance on Icesat Rd.
Patuxent Research Refuge/National Wildlife Visitor Center: Laurel, MD; Great for long outdoor walks! They have a cool visitor guest area with information about the local wildlife… and a gift shop with bat merch!
Glenstone Art Museum: Potomac, MD; Free admission with reserved tickets. There's also big green installation in the outdoor section that looks like Shrek. Now, the semantics of this place are highly criticized. TLDR; the wife of Maryland’s billionaire is a huge fan of fine art which is why this place exists. It brings up the question: why have all this art tucked away in such a closed off location? It’s not very accessible due to the long walking distances and so far away from any communities to discover it. I’ve also heard that the billionaire guy is rivals with some other rich guy who lives just across the street, so he bought all the surrounding land and made the museum for this petty rivalry. I can’t confirm but it’s food for thought. I admit the feel of the main building has this cold, lonely, modern staleness that could only be achieved by the rich, but the artwork is nice to see. I especially love the installation for Pipilotti Rist's Ever Is Over All.
Greenbriar Local Park: Potomac, MD; If you have kids… this was my childhood playground. As a child, it blew my mind how huge this place was. It is 25 acres of fun. I think this park is the first time I saw leaves of a ginkgo tree and it blew my mind.
Temperance Alley Garden: U Street, DC; I haven’t been but it looks cool!
Larz Anderson House: Dupont Circle, DC; They constantly hold events here and I attended a wedding here. It is gorgeous inside. A big chunk of it is basically a museum.
United States Botanical Garden: DC, near the Capitol; you probably know about the Smithsonian Museums but did you know plants plants plants plants plants
National Arboretum: Northeast DC; I love that Bonsai Museum. It's kind of beautiful how some of those Bonsai trees have outlived generations of people.
Artechouse: DC; VR art installations! Went here for a field trip in college. Tickets are on the pricey end for the amount of mileage you get from it, though.
Wolf Trap: Vienna, VA; Half national park, half performing arts venue! I saw Japanese Breakfast and Belle & Sebastian here.
Baltimore’s National Aquarium: Baltimore, MD; This aquarium is MASSIVE. It’s got 5 floors AND A RAINFOREST SECTION!!?? I told my buddy Ian to sample one of the bird calls from the rainforest section and he used it in one of his songs.
American Visionary Museum: Baltimore, MD; Outsider art museum. Art often by lesser known artists or people from disenfranchised communities. Very interesting and different from the stuff you'd typically see in other museums. This is the art that stares into your soul. Also, the Sideshow gift shop should count as an exhibition itself. Just look at this place.

DMV Area and Maryland Highlight and Hangout Spots

Shop Time!!!

PARKS, GARDENS, AND MUSEUMS!

DMV Area and Maryland Arts Communities

DMV Area and Maryland Printing (particularly risograph)

Art Stores that’s not Michael’s

Notable stores and businesses:

Cat Cafés!!! and yes all cats are adoptable

DMV Area and Maryland restaurants and food-related places that I’ve been to OR I find is worth pointing out

Gone but not forgotten…

Events in the Area