Comments on just up the pike: 68 things I love about east county (part two)

Sligo Creek Parkway. What a great drive from Silve...

2009-06-13T02:40:29.025-04:00

Sligo Creek Parkway. What a great drive from Silver Spring to Wheaton without all the hassles of traffic and driving fast. Just a relaxing cruise thru the park. I burnt many a gallon of gas driving this road when life just needed to be figured out.

Here's something from the archives that I miss about east county. The graduating class from the old Blair High School painting 'Class of ....' on the roof of C building. it was something I always looked forward to. I still don't know how they did it.

Here's two more, newbies this time to East MOC...

2009-06-10T15:40:32.345-04:00

Here's two more, newbies this time to East MOCO:

Trader Joe's on 29 at Burnt Mill. I've become a regular after finding to my surprise that a number of items are routinely less costly than at Giant Foods. Guess I thought TJs would be 'Whole Paycheck' expensive. I just wish they carried wine the way they do in DC (I've heard great things about their Trader Joe's 'two-buck Chuck' wine. BTW, Why does the Briggs-Chaney Safeway sell beer and wine but none of the other Silver Spring/Burtonsville supermarkets do?

The other newbie is Chee Burger Chee Burger in the Burtonsville Crossing shopping center. The fries are great, the onion rings even better, and as a vegetarian, the veggie burgers and Portabello melts are great too.

I've got three for starters: Fairland Park, F...

2009-06-10T07:54:42.233-04:00

I've got three for starters:

Fairland Park, Fairland Aquatic Center, and Gunpowder Golf Course.

Fairland Park is a magnificent example of Northeastern Forest bounded by 198 on the North, Greencastle Road on the South, 29 on the West and Gunpowder Road on the East (with housing and construction and the ICC mercifully kept at bay). Its our East MOCO version of Rock Creek Park.

The park is crisscrossed by paths paved and unpaved so it is extremely accessible for hikers, bikers, joggers, wheelchairs, and strollers. The Paint Branch High School Cross Country teams train and compete on its wooded trails in the Fall.The South edge has abundant parking and recreation areas for soccer, softball, tennis, and playgrounds for the children. The park is home to the beautiful Fairland creek, which I believe feeds into the Anacostia rather than the nearby Patuxent river.

On the Northeast is the Fairland Aquatic center with olympic-size pools, pools for children, and a pool for aqua aerobics. Kayakers use it to learn and practice their 'Eskimo rolls.' And there is a well-equipped, affordably-priced exercise room. One can exercise and swim laps as early as 6 in the morning. There's also an Ice Rink next door where you can skate, play ice hockey, and curl.

East of Fairland Park is the Old Gunpowder Golf Course, our tattered, funky, East County golf course for the rest of us: 18 affordable holes of wooded links.

That Bethesda list is just slightly outdated - #2 ...

2009-06-09T18:52:19.401-04:00

That Bethesda list is just slightly outdated - #2 and #3 are no longer in the picture.

I was going to limit my nominations to my two previously mentioned favorite items, Brookside Gardens and Pho Real, but what the heck, here are some more:

The AFI - it's pretty cool, especially if you are into the old movies they show in the big auditorium.

Mrs. K's Tollhouse (and wine bar), a Silver Spring tradition.

Mizell Lumber in Kensington - that's still far enough east right?

Han An Reum grocery store on Georgia Avenue near Glenmont. THE place to go for cheap and fresh (and sometimes weird) produce and seafood.

The Royal Mile in Wheaton.

The Sandy Spring Museum
Sandy Spring Museum just west of Ashton.

And I second York Castle!

That's why I'm asking for submissions! I w...

2009-06-09T17:27:39.409-04:00

That's why I'm asking for submissions! I want to make these 68 things as well-rounded as possible.

Maybe I'm just stubborn but I REFUSE to believ...

2009-06-09T17:24:20.156-04:00

Maybe I'm just stubborn but I REFUSE to believe the Cinema Drafthouses is dead and gone -- is there NO WAY we can work together to revive it? Any stimulus funds they can throw our way? We need a cheap 2nd run movie place in the county!

BTW Why no parks? - Brookside Gardens, the Trolley Museum, the Wheaton Carousel - is where it is at.

Andrew, The Silver Spring Historical Society is s...

2009-06-09T16:04:16.706-04:00

Andrew,

The Silver Spring Historical Society is still looking for a photo of your grandfather, John Gifford, as well as an interior photo of the Silver Spring Gifford's to place on a historic marker that will go in front of that location on Georgia Avenue. Could you please help us?

Jerry A. McCoy
President
sshistory@yahoo.com

York Castle is as close as you can get to the orig...

2009-06-09T14:59:32.723-04:00

York Castle is as close as you can get to the original Gifford's. And, yes, they got the recipes fair and square when Gifford's went under in the 80's. Glad to see them mentioned -- they're well worth a visit.

--Andrew Gifford