Space Shuttle over Bethesda, From above

 Nasa released a video of the space shuttle flying around DC that was taken from the chase plane.  After a bit of looking, I identified where it flew over Bethesda, MD.  Above is a frame from that video.  It is only the southern end of Bethesda, with Friendship Heights in the distance.  You can see Bradley Blvd, Wisconsin Ave and some of the stores near there.  This was from the first flyover, so around 10:10 am on April 17th.

 After going by Bethesda Discovery crossed the Potomac River (left side of the frame) and went over the CIA in Langley.

Here is the shuttle flying by the National Mall in DC.  You can see the Washington Monument on the left and the Capitol building on the right.

These pictures come from a nasa video, which, like all products of the US Government, is in the public domain.

Here's another NASA picture, this one is of the space shuttle Discovery and Enterprise facing each other on a runway.  the original is here.

Discovery flys by Bethesda

Yesterday we had a real treat, the Space Shuttle Discovery flew directly over Bethesda, MD.  Twice!.  The above picture shows it, mounted on it's 747 transporter plane and followed by a chase plane as it flew past the apartment building with the Caribou Coffee shop in it.

The first pass was at 10 minutes past 10 am, it flew almost directly over the building I was in.  I could hear the plane before I could see it and it just appeared at the top of the window, flying towards the Potomac River.

Here is a picture from the second pass, about 20 minutes later. The shuttle was only about 1,500 feet above the ground, and it looks like it flew over the southern part of Bethesda Navel Medical.

Pennyfield Lock on the C & O Canal (Lock 22)

Bottom of lock 22

Over the weekend I went to Pennyfield Lock on the C & 0 Canal.  This is a popular place to access the canal, there were about 30 cars in the lot when I was there. At the lock there is a small boat ramp that you can use to access the Potomac River. (You actually go underneath the canal!)  There is also a field and the lock house, and, of course, lock 22.

Top of lock 22

Currently the canal doesn't have water in it here, but it is still a nice place.  The trees are just beginning to turn green and there are lots of low-growing flowers along the towpath.  Right below the lock I saw some small fish, big tadpoles, and several snakes.  Above the lock the frogs were really loud.  I could see them on the far side of the canal.  There were people jogging and biking a along the towpath.

Just north of the lock is the Dierssen Wildlife Management Area.  It is a wetlands area between the canal and the river that has several shallow ponds.  I saw lots of turtles sitting on logs there.  It is supposed to be a good place to go birdwatching.  I saw a few ducks and heard a woodpecker in that area but I didn't look too hard.

Dierssen WMA

There is some neat history here.  President Grover Cleveland used to come up here and fish while he was president.  He would stay in the Pennyfield House, a white frame house that was on this site until 2009 when it was demolished.  I was here in 2004 and took a few pictures of it, it was in very bad shape then.

Pennyfield house in 2004.  It has since been demolished.

If you want, you can rent lockhouse 22 and spend the night right on the canal!  There is no electricity or running water, the nearest faucet is at swains lock, over a mile down the canal.  But there are port-a-potties and you can have a campfire, it sounds like it could be fun.

Lockhouse 22

More Hurricane Irene damage in Bethesda

My last post talked about how Irene took it easy on us and Pepco did a better job than usual keeping the lights on.  I think I was a bit hasty on both counts.  I lost power this afternoon for almost an hour, yeah, during the sunny, calm part of the day.  Also, I've seen a bit more damage, I'll start with the most visually impressive.

This house on the corner of Greentree Road and Old Georgetown Road near NIH really got clobbered.  A tree fell right across the center of it, totally ripping through the attic.  The tree is now gone and there is just a gaping hole in the roof.  I see there is the red sticker saying this house isn't suitable for occupation on the front door.  Next to this house there is a large, white SUV that I always see and wonder how they get such a big vehicle in such a little parallel parking space, a tree fell on it too, partially crushing the roof (Bethesda Patch has some photos of it, and other storm damage).

Last post one of the commenters noted that a tree had fallen across the Capital Crescent Trail at the country club.  I took a walk there over lunch and it had been partially cleared.  You could walk or bike through without slowing down, but there were still some largish bits of tree on the trail.

Twitter user @kangkanglanlan posted this image of another car hit by a tree in Bethesda.

Hurricane Irene takes it easy on Bethesda

After all the news leading up to Hurricane Irene's arrival in Bethesda, MD, it turned out not to be so bad.  There was rain, but not too much.  There was also wind, but again, not too much.  Pepco's tree trimming campaign must have had some effect because there weren't even too many power outages.

I drove around this morning and lots of streets had extra leaves and small branches on them, the picture at the top is a pretty typical example.

There was a bit of damage though, this house had a pine tree fall on it, that tree then broke off and the top also fell on the back of the house.

Getting used to earthquakes

I didn't think it would happen this fast, but I am actually getting used to the earthquakes. Last night at just after 1am there was another earthquake.  It was fairly large for the area at 4.5.  I woke up, felt the bed rumble, heard all the pictures rattle and thought to myself, hey, an aftershock.  I then went back to sleep.  I didn't think of getting up and checking on the house at all.  A year ago I would have been awake with adrenaline pumping for hours.

Earthquake, rattle, and roll

Today, at 1:51pm we had an earthquake. As east-coast earthquakes go, this was big, a 5.8, and it lasted a long time too, it seemed to be about 45 seconds.  Fortunately, there wasn't much damage, but over-reaction mode was in full effect, lots of office buildings closed, all the DC monuments closed, Metro ran at 15 miles an hour (until 10pm when it went up to 30 mph).

I was at home when it happened and after about 10 seconds it started getting stronger and I decided to exit the house.  But then I went back in, its hard to decide which place is safest.   Earthquakes are rare around here, but they do happen.  There was a 3.4 quake in Gaithersburg last year, and there are quite a few that are too small to feel.

Damage was very light, I hunted around the house and the worst thing I found was this:

Yeah, not much.  There was also stuff knocked of shelves but no damage.

A few hours after the quake I found another bit of damage, a water main break in the neighborhood.  Again, nothing big.

Happy fourth of July

Happy fourth everyone I hope you have a good one. There are lots of places to see fireworks this evening. If you don't want to go to the national mall you van go to Einstein high school or the fireworks in Rockville.

Local neighborhoods are getting into the spirit too,this morning I went to the bicycle parade at Wildwood.

Matuba Sushi Restaurant

I've been by Matuba many times, but hidden in the back of this unassuming restaurant is a all you can eat sushi bar with a sushi conveyor!

 At the sushi bar a continuously refreshed stream of sushi comes trundling by.  The sushi is made right in front of you.  Occasionally they bring out non-sushi food like chicken teriyaki, and edamame.

  It's all you can eat so take as much as you want. I piled up a couple of stacks of plates

I've never eaten at a sushi bar with a conveyor so, but I was pleased and want to go back.  Matuba is located at 4918 Cordell Avenue Bethesda, MD

Coming Soon to Bethesda!

There are a few new stores coming to Bethesda, MD in the coming weeks and months.  Here are some that I have noticed.

 Irons Fitness is coming directly above the Safeway.  This will be super convenient for people living in the apartment building there or across the skywalk.  They claim to be "Bethesda's Premier Personal Training Studio" but since there not open yet I don't see how that can be true.  Sounds like a typical marketing lie to me.

 Jettie's is opening a location in Bethesda right at Veteran's park next to BGR.  Some of those sandwiches look really good, I'll have to try it.

Parva Latin Fusion Restaurant & Lounge is coming to the spot where Anseethi was on Woodmont Avenue, right around the corner from Jettie's.