It looks like it will be a lovely weekend in the neighborhood, and with more Red Line single tracking scheduled, it will be a great time to explore the neighborhood on foot. So grab a cup of coffee, take a morning stroll, and check out one of these neighborhood parks or walking paths:

1.  Woodley Playground – This smallpark, found at Devonshire Pl. and Cortland Pl. (and seen above), contains nice, wooded trails.

2.  Tregaron – Located on the Washington International School campus, visit the “trails, meadow and woodlands” at this estate.

3.  Rosedale Conservancy – The oldest house in the neighborhood (that we discussed here) features Cleveland Park’s “village green.”

4.  Rock Creek Park – We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the lovely Rock Creek Park walking trails right in our back yard. Here’s a trail map, if you’re looking to check out a new part of the park.

5.  Melvin Hazen Park Trail – You may have walked by this trail, located on the east side of Connecticut Ave. between Segwick and Rodman, dozens of times without noticing it. Quickly escape the busyness of Connecticut Ave. by walking this trail down to Rock Creek Park.

Happy hiking!

Take my business advice or else!
I love to go to Yogiberry with my husband and kids…I went to them and asked to buy a few gift certificates. It so happens that their computers can’t or won’t ring up gift cards. Well I understood them to tell me they would be investing in a new system, so therefore today, May 12, I called to see if they could ring up gift cards (another birthday party tonight). They still don’t do gift cards. I wasn’t a business major but I know that just with me they’ve turned down over $100.00 of business. Who is running this place? I guess I’ll have to go to Froyo.

IKEA buddy request…
Random last minute SOS: I have a tree guy coming to hang some solar powered lanterns in my yard tomorrow in high places I can’t reach but a number of my lanterns from last year are no longer working. I got them from IKEA last year and they are back in stock in both the College Park and Woodbridge stores. If anyone is making a trip to either today (Thursday), I would be eternally in your debt if you could pick me up about 7 of them.

Proof that endorsement probably is an unnecessary step…
We are seeking someone who is a Universal Life minister who can endorse our friend in order to be the officiate for our wedding.

Giant tree killer…
Although “Giant Development Fatigue” is plaguing us and, unfortunately, dividing many, please understand that there is an issue that all of us should consider: *All* of the huge trees on Idaho Avenue are now slated for removal — both east and west sides. This environmental disaster is slated to take place soon. The extent of tree-killing far exceeds anything reasonable.

Grassroots campaigning for DC Bar…
For those listserv members who are (or know) D.C. lawyers, voting is now underway for electing new leaders of the D.C. Bar. One of the candidates President-Elect of the D.C. Bar is our neighbor, Andrea Ferster. Andrea is a native Washingtonian and life-long member of Cleveland Park.

Would Ricardo approve of this application of the comparative advantage principle? I think so…
I’m looking for a young person (high school/college) who would be interested in holding a yard sale. I will provide the goods and they will run the sale in exchange for a percentage of the proceeds. If you are interested, please respond.

Side note the hubbub was huge…
uBreakiFix in Cleveland Park Fixes Your TechIt is so great to have a new neighborhood-serving business in Cleveland Park — in the midst of the restaurant hubbub, which was huge tonight. I hope uBreakiFix is successful and will attract other retail businesses to our neighborhood.

The Stamford Art Gallery in Woodley has historically featured great small exhibits, so we were excited to see a new opening at the gallery this month. The exhibit, Artists of Woodley Park, will run until July 15 and features works from a collection of both professional and amateur local artists and contains jewelry, pottery, photography, glasswork, charcoal drawings, prints, and paintings. The gallery is open until 7 pm on weeknights and 6 pm on weekends.

After perusing the gallery, you only need to walk down Connecticut to find several outdoor cafes, many with afternoon specials. We’ve noticed that the summertime crowd has already hit the patio of the perennial favorite, Medaterra, known for their cheap frozen drinks. The bar’s happy hour specials run from 4 pm to close on weekends. We would also recommend District Kitchen, which we hear has some great creative cocktails, or (our favorite) the gin and tonic tasting at The Gin Joint.

From DC Eater blog…
2Amys’ Debbie Johnson and the Pizzeria’s Famous Guests
“Since its doors opened nearly 11 years ago, Peter Pastan’s 2 Amys has been considered DC’s top pizzeria. So when Hakan Ilhan from La Forchetta, the newest Neapolitan-styled eatery said back in March that his pizza would blow away his Cleveland Park rivals, manager Debbie Johnson said she and the rest of the team at 2 Amys were not worried.”

From Bethesda Magazine…
The House of Spirits
“Though cleared of wrongdoing—a shoddy builder was blamed—Geare’s career was over. The family decamped to Cleveland Park in Washington, and in 1927 he killed himself.”

From the Washington Post…
Sugar Magnolia Review
“It would be criminal to leave without an ice cream sandwich ($3.50). The maple-bacon ice cream layered between waffles is a must for bacon fanatics. But while we loved the smoky-sweet middle, we found the waffles to be a bit like cardboard. More successful is the salted-caramel ice cream bookended by chocolate cookies, which tastes much lighter than it sounds.”

Newly renovated kitchen inside the new 1-bedroom listing at 3900 Connecticut Ave

What’s it take to own property in Cleveland Park? For many young professionals this means taking a look at the condo market along Connecticut Ave. Regularly, we will be looking at the price level of condos available in Cleveland Park. Our survey area will be all condos for sale with a Connecticut Avenue address from Macomb to Tilden.

We add a 1-bedroom and see 3 condos move off the market.  The market continues to be brisk for those property owners willing to sell at market value.

Total properties: 10

Median days on the market: 50.5

Total 1BR/studio: 6

1BR/studio price range: $240,000-$400,000

Median 1BR price: $312,500

Total 2BR: 4

2BR price range: $445,000-$649,000

New property spotlight:
3900 Connecticut Ave NWAPT 406F
1-bedroom, 755 square feet
Recently renovated with stainless steel appliances and granite counters

Here’s to celebrating Memorial Day weekend next to the pool with Chipotle in hand!

Want to contribute to the fun? You can join our Flickr group, @CleveParker on Twitter, or send us an email with your picture. Bon Appetit!

Creme Brulée from K Town Bistro – photographer blog

Veggie Burger from Elevation Burger – photographer blog

Photo credit: AK_Wong (via Flickr)

The Wire loves Cleveland Park
From @kvinod
R Emory Bright from the ‘wire’ just picked some kebabs, spicy chicken chettinad etc from Indique in Cleveland park.

Metro fail as economic stimulus?!
From @Sunfire2109
@ellievhall I’m actually almost to Cleveland Park already. Since Metro track work is slow I padded my time. I’ll explore!

Metro fail as … well just metro fail…
From @christina_kiser
25 minutes wait and counting at Cleveland Park. Thanks @wmata, I didn’t, you know, have plans tonight or anything. #woof #wmataFail

Glad to hear someone knows what they are doing there…
From @RHLevitin
Thomas at Bubbles in Cleveland Park is a hair genius … and delightful to chat with! Great hair cut, I highly recommend him. #DC

Lots of fun going on at the zoo…
From @MrTinDC
Leaving the zoo now. Saw the otters. Such cuteness!!

Wine + Avengers sounds like a genius plan!
From @DcThisWeek
Ardeo/Bardeo wine flight. Delightful night with @10chas post #Avengers in 3D

More Uptown Theater love…
From @BeltwayBandito
The Uptown theater is still a pretty novel experience, dudes; Just saw Avengers for the second time there.

1. Unity Woods Yoga – The Woodley Park studio is offering two free classes on Friday, May 18, and daily classes for $5.

2. City Fitness Gym – This Cleveland Park gym features free yoga in May.

3. Bikram Yoga Dupont - It’s worth the short walk down Connecticut to check out this hot yoga studio who’s offering $5 classes all week.

4. Circle Yoga DC – Walk up Connecticut to visit this studio, offering yoga for adults and kids as well as mindfulness bases sessions for $5.

5. Cleveland Park Library – Always a Cleveland Parker favorite, the library continues its free yoga on Tuesday nights!

Namaste!