Pat Kennedy - Your Washington, DC Real Estate Connection

This morning, I agreed to meet a Takoma Park buyer at a house we have under contract.  She wanted her handy man to take a look at the place, and we agreed to meet at nine o'clock this morning .

OK, so I overslept.  I woke up at 8:30, the house is 20 minutes from mine, so there was not time to make a proper cup of coffee before I left.

Now I am a pretty tightly-wound type-A.  I need coffee in the morning.  I usually start my day with a strong French roast that I drink black with no sugar. 

But no problemo!  I'd let her into the house and run to the Takoma Park Coop a couple of blocks away to pick up a jolt of caffine, then head back to the house.

Well, Takoma Park is full of old hippies who eschew stimulants like caffine.  Kathy, my buyer, cautioned me that the coffee scene in this little town was pretty bleak.  It was all organic, certified free trade, and mostly the kind that is "naturally low in caffine."  

So what's the point if there's little or no caffine?   Of course, I could always compensate by getting a huge cup.

I got to the Coop, parked my gas guzzling Lexus amid the Priuses in their parking lot and, sure enough, Kathy was right!  There was hot water for tea (all of the selections were herbal), a big pot of decaf, and a smaller pot of organic, certified free-trade and naturally low in caffine.  And they only sold it in small cups.

Takoma Park is known as being a Nuclear-Free Zone.  Today, I learned that it is well on the way to being a Caffine-Free Zone.  And my guess it that it's pretty much of a Tightly-Wound-Type-A-Free Zone as well!  People like me need to head for the District to find a Type-A friendly neighborhood - and there are plenty of them! 

When the 60’s turned into the 70’s and we re-elected President Nixon, most of the hippies in the Washington, DC area moved to Takoma Park, circled the wagons, and declared the place a nuclear-free zone.  Then they elected Sammy Abbot, a leftie who was blackballed during the McCarthy era as their mayor.  He reigned for a couple of decades and now has a municipal building named in his memory.

This town sits on the DC/Maryland line, and it has a mix of wonderful old Victorian homes, Sears bungalows, and a few mid-century architectural statements.  And there are a lot of aging hippies who still live there.

Many of the early 1900’s homes have been updated, as the flower children of the 60s picked up law degrees, real estate licenses and six figure incomes.  But the flavor of the place is still hippie funk.  And the lawyers there all work for environmental groups and the real estate agents drive Priuses.

If you want to find Christmas presents that were not made in China, you’re in luck.  I did some shopping in the historic downtown today, and found it not too crowded with a huge selection.

The House of Musical Traditions, for example, carries not only banjos, drums, violins and fifes, but also attire for that belly dancer on your shopping list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amano (no, not Armani) has a shoe selection perfect for real estate professionals who spend so much of their time walking around and need something a bit more comfortable than Manolo Blohniks.  While I was there, I bought a beautiful velvet scarf and pair of gloves for my niece and found a scarf for myself with golden threads that will go very nicely with my flute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then there was a lunch at the Savory, where I frequently stop for a break with clients when I’m showing houses.  They have organic treats for vegetarians and carnivores alike.

The townspeople are committed to recycling.  There are a lot of vintage clothing stores, including Polly Sue’s and Rerun.  The Rerun was burning enough incense to cover up a 60s style pot party you’d expect to find in the back room (but didn’t).  It was a little overwhelming. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can take your recycled hippy dress to S&A Beads, and you’ll find all of the supplies you need to customize it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I headed home, I decided to stop at the Takoma Park Coop for some produce.

 I also stopped by the smell good counter to check out the essential oils, and left smelling quite interesting.

It's probably better that I didn't have a client in the car on the way home!

If you haven't finished your Christmas shopping, a trip to Takoma Park to pick up those last minute gifts is a lot easier than trekking or schlepping out to Tyson's Corners or Montgomery Mall.  And it's not just a shopping trip.  It's sort of a trip down memory lane, at least if you used to be a hippy.