The 10 things I like to do most in the NYC area

(in no particular order)

1. Go hear live classical music at Bargemusic with my husband. I like the cello-piano duos best. But that may just be my personal bias.
2. Eat cheese and drink great beer at Spuyten Duyvil in Brooklyn with friends.
3. Run a 10K around Central Park in the fall with my running buddies. It doesn’t need to be a race. In fact, it’s better if it’s not. Say hello to the cat statue as you run by him. We call him “Frank”.
4. Take the A train all the way out to Far Rockaway and watch people surf. I hear it’s even more fun if you actually surf on your own, but I think I would need a wetsuit for that to deal with the cold and the pollution.
5. Walk the streets of the upper east side in the evening.
6. Cheer for my friends in the NYC Marathon. Running it is nice too but not nearly as relaxing.
7. Visit the American Museum of the Moving Image.
8. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge on New Years Day. For some reason, everyone else seems to be doing it that day too. I love NYC best when it's a community.
9. Go to the Met to see an opera with my friend who can tell me everything about what I'm seeing and hearing.
10. Go shopping at Anthropology (when I can afford it) in Union Square with my "personal shopper". Followed by hot cocoa (at the City Bakery), sushi (at Choshi) or a drink.

The 10 things I like to do most in the Washington, DC area

(in no particular order)

1. Go visit Lincoln at night. Pretend you’re Mr. Smith.
   
2. Run the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in good weather. I swear it happens sometimes.
   
3. Have tea and a ginger scone at Teaisms near Dupont Circle.
   
4. Visit The Awakening statue on a clear blue day.
   
5. Eat a Sweet Dreams cookie at the Firehook bakery off Farragut Square.
   
6. Go hear live jazz at HR-57. It used to be BYOB but I hear they have a liquor license now.
   
7. Canoe on Clopper Lake at Seneca Creek State Park in Gaithersburg in the fall.
   
8. Have a beer at the Brickskeller on a weeknight (it’s just too crazy on the weekends). Don't forget to check out the juke box. It has some excellent piano music.
   
9. Ride bikes along the C&O Canal in Maryland. It’s a nice ride anywhere along the canal. But there are generally less people out in Maryland.
   
10. Take an open darkroom photo class at the Smithsonian Resident Associates program.