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MapQuest lied to me! No surprise, I know. After Laura called around 2300/2330, we decided to meet up at The College Perk coffee house in College Park, MD (ha ha, I know.) MQ told me that to get from my house to College Park (we didn't have an address for the house, and it seems to be unlisted), I could take 95 to 295, and from there DC-295 to Riverdale to MD-410 to US-1. Well and good, but as far as I could tell, 295 doesn't intersect Riverdale, so I asked for directions at a gas station, was told to head north to 495 and west to US-1, headed north to the B-W Parkway--a very pretty road in the daytime, incidentally--and ran into 410 anyway, took it over to 1, went north a few miles to 495. I'd been told this was too far, so I turned around and called her, and we got me there. (The return trip was a bit more straightforward--I ignored Riverdale and just took 410 over to B-W S to 295S.) Looking at MQ now with a good address, it just suggests 95 all the way up and around to US-1 S, several miles longer but almost identical time. (33 vs. 41 miles, ~48 minutes for both.)
Anyhow, the College Perk (9078 Baltimore Ave, College Park, MD, about a mile south of 495 on US-1, you should check it out if you're in the DC-Baltimore area) is a delightful coffee house, in a converted bed-and-breakfast style house. Four rooms, hallway, and kitchen on the first floor, each with a distinct style, art or photography on the walls, hand outlines and signatures all over the hall walls, pool table in one room, sound setup in another for open-mic, poetry books here and there, and a range of teas, coffees, cakes/pies, croissants, and quesadillas for sale from the kitchen--and, I'm told, large magnetic poetry in one of the bathrooms. (2nd floor is rented rooms, I believe.)
Anyway, arrived, met Laura out front, then navigated the gravel parking lot, which was a little annoying to ride/park a motorcycle on, but I made do. Found her again inside, got myself a big mug of chai and a chocolate croissant, and we lounged for the next couple hours or so. (They nominally close at 02, but William, the tall, lanky guy running the counter wasn't kicking anyone out until after he finished cleaning up, which was after we left, and well after 02.) I learned that the reason she's living in DC and going to school in OK is that most of her extended family is in OK or thereabouts, and her dad had to move to Delaware and then DC several years ago to follow a State Dept. job. Tuesday, she works at 1500 and I have a job fair sometime in the 1200-1700 range.
The ride home was uneventful, though I did get to take the mile-long flyover ramp to stay on 95S at the Springfield Interchange. (The way east/north, though, could've been better--night-construction traffic on 495E, and several stretches of ground-down pavement, which is a little disconcerting to ride across.)
And now, having chatted with Phill a bit, I suppose I'm off to sleep. :)
Anyhow, the College Perk (9078 Baltimore Ave, College Park, MD, about a mile south of 495 on US-1, you should check it out if you're in the DC-Baltimore area) is a delightful coffee house, in a converted bed-and-breakfast style house. Four rooms, hallway, and kitchen on the first floor, each with a distinct style, art or photography on the walls, hand outlines and signatures all over the hall walls, pool table in one room, sound setup in another for open-mic, poetry books here and there, and a range of teas, coffees, cakes/pies, croissants, and quesadillas for sale from the kitchen--and, I'm told, large magnetic poetry in one of the bathrooms. (2nd floor is rented rooms, I believe.)
Anyway, arrived, met Laura out front, then navigated the gravel parking lot, which was a little annoying to ride/park a motorcycle on, but I made do. Found her again inside, got myself a big mug of chai and a chocolate croissant, and we lounged for the next couple hours or so. (They nominally close at 02, but William, the tall, lanky guy running the counter wasn't kicking anyone out until after he finished cleaning up, which was after we left, and well after 02.) I learned that the reason she's living in DC and going to school in OK is that most of her extended family is in OK or thereabouts, and her dad had to move to Delaware and then DC several years ago to follow a State Dept. job. Tuesday, she works at 1500 and I have a job fair sometime in the 1200-1700 range.
The ride home was uneventful, though I did get to take the mile-long flyover ramp to stay on 95S at the Springfield Interchange. (The way east/north, though, could've been better--night-construction traffic on 495E, and several stretches of ground-down pavement, which is a little disconcerting to ride across.)
And now, having chatted with Phill a bit, I suppose I'm off to sleep. :)
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