Movers and Shakers

So as most of you who typically follow my blog know, I've recently moved into a new apartment near the Nationals baseball stadium. Well after one full week of being in the new pad, I think I'm finally settling in. I've still got my own photography to hang on the walls, but otherwise everything is unpacked and in place.

So with the new pad comes a new neighborhood. And thankfully the Navy Yard/Ballpark District is turning into a pretty neat place to live in DC. One local attraction is the Capitol Skyline Hotel and their weekend pool parties. I've blogged about this before but finally had a chance to attend Spike Mendelsohn's weekly "Spiked Sunday's" weekly pool party and cookout. After spending over 5 hours in the sun and enjoying a great burger, all I can say is... I'm hooked! It was honestly one of the best Sunday afternoon's in the city one could ask for.

I arrived closer to 1 p.m. with friend Michelle S. We quickly learned it's better to arrive early as all the tables and lounge chairs were now spoken for. So we grabbed some deck space, threw our towels down and wandered over to the bar. The whole pool area is quite large and can accommodate a pretty decent crowd. There are two bar areas set up, so you really don't wait long for drinks. And the price of mixed beverages is a very affordable $5. We got hooked on the mojitos and orange crush.

The other great thing about Spiked Sunday's is with your $10 admission, you get a burger served to you by Spike. We're not talking a smashed up quarter-sized wafer of meat hiding between a crusty bun. No, these are sizable mounds of ground beef with delicious cheddar cheese, fresh potato roll buns and a side of chips and a pickle. I'm talking good eats here my friends!

The party was relatively quiet for the first hour or so. But at some point Michelle and I were hanging in the shallow end of the pool and started a small game of volleyball with one of the inflatable balls. Before you could finish a drink, the game had grown to almost 30 people. It went from 5 of us volleying the ball between us to everyone around the pool joining in. When someone missed the volley, anyone close to them would shower them with splashes of water while the entire pool boo'd. Spike walks over to Michelle and I and says... "you guys started this eh?" After some conversation and introductions, Spike joined in.

Closer to 4 p.m. I turn to see a large boom mic and cameras rolling in. Oh lord, there goes the neighborhood! Real World DC had arrived. Frankly I could care less where these kids go or what they do, but it was interesting to see the flock of groupies and the production process that goes with it. After about 20 minutes the Real World kids were forgotten and it was back to our party-wide game of volleyball.

Here's the thing I take away from Sunday.

1. The Capitol Skyline has it going on. They have a great pool, a great deck and some great people with creative minds throwing some fun events in an up-and-coming neighborhood. I've yet to visit another pool party in DC that combines just the right mix of food, drinks, music, relaxation and chaos. The age range is just about perfect. The prices rock. And it's only a block from my new pad.

2. Spike Mendelsohn is pretty neat guy. I've watched him on Top Chef and seen him on various Food Network shows. His TV persona comes off as arrogant and crass, and yet in person he's totally down to earth, warm and friendly. My first impressions of him at the Skyline was seeing him along side hotel workers carrying furniture. You don't expect to see celebrity chefs engage in manual labor. Getting a chance to actually talk to him further proved he's a great chef who simply enjoys a good time and meeting good people. So go support this guy at his Capitol Hill restaurant Good Stuff Eatery.

3. The Real World DC is lame. To be fair, some of these kids might be good people. They were simply selected by MTV to be lavished with a fancy house in Dupont Circle, get free drinks everywhere they go and pretty much party for 6 months. You can't blame them for getting on the show. What I do think is lame is the celebrity status some attach to these kids. Seriously, within 2 minutes of arrival there was an entourage of people surrounding these kids. Why? Because there is a camera near? C'mon DC, we have cameras and TV crews in every corner of this city. Do you really need to "get on the show"? It's pretty easy to forget the camera crew and cast is there, provided the wannabe's and stalkers leave them alone.

So there it is, my first review of the Capitol Skyline Hotel and Spiked Sundays. You can bet I'll be back there next week provided it stays insanely hot. Here's hoping the event organizers and the hotel let these parties continue after labor day.

Labels: DC, Entertainment, Music, Urban

posted by DVS @ 10:07 AM 5 comments

Return to Camp Hollywood

On Wednesday, July 29th, I returned to Los Angeles, one of my favorite cities in the United States. I've had many people ask me why is this one of my favorite destinations? Surely the cough inducing smog, cluttered freeways and endless miles of sprawl would turn anyone off. But that's not the LA I see. It's not the LA that I fell in love with on my first visit and continued my love-affair with this time around. You see, to me LA is a combination of everything I want in a city.

As you'll see in these photos I shot, LA is photogenic. It's a city that has it all. It has an amazing skyline with fabulous architecture, historic buildings, art-deco influences and modern impulses. It's a city that has grit and glamour. It has walkable neighborhoods with cute boutiques, wonderful coffee shops, and awesome restaurants only natives know about. It has energy, excitement and a spice of chill with the nearby beaches. It's warm. It has palm trees. And the population is made of up virtually any walk of life you could imagine. Trash, sprawl, traffic...they go hand-in-hand with any major city. But try finding the same type of glamorous sun-drenched energy of Hollywood on the streets of Chicago.





But the other reason I'm drawn to LA is for Camp Hollywood and the amazing dancing found in this part of the country. Last year I came to Camp Hollywood only knowing what I saw in pictures and YouTube clips. This year I returned knowing exactly what the event was all about and why I enjoy it so much. We spent 5 days in the California sun enjoying the city, shopping, eating great food, relaxing at the pool and then dancing the night away, sometimes until sunrise.

This year I competed in the Amateur Strictly Lindy and the Amateur Jack and Jill competition. The strictly was a completely last minute decision with my good friend Lora Abe from Las Vegas. We didn't expect to make finals or place because we hadn't danced together in almost a year. But we had so much fun getting out there and winging it just for the hell of it. The Jack and Jill however, was something I had looked forward to since placing 10th last year. After some pretty stiff competition, I ended up placing 5th. On one hand you want to win these things. But on the other hand, I'm honored to have placed at a competition that hosts so many amazing dancers.

I think the highlight of the weekend for me was the Underground Jitterbug Championships. The UJC was started last year by Nick Peterson of Las Vegas and was a huge success because of the no holds barred approach to dancing and air steps. It's an unsanctioned jam format competition that starts at 2 a.m. and is literally anything goes. You'll see kips, waterfalls, pancakes and even people doing the worm. If you can get the crowd fired up, you move on. Lora and I considered entering and just throwing whatever aerials we knew. But starting a comp at 2:30 a.m. has us rethinking the idea and so we figured it was better to just watch and enjoy. The final two couples ended up being Tiffany Wine and Kenny Nelson from Denver matched up against Dax Hock and Max Pitruzzella. It was a full scale battle on the dance floor with Tiffany and Kenny getting the victory. I personally enjoyed seeing Dax toss Max in a lamp post and pancake, but you gotta hand it to those Denver folks throwing tricks right up until the final measure of music. The video is below...



Overall LA and Camp Hollywood was exactly what I expected it to be. It was great dancing, great people and a great city wrapped up into a mini-vacation. Stay tuned for my full Los Angeles photo gallery to be produced sometime in the next week...

Labels: Dancing, Jazz, Lindy Hop, Music, Photography, Swing, Urban

posted by DVS @ 11:50 AM 1 comments