Are there any good outlets or malls in washington dc and maryland?|183227

I am going to arlington,VA on july also part of the trip will be in baltimore, Maryland I wa\nted to know of malls or outlets and restaurants with great food, no high prices but that are places I wouldn_t find anywhere else.

Of course the outlet mall at Potomac Mills. Pentagon City has a very nice Mall, however it_s not an outlet, but worth a visit.

Everyone has kicked in bits _ pieces - but here is the whole scoop.

For big outlets your choices are basically Potomac Mills Mall and Arundel Mills Mall- both owned by the _Mills_ corp. and are fairly similar.

Then you have Leesburg Premimum Outlets which is smaller and has more upscale outlets. However most of what is at Leesburg can be found at Potomac/Arundel as well.

Then even further out is Hagerstown. Again - mostly duplicates of Potomac/Arundel, so not worth the drive for you.

As far as malls you have A LOT of choices. The nicests ones that come to mind near Baltimore is Columbia Town Center - but it_s really more out in a suburub of Baltimore. There is of course some downtown shopping at the Inner Harbor.

DC as fewer downtown malls- the shops at Union Station are your best bet. Outside then there is Tyson_s Town Center - just about everything you could want.

Good Luck

Potomac Mills is an outlet mall in Woodbridge, south on i-95 from Arlington.
http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?I��


There is a prime outlet mall in Hagerstown, MD (
http://www.primeoutlets.com/cntrdefault.��
)
And a Premium outlet mall in Leesburg, VA
http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/ou��


Both of these are farther west/northwest of DC.


The second largest mall in the nation is at Tyson_s Corner (
http://www.shoptysons.com
) it isn_t an outlet mall, but it has alot of shops, restaurants, ect. Across the street is upscale Tyson_s Galleria.

For some great dining, check out the Penn Quarter neighborhood of DC, they have some great restaurants in the neighborhood. Also Georgetown, Adams Morgan, Chinatown and Dupont Circle have some great places. If you want chain restaurants, you can find nearly all of them in the area.

For outlet shopping there is

Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets
241 Fort Evans Road NE, Leesburg, VA 20176

Arundel Mills
7000 Arundel Mills Circle
Hanover, MD 21076

and

Potomac Mills
2700 Potomac Mills Circle
Prince William, VA 22192

I think Leesburg is the nicest.

As for good dining @ the mall - I think you have to hit Tyson_s Corner which has several very nice restaurants in and near the mall

Pentagon City or Ballston Commons in Arlington, VA
Lakeforest Mall in Gathersburg
Montgomery Mall in Bethesda
Wheaton Plaza in Wheaton
Mall in Columbia, MD
Laurel Center mall in Laurel

Arundel Mills mall near BWI marshall airport

Potomac Mills is south of DC on I-95. It is a hugh outlet mall.

Others mentioned the outlet malls, and I agree with them, but most malls have horrible food courts and chain restaurants.

If you like Middle Eastern food, check out Aladdin_s Eatery. There_s one in Shirlington (South Arlington) and also one above the Ballston Metro station on the Orange Line. The food is really inexpensive, and you get quite a bit of bang for your buck.

In the Seven Corners area, there is a strip mall with some cute little shops (mostly chains, though) and a really wonderful vegetarian place called Sunflower (www.crystalsunflower.com). That_s in Falls Church, but it_s a fairly easy drive from Arlington.

About halfway between Washington, DC, and Baltimore (and just a few miles out of the way) is Conscious Corner in Clarksville. There_s a natural pet supply store called Bark, a grocery store called Roots, a natural gifts store called Nest, and a vegetarian place called Great Sage. Great Sage is okay, a little expensive, and the food quality is inconsistent. But you won_t find those stores anywhere else, and it_s an interesting diversion.

What are some good mountain roads near nothern VA that are fun to drive?|188092

I live near manassas, sometimes I would go to the switchbacks on Bull Run Mtn for the cool view at the top, but that is getting boring. I like to drive on challenging, curvy or hilly or steep roads. Any ideas? This isnt for racing, so 1 lane, gravel, and dead ends are just fine :)

Try paved VA 56 near US 11 - a good number of switchbacks until one encounters the Blue Ridge Parkway.

For a spectacular but rather sedate drive,try the Skyline Drive.Beautiful vistas,wildlife,lots of pull-offs.We had a bear come out of the forest not thirty feet in front of our car.Also saw deer and wild turkey.Speed limit 30 mph.Distance approx. 125 miles.

If you like mountain driving, with switch backs, curves and hills and good scenery, try the road (250, a good paved 2 lane) between Staunton and McDowell.

While your in the neighborhood, check out the old downtown area in Staunton, and enjoy a meal at the old railroad depot (the name of the restaurant eludes me).

This would be a good day trip, or better yet, an over-nighter.

Hope you enjoy, I always have....

What are some cities within 2 hours of Asheville?|199671

I am looking to plan a two day getaway and the furthest I want to drive is two hours. Anyone know of some fun maybe romantic cities within 2 hours of Asheville NC?

Gatlinburg? Im 45 minutes from there and im 1 and a half from you, So its a little more than 2 hours. But not much!