Bethesda Rookie

Bethesda Pool

Montgomery County runs four indoor pools year-round. They also run seven outdoor pools during the summer, one of them being the Bethesda Pool on Little Falls Parkway. (It's nice to get away from the thundering echoes of the natatorium for a few months.)

The facilities include a large pool with a diving well, a tot pool, a 6-lane 25-meter lap pool, and a junior pool that I've yet to see open. There are also two diving boards and a short water slide (nothing like the one at Montgomery Aquatic). Pool hours vary over the summer, but they are open afternoons only, generally from around noon to 6:00 or 8:00 pm. Check schedules each year, as they open for weekend swimming a little before (and after) they open for their full weekday summer hours.

Even at it's most crowded, there's plenty of room to sit and/or swim, including the lap pool. Best of all, there's shade over half of the tot pool, so you don't have to fry as your toddler gets accustomed to chlorine fumes. They have a snack bar open with hot dogs, pizza, ice cream, etc. And they have outdoor showers to rinse off after your swim. The biggest challenge, at times, is the parking. But they're right by the Capital Crescent Trail, so you could always ride over.

One other thing: On the hottest days of the summer, they waived the admission fee from 6:00 to 8:00. It's not all day, or even peak heat, but it's still pretty damn nice of them.

Bethesda Pool • Little Falls Parkway & Hillandale Road, Chevy Chase • 301.652.1598

Charles Umosella, MD

Not only is Dr. Charles Umosella an attentive and amiable doctor, but his staff is incredibly friendly as well. Aside from the woman who saw me to the exam room and took my stats, everyone was fantastic. (She may have been just having a bad day, but she should take it out on someone else.)

Umosella is part of the family practice Cullen, Umosella, Cullen & Cullen. He has offices in Oxon Hill, MD (wherever that is), and on Wisconsin Avenue right here in Bethesda. Metered parking is available but be careful of one-hour limits and rush hour rules.

I didn't have to wait long for an appointment, nor were there long waits at the office. Nor was there much of a wait when I left a message for Dr. Umosella to call me about a question I had. Quite frankly, for no very good reason, I was looking for a younger doc, but I was very please with Umosella and his well-run office. (Not to mention swayed by his presence on the Washingtonian's Top Docs list.)

Dr. Charles A. Umosella • Cullen, Umosella, Cullen & Cullen, MD, PA • 7625 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda • 301.951.0420

Washington's Green Grocer

It's not that we don't like going to the grocery store, or fingering fruits and vegetables to find the finest. It's just that we don't always shop with an eye towards fresh produce, and we'll often get home with the same old staples—bananas, fuji apples, spinach, mixed greens, broccoli and garlic. So Washington's Green Grocer is an exciting alternative for us.

Every week they drop off a box of produce on our porch. This week? Sweet corn (3), vine ripe tomatoes (3), zucchini (2), boston lettuce (1), avocados (1), eggplant (1), portabello mushrooms (2), cantaloupe (1), nectarines (3), bananas (4), mangos (1), valencia oranges (2). It's not always easy to work with produce you don't normally buy, but that's part of the point: to introduce some wild cards, and get out of your culinary comfort zone.

Don't worry; you don't have to eat anything you don't like. Every week you get an email that lists the vegetables you can expect, and you can make substitutions based on allergies, preferences or just whims. They also have pastas, herbs and dairy products you can add to your order each week. (You need to leave a cooler out for dairy.) Deliveries are made on Tuesdays in MD, Wednesdays in VA and Thursdays in DC, and canceling a given week is as easy as responding their email the day before.

You can sign up for small or large deliveries, either entirely organic or conventional and organic mixed. We opted for the small organic box for $33.50 weekly. It's a little more expensive than what you pay at your farmers market or grocery, but they bring it to you. That's the other point. No driving, parking, standing in line or carrying bags to and from the car. You get fresh, local produce with less than zero hassle.

I should mention that we've had to wait for much of the fruit to ripen. And it's been a bit of a challenge to make use of everything that comes in a delivery. But it's not like I can't wait for a banana to turn yellow, or like we never threw out a vegetable before.

Washington's Green Grocer • 301.333.3696 • VeggiesRus@aol.com

BLC on Washington's Green Grocer; www.DonRockwell.com on Washington's Green Grocer; OrganicAuthority.com