First Snowfall of the Season in Bowie

I've heard people say that the Greater D.C. area has a heavy snow season about once every seven years. No weather cycle could be that exact, but it's sort of worked out that way in recent years. There was heavy snow in the 1995-1996 season (14 years ago), and the 2002-2003 season featured the President's Day storm that dumped 24 inches of snow on Bowie (7 years ago). If that trend continues, we can expect to see more snow than usual in Bowie this winter.

Here are the most recent years where D.C. received 20 or more inches of snow (according to the folks at Accuweather). The approximate seven year cycle holds true for the last 22 years, but breaks down after that.

2002-2003 (40.4 inches; 7 years ago)
1995-1996 (46 inches; 14 years ago)
1987-1988 (25 inches; 22 years ago)
1986-1987 (31 inches; 23 years ago)
1982-1983 (27 inches; 27 years ago)
1981-1982 (22.5 inches; 28 years ago)
1978-1979 (37.7 inches, 31 years ago)
1977-1978 (22.7 inches; 32 years ago)
1967-1968 (21.4 inches; 42 years ago)
1966-1967 (37.1 inches; 43 years ago)

Bowie received the first snow accumulation of the season yesterday. It was a heavy, wet snow that started as rain. Here are some pictures from yesterday.

Bridge in Foxhill Park. My wife's brother told her many years ago that George Washington marched his troops over this bridge (not true).

Sledders in Foxhill Park

Belair Horse Stables

Belair Mansion

I've always liked this house in the Long Ridge section. Yeah, I know. The houses in the Long Ridge section all look the same, but this one is always so well maintained, and they have that great tree in the front yard.

Allen Pond

New Pizza Shop in Bowie

Pizza Tempo opened in Bowie's Collington Plaza nearly two months ago, and we stopped by for dinner Friday night. The new shop is located at the former site of Luigi's Pizza and Armand's Pizza.

The Pizza Tempo menu includes Pizza Margherita - a variation of a style of pizza that dates back to 19th century Italy. According to the popular story, a pizza maker prepared a pizza in 1889 for Italy's Queen Margherita that included the colors of the Italian flag. The pizza had tomatoes (red), mozzarella cheese (white) and fresh basil (green). Queen Margherita loved the pizza, and it was named in her honor. Pizza Tempo's version is made with tomato sauce and real mozzarella cheese, but there is no mention of basil on the menu. Pizza Margherita should not be confused with Pizza Latifah - the pie that originated in 20th century New Jersey.

The pizza was good, and the crust was noticeably fresh. The food is definitely worth a repeat visit.

Pizza Tempo has two locations - Rockville and Bowie. The Rockville location appears to be pick-up and delivery only, and the Bowie restaurant offers pick-up, delivery and dine-in service.

The Bowie location may be the restaurant's first attempt at having a dine-in location, and they have a few kinks to iron out. A cashier takes customer orders near the kitchen. The cashier didn't seem to know the menu very well, and she seemed a little overwhelmed. I liked that she read my order back to me - especially since she seemed so frazzled. After she handed me my receipt, I asked if she was going to call my number when the food was ready. She said, "no. Just come back up here in twenty minutes." I thought that was a strange answer, but I later noticed that someone was bringing food to the tables. Dine-in customers are served their pizza in takeout boxes, and I would have been annoyed if we didn't have an empty table nearby for the box. Kid sized drinks are not available, but you're allowed unlimited napkins when your kid spills their adult sized drink.

The bottom of my receipt displayed the calculated amount for a 15% gratuity, although the gratuity was not included in the total. It seemed odd given the format of the restaurant.

The Pizza Tempo menu includes salads, subs, panini sandwiches, some entrees and desserts. They also offer a lunchtime buffet.

Although I didn't think the service was great, I felt like they were trying to figure it out. I imagine we'll stop in again sometime soon.

Map
3552 Crain Highway, Bowie MD 20716 (near Walmart)


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Seen Around Town - v3

This house can be found near the corner of Routes 450 and 193 in the Bowie/Glenn Dale area. The sign says "EXPERTHOUSEMOVERS.COM." You be the judge.

Is it just me, or does anyone else see the image of a man on this pigeon's neck? He's got bushy hair, a thick mustache, a goatee and fashionable glasses. I found this guy hanging out over the railroad tracks in Old Bowie.

I saw this Canadian Goose at the Bowie Town Center Park. My daughter said, "Hey Dad. Look at the goose with one leg!" I stopped to watch him for a bit because I wanted to know how the heck he got around.

Doh! He was keeping his leg warm underneath his wing.

This is our neighbor's cat - Cookie. Some cats walk around like they own the house. Cookie is an outdoor cat who owns our neighborhood. Even though she's not our cat, she sometimes greets us at our front door when we come home. If you don't block her with your leg, she'll come in the house. Sometimes she'll nap in our garage if I leave the door open. Our next door neighbors have a doggy door, and they will sometimes come home to find Cookie relaxing on their kitchen counter.

I found this bird of prey near Gallant Fox Lane in Bowie. I'm not sure exactly what this is - maybe a falcon or a hawk. It was actually hanging out in a tree with a group of crows. This was as close as I could get before this bird flew away.

Another shot of the mystery bird.

Ya know, Sarah Palin said that this would happen during her lifetime, but who knew that the Messiah would be coming this soon - and to Bowie of all places. There's no point keeping any of my worldy pocessions. Does anyone want my Billy Ocean - Love Zone CD? Who am I kidding? I think it's going to be eternal damnation for me. Can I borrow your sunscreen?

We get three free papers each week in Bowie: The Bowie Blade News, the Bowie Star and the Washington Examiner. These papers are tossed onto driveways throughout the city. The papers will litter some driveways for days or weeks. I came across this driveway in Bowie's Amber Meadows neighborhood.

Billboard in Greenbelt. Did she convince you?

This sign was spray painted by a Ron Paul supporter (I assume) on a Capital Beltway overpass.

Former Belair Mobil Closed

Levitt and Sons sold the property at the corner of Stoneybrook Drive and Annapolis Road to Mobil Oil Corporation in 1967, and a gas station has operated on that site ever since. Former Bowie City Councilman, Dick Arnold, began operating Belair Mobil at this location in 1982. Arnold and his family have continue to operate the station for 27 years, and they switched their franchise affiliation to Sunoco a few years ago.

Yesterday was the station's last day in operation. When I drove by last night, the pumps were surrounded by yellow caution tape, a "closed" sign hung on the door, and I could see an employee inside the store removing products from the shelves.

The Arnold family will retain ownership of the property, and a new PNC Bank branch will soon be built at this location.

Bowie Briefs - v5

Lobbyist Sentenced
A lobbyist was sentenced for his seventh DUI offense following an accident in Bowie in October. A related article in the Gazette had the following funny bits from District Court Judge Hassan A. El Amin during the sentencing.

"You cannot have any alcohol," El Amin told Jacobs. "No cocktails, no nothing. If you get behind the wheel after what I've told you, you can bring everybody here — you can even resurrect Johnnie Cochran here — and you will go to jail."

...

Jacobs must also pay $40 per month to the state to compensate for his supervision and would need to apply to the court to get his driving privileges back.

"That's going to be a while, Mr. Jacobs," El Amin said. "You're making enough money to get a chauffeur. Just get a chauffeur."

Bowie Man Charged with Obstructing Governmental Administration
According to a Buffalo News article, a Bowie man was charged with several crimes after allegedly assaulting a police officer in Jamestown, NY. Not only was he charged with assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, but he was also charged with obstructing governmental administration. Come on! Everyone knows that no matter how bad things get, you should never, under any circumstances, obstruct governmental administration! What was he allegedly thinking? If anyone knows what obstructing governmental administration is, let me know.



Verizon to Offer Early Separation Packages
This article in Tech Journal South originally caught my attention because the story was supposedly from Bowie, but what I found interesting in the article is the use of the term surplus employees. I guess it's not a new term, but I had never heard it before.



Louie's Holiday Hope Project
The Bowie Baysox are once again sponsoring Louie's Holiday Hope Project to help needy families during the holidays.

Early Signs of Christmas in Bowie

Christmas tree at the Bowie Town Center.

Some decorations are hanging at the Bowie Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad Station 39 (Belair/Free State Mall). They're getting ready to escort Santa and sell Christmas trees. We bought a tree from the Bowie VFD last year, and it was the best tree we've purchased in Bowie.

The Bowie Lions set-up their Christmas tree lot this weekend at the corners of Sussex Lane, Belair Drive and Annapolis Road. The trees are expected to arrive Thanksgiving weekend.

A Christmas tree lot at Bowie Plaza sits empty.

The sign at the Bowie Community Center advertises the upcoming Watkins Park Festival of Lights.

The City of Bowie hasn't made the transition to holiday decorations yet. The autumn banners are still hanging at City Hall. However, the city has posted their Holiday Happenings Brochure (click here for the PDF).

Hilltop Plaza Renovations

Many changes are taking place at Hilltop Plaza in Bowie. The changes have been planned for a long time, so none of this is recent news. I did stop by Hilltop Plaza today to take a few pictures.



The most recent change is the closing of McDonald's. The restaurant closed more than a week ago, but in the few minutes that I stopped to take this picture, two drivers entered the drive-thru before seeing the orange traffic cone.




This picture shows the construction taking place at the former Magruder's location. An Aldi grocery store will be opening in this spot in the near future. A story from last May in the Gazette indicated that the store will be open by the end of the year, but that timeline seems unlikely given the current state of the renovations.

Aldi is a discount grocery store based in Germany. The Aldi name is a short version of Albrect Discount. The company was founded by brothers Theo and Karl Albrecht.

I've never been in an Aldi store, but from what I've read on the Web, the Aldi shopping experience is different than shopping at Safeway or Giant. Aldi grocery stores are characterized by the following.

• Aldi doesn't carry popular brands. Most items are sold under the Aldi store brand.
• The lack of brand choices keeps the stores smaller than traditional US grocery stores.
• In the US, only cash and debit cards can be used for purchases. Until recently, only cash was accepted.
• Customers have to pay a quarter deposit to use a grocery cart, and the deposit is returned when the customer returns the cart.
• Customers are expected to bring their own bags. Forgetful customers can purchase bags in the store.
• The stores don't have bakery or deli departments.
• Stores do carry produce, although the selection is very limited, and refrigerated displays aren't used.
  

It sounds like it's typical for shoppers to purchase discount items at an Aldi grocery store, and use traditional grocery stores in fill in the gaps.

There is some discussion on the Web about the relationship between Aldi and Trader Joe's. Some people claim that they are owned by the same company, and some people claim that some of the same products are found in both stores with different packaging.

The ownership of the stores is a confusing tale. The original Aldi chain was divided into two companies in the 1960s when brothers Theo and Karl Albrecht had a dispute. The two legally separate entities became known as Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud, although the companies did work so closely together that they often appeared as one company. The Aldi stores in the US are part of Aldi Sud. Trader Joe's was purchased by Theo Albrecht (the brother associated with Aldi Nord), and an Albrecht family trust owns Trader Joe's today. From a legal perspective, Aldi and Trader Joe's are not owned by the same company, but it's unclear how much cooperation exists between the two companies.

What is clear is that Aldi has a reputation for being a poor person's store, and Trader Joe's is considered to be more upscale. Some people believe that the companies work together to identify potential markets such that a Trader Joe's will never be found near an Aldi grocery store.

Judge for yourself. Here are some of the Maryland Aldi locations:

• Lanham
• District Heights
• Hyattsville
• Pasadena
• Langley Park
• Glen Burnie
• Oxon Hill
• Dundalk
• Essex

And here are some of the Maryland Trader Joe's locations:

• Annapolis
• Bethesda
• Rockville
• Silver Spring
• Towson
• Gaithersburg
• Columbia

I guess we know what they think of Bowie.




MOM's Organic Market (My Organic Market) is opening a store in Hilltop Plaza. In a press release announcing the opening of the Bowie store, MOM CEO Steve Nash said the following:

"I was born and raised in Prince George’s County. I am extremely happy to be opening our 2nd store there. The County has been largely ignored by national chains for as long as I can remember and the residents deserve a source for reasonably priced, healthy organic groceries. Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s seem reluctant to open there- and they obviously don’t understand the community."

And what would Hilltop Plaza be without a newly renovated AND expanded Dollar Tree store. Do you think Bethesda has a Dollar Tree store. Hell no!

Other businesses coming to Hilltop Plaza include Walgreens Pharmacy and Fancier Spa & Salon. According to this May, 2009 Gazette article, the owners of Hilltop Plaza are also attempting to change the zoning with the county to allow construction of residential housing on the site.