Community spirit, the roar of the crowd and the excitement of youthful competition all combine at a neighborhood swim meet.  What better way to spend a summer evening than gathering around your local pool in a group effort to be part of an event that promotes fellowship and fun.  Swim Teams in Community Pools of Silver Spring , compete as division members of the Montgomery County Swim League (MCSL).  Being a member of a swim team in Silver Spring is a great way for kids to make friends at the pool, share a teambuilding experience, and compete in a healthy, active sport over the summer.  Some of the pools also have Dive Teams that compete in the Montgomery County Diving League.

Most of the Pools in Silver Spring  offer great Family Oriented Social Events such as Pool Camp Out night, Ice cream socials, pizza night, teen night, family movie night, float night, talent shows and more.

Check out this list of links to some of the best Silver Spring Neighborhood Pools and Swim Clubs:

Northwest Branch Pool – Home of the Northwest Branch Dolphins Swim Team
 
Glenwood Recreation Club – Home of the Glenwood Tigers Swim Team and Dive StTeam  
 
Calverton Swim Club – Home of the Calverton Chargers – Also has a Dive Team, Volleyball League, Horseshoes and Basketball Court
 
Forest Knolls Pool – Home of the Seahawks Swim Team
 
Daleview Pool – Home of the Daleview Swim Team
 
Franklin Knolls Pool – Home of the Gators Swim Team
 
Hillandale Swim and Tennis Association – Home of the Hillandale Hellcats Swim Team - Also offers 2 Lighted Tennis Courts, a practice wall and Tennis Camp

Oakview Pool - Home of the Oakview Octopi Swim Team – The Oakview Pool was the first community pool in Montgomery County and celebrated  its 50th year in 2007
 
West Hillandale Swim Club – Home of the Dolphins Swim Team
 
Twin Farms Swim & Tennis Club – Home of the Twin Farms Tigers Swim Team, Dive Team, Tennis Team and Tennis Camp
 
Robin Hood Swim Club - Home of the Robin Hood Swim Team – Also has a Dive Team and Tennis Team
  
Kemp Mill Swim Club – Home of the Kemp Mill Kangaroos

Parkland Swim Club – Home of the Parkland Whales
Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the commerical area just off of Arcola Avenue. this is one of the oldest Montgomery County Swimming Pools.  Beautiful Setting with mature shade trees near Wheaton Regional Park and Sligo Creek Park. 

Tanglewood Community Swim Center - Home of the Tanglewood Tigers Swim Team – This community center is located in the middle of the Tanglewood neighborhood and includes a large open field, playground and tennis courts 

Connecticut Belair Swim and Tennis Club – Home of the Connecticut Belair Gators. This Swim and Tennis Club has recently been fully renovated and is spectacular.  Lots of water fun here with big slides and raft day on Saturdays.

Since 1948, the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, also known as The Old Guard, has been carrying out this tradition called “Flags In”.

The flags are placed with “military” like precision, one foot and centered in front of each grave marker.  The effect is spectacular and worth the short trip to Arlington Cemetery to see this weekend! 

All the flags will be removed after Memorial Day.

The food was delicious and fairly CHEAP.  I had the “Steak and Fries” for 5 Bucks even.  Plenty of marinated sliced steak meat with grilled veggies and rice, covered in fries with an incredible white sauce drizzled over it all.  Since this was so good,  next time I’m going to try the hot dog with shredded fries for $3.

I hope they do well here and are still there when I go back.  The location is kind of awkward, but busy.   When I was leaving an “official looking” guy with some kind of hand held meter and some paper tickets looked like he might be hassling them about something?

2009 Sales
3 SOLD Listings
Average List Price – $639,966
Average Sold Price – $629,667 
Average Days on Market – 31

2010 Sales
Only 2 SOLD Listings
Average List Price – $585,000
Average Sold Price – $572,500
Average Days on Market – 111

2011 Sales
2 Sold Listings
List Price – $599,966
Sold Price – $590,000 with 15,000 Seller Subsidy
Interior Unit – 3 Bedroom 3 1/2 Bath 2 car garage 
Days on Market - 130

List Price – 575,000
Sold Price – 585,000
End Unit – 3 Bedroom 3 1/2 Bath Fireplace 2 car garage
Days on Market – 5

Looking for a Townhouse in “Close-In” Silver Spring ? 

Search all Townhomes Available for Sale in the Downtown Silver Spring Area – 20910  

A couple of  ways to do Fat Day in Silver Spring: 

For Paczki or King Cakes

Head  to the WOODMOOR Pastry Shop in the Woodmoor Shopping Center for some of their famous, divine, decadently outrageous Paczki.   It is the very best, or maybe the only place to get real homemade Paczki in Silver Spring. 
 
Check out reviews of the Bakery and the Paczki at the Woodmoor Pastry Shop

They also make fantastic King Cakes.

 For All-You-Can-Eat Pancakes
 
There are several Silver Spring and Takoma Park Churches with Pancake Suppers tomorrow night:

Church of the Ascension on Sligo Avenue in Silver Spring

Grace Episcopal Church on Grace Chruch Road and Georgia Avenue

Takoma Park Presbyterian Church on Tulip Avenue in Takoma Park

Woodside United Methodist Church on Georgia Ave

It is intimate, quiet and dark, like a cozy cave, the wait staff are attentive, the drinks are good, the food is Real Native Italian, Generous and Excellent! (especially the veal dishes).  The atmosphere is understated thick white tablecloth elegant and romantic.

Nothing beats having  that warm, friendly personal greeting from Sergio Toni, the owner, a native of Rome and now a Silver Springer.   Sergio has been involved with this restaurant since 1982 when it was Mamma Reginas.

This Silver Spring Restaurant is a hidden treasure – the location is in the basement (off the garage) of the Hilton Hotel in Silver Spring.

Sergio Ristorante Italiano
8727 Colesville Road
Hilton Hotel Garage
Valet Parking
(301) 585-1040

The last time I needed to use a laundromat I went to the one near the corner of University Blvd & Piney Branch Road  and also the one in the 16th Street Strip Mall that was on the level under the McDonalds there.  They were both crowded places and kinda dingy and dark.  There were 2 different sizes of washers and dryers that took coins.  I couldn’t wait to get my laundry done and get out.

I recently went into the new Tropicana Laundromat on Fenton Street to wash some real bulky items (rugs, big comforters and pillows), that my regular washer and dryer can’t handle.  I was amazed at how far Laundromats have come since I’d been in one!

This place is CLEAN, Bright, Airy, Pleasant and Spacious.  You could eat off the floors.  They had 2 people outside hosing down and cleaning off the parking lot steps and even the asphalt (that people park their cars on) when I was there.  It was immaculate inside and out.

There must be 6 -7 different sizes of washers and dryers,  from tiny ones for delicates to the Heavy Duty Super Jumbo size that I used, and there are  lots of them!  There are huge, long, nice clean folding tables and plenty of  those big rolling steel laundry baskets. 

There are 3 Big Screen TVS mounted on the back wall and areas to sit and read or watch a big screen while you are waiting for your laundry to be done.

And . . . No more coins to fumble with – you can load money (via credit card)into a card to use in the machines.

I have to admit, when I first saw the sign go up last year I thought it was going to be some kind of an all night Restaurant/Bar.   I had visions of  Mai Tais, Margaritas, pina-coladas, other tropical drinks and food dancing in my head.   I was disappointed at first when I figured out it was a Laundromat.

Tropicana Laundromat
8010 Fenton St
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Robert Hayes Mc Neill was a 40 year old Washington DC attorney from North Carolina, living with his wife Cora and 2 Children on the “Mc Neill Farm” – Silver Spring in 1918.  At this time in the 1900’s Silver Spring was mostly open land and forests dotted with a few farms and 3 Large Country Estates. 

In 1923 Robert Mc Neill subdivided his farm into lots that today is Robert H. Mc Neills’ Addition to Silver Spring Park. 

The lots were sold to a few different builders with E Brooke Lee’s North Washington Real Estate company ending up with most of the lots.  Building started at the beginning of the Depression in 1932-33. 

The old circa 1900’s farmhouse on the Mcneill property is still there, having been updated several times in the last century. 

Most of the 137 Homes in the neighborhood were built in the early to mid 1930’s and are prized for their unique character and period architectural detail.  No two houses are exactly alike.  This is no cookie cutter neighborhood. 

The homes in Mc’Neills include unique brick and slate cape cods, colonials and Tudor style houses. Hardwood Floors, Fireplaces, arches, high ceilings and porches were standard ammenities in most of these charming houses.  The homes have wide alley’s behind them with garages, another feature that was common in the 1930’s era.

The Boundaries of McNeills Subdivision are: Dale Drive to the south, Cedar Street to the north, Deerfield Avenue on the east and Dartmouth Avenue on the west.

This Great location is just steps to Nolte Park (playground, several ballfields and picnic area), Bullis Park and four blocks to Sligo Creek Park. Walking distance to the local public elementary & middle schools, both with a French Immersion program. It’s only ¾ mile to Metro and the MARC train, and a few Blocks away is the Silver Spring town center with the new civic building & Veteran’s plaza, ice rink, shops, restaurants, entertainment, and farmers market. The site of the upcoming, state-of-the-art Silver Spring Library is only four blocks away. McNeill’s Neighborhood is the ultimate walkable neighborhood with the perfect balance of urban and suburban living.

Public School Info for McNeills Subdivision – Silver Spring  20910

Sligo Creek Elementary School
Silver Spring International Middle School
Downcounty Consortium (DCC)

*School information is as reported on the MCPS school finder site. As directed by MCPS, this information shall not be relied upon without a call to the MCPS Boundary Line at 301-279-3331.

  Homes in this neighborhood sell quickly - Check out the most recent Homes SOLD in Mcneills Addition

Most of E Brooke Lee’s addition eventually became the commercalized area of Downtown Silver Spring and South Silver Spring.  There are residential single family homes left that make up the Blair Subdivision with some sections called Blair/ Takoma.  The boundaries of the residential sections of Blair and Blair Takoma are roughly:  Sligo Avenue to the South, Philadelphia Avenue and the Montgomery College Campus to the North, Fenton Street to the West and Piney Branch Road on the East.   

Within Walking Distance: 
All the great ammenites of Downtown Silver Spring!  Silver Spring Metro Station (Red Line), Downtown Silver Spring, Restaurants, Shopping, Veterans Plaza, Ice Skating Rink, year-round farmers market, NOAA, Discovery Channel Headquarters, Montgomery College, The New Montgomery College Performing Arts Center, Whole Foods, Safeway, Giant Food, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, Sligo Creek Park, many delightful “pocket parks” and much more.

Public Schools:
East Silver Spring Elementary School (K-4)
Piney Branch Elementary
Sligo Creek Elementary

Takoma Park Middle School

High School: Home School is Montgomery Blair High School
Downcounty High School Consortium – Choice Process: Blair, Einstein, Kennedy, Northwood, or Wheaton high schools 

*Note: always Check the Montgomery County School Assignment Locator for the specific school a child will attend that is assigned by street address.

Full of wonderful old timey bungalows, some colonials, american four squares, victorian farmhouses and cape cods, this neighborhood borders on Downtown Silver Spring on one side and Takoma Park on the other.   The Blair – Blair/Takoma Subdivision is considered part of East Silver Spring.

Blair and Blair Takoma Home Sales 2011

11 single family homes Sold

Average List Price – $507,855
Average Sold Price – $480,045

Lowest Sale Price – $350,000
(a small 2 Bedroom 1 Bath 1928 Bungalow)
Highest Sale Price – $701,000
(a large expanded and completely renovated 5 Bedroom 4 Bath 1923 Bungalow)

Average Days on Market – 41

Check out Homes for Sale Now in Blair Subdivision, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

The  Annual Pumpkin Patch has a good selection of Pumpkins and some pretty chrysanthmums at Woodside Methodist Church in the Woodside area at the edge of Downtown Silver Spring. 

Boy Scout Troop 209 is Silver Sprng’s Oldest Boy Scout Troop.  Boy Scout Troop 209 has been in existence since the 1930’s at this same Silver Spring Location.

Buy a pumpkin or some mums and Support  your Local Silver Spring Boy Scout Troop 209.   All proceeds go to the troop’s financial aid fund to make sure that all scouts can participate in the troops many activities and it’s more fun than just picking up a pumpkin at the local grocery store!

Woodside United Methodist Church
8900 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Located at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Ballard Street,

1 block north of Spring Street. Google Map

Look for the Boy Scout Troop 209 Truck.

Make your pumpkin last much longer this year:   Check out these tips for preserving your pumpkin and prevent it from rotting out in the yard or on the porch.

*Also some advice from plumbers and the roto-rooter people  -  Never, Ever put the guts (pulp), rinds or any other part from your pumpkin in the garbage disposal or down any of the drains in your house.  This could cause a real Halloween nightmare in you home!