The Potomac is known as “the Nation’s River” because of its reflection of American political history, from its formative years to the tragedy of the Civil War and the strategic planning and execution of the nation’s wars of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and countless events that have seized the public through the news media.

It was in the Potomac basin that first president of the United States George Washington was born and spent most of his life. In the nineteenth century, General Robert E. Lee twice crossed the Potomac River during the Civil War, which ended with the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg, also in the Potomac basin. On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge, which crosses the Potomac near the stately Jefferson Memorial and the massive Pentagon, and landed in the freezing waters, killing all but five of the passengers.

The Potomac is named after the Algonquian tribe that inhabited the banks of the river and that was part of the Powhatan confederacy. The word Potomac is believed by some to mean “place where people trade” or “the place to which tribute is brought.” Today the Potomac could be said to mean the place where tax-payers protest the tributes they must pay to the federal government, or how they are spent.

From the Potomac River today, one can view cultural and historic landmarks such as The Kennedy Center, the Watergate Hotel, the Washington Monument, the U.S. Capitol, the Jefferson Memorial, as well as the Pentagon. What better way is there to take in the beauty of this nation’s historic capitol than on a relaxing and stimulating OnBoard DC tour, including a boat cruise down the Potomac?

Sculpture Garden Ice Rink

(National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden; 7th St. and Constitution Ave. NW; Admission: $7- Adults; $6- Children and Seniors; Skate Rentals-$3)
The National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden’s ice skating rink is a classic D.C. holiday tradition and attracts thousands of visitors during the winter season. Skate around the scenic and beautiful park setting on the National Mall or simply admire the surrounded sculptures crafted by renowned contemporary artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. The skating season begins in mid-November and continues through mid-March. Be sure to stop by The Pavilion Café which offers a breathtaking panoramic view of the garden and ice rink and serves food and beverages.

Pershing Park Ice Rink

(14th St. and Pennsylvania Ave., NW; Admission: $6.50- Adults; $5.50 Children and Seniors; Skate Rentals-$2.50)
The Pershing Park Ice Rink is located in close proximity to amazing D.C. locales like The Willard Hotel and the White House. This skating rink provides visitors with pretty views, a variety of music and a warm cup of hot cocoa for the perfect winter evening.

Thanksgiving Volunteer Opportunities:

“SOME” (So Others May Eat)
On Thanksgiving Day, “SOME” holds its annual Trot for Hunger walk which begins at 8:30a.m. at the West Potomac park. The walk is being honored with D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and benefits programs for homeless men, women and children.

Food and Friends
The Food and Friends organization provides meals to support people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other life-challenging illnesses. The volunteers for this event will be assembling and delivering Thanksgiving meals.

Capital Area Food Bank
The Capital Area Food Bank is delivering Thanksgiving food baskets to needy senior citizens and is one of the city’s largest public hunger education resources in the region.

Bread For the City
(Old Post Office Pavilion)
Whur Day is an event that benefits “Bread for the City’s” holiday program which provides Thanksgiving meals to low income families. Volunteers will participate in a cash drive, food drive and telethon.

Turkey Chase Bethesda

Chevy Chase YMCA
(November 26, 2009; 8:30a.m.; 9401 Old Georgetown Rd. Bethesda, MD)
This 10K Race and 2 mile Fun Run has been taking place every Thanksgiving for the past 25 years. It hosts thousands of runners who have gathered to support the YMCA’s Youth and Family Services, the YMCA Bethesda-Chevy Chase and the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rotary Club Foundation.

Cranberry Crawl 5K/10K Run and Race Walk

(November 21, 2009; 8:30a.m.; Belle Haven Park & Marina; 1201 Belle Haven Rd., Alexandria, Virginia)

Freeze Your Gizzard 5K Cross Country Race

(November 21, 2009; 9a.m.; Ida Lee Recreation Center; 60 Ida Lee Dr.; Leesburg, Virginia)
This 5K race benefits the Loudoun Interfaith Relief which is the largest food pantry in Loudoun County and provides support to homeless shelters, low income senior citizen housing centers and after school programs for at risk children.

Herndon Turkey Trot 5K

(November 21, 2009; 4p.m.; Herndon Community Center; 814 Ferndale Ave., Herndon)
The Herndon Turkey Trot includes a turkey and trimmings which will be awarded to the overall male and female winners of the 5K race.

Annual Holiday Parade

(November 27, 2009; 11a.m.; Market Street & Freedom Dr.)
The annual holiday parade is a large festive parade which gets everyone in the spirit of the coming holidays. Join Mr. & Mrs. Claus and see amazing performances, musical groups, dancers, cars and more in the “Ring in the Season!” parade taking place at Reston Town Center.

Tickets cost $20 roundtrip, $13 one-way, and $39.99 for a 3-day unlimited pass. Purchase tickets by phone or in person at the Gaylord Tour Desk, the National Harbor Visitor’s Center, or the OnBoard America Kiosk at National Harbor.

The shuttle operates in a loop, making two stops at National Harbor and two stops in DC. In National Harbor, it stops at the bus stop on Waterfront Street (across from the Harley-Davidson store) and at the front entrance portico of the Gaylord National Conference Center and Resort. In Washington DC, the shuttle stops in front of Union Station and near the Benjamin Franklin Statue at the Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue. The shuttle departs National Harbor roughly on the hour, and from Washington DC roughly on the half hour, but the schedule can be affected greatly by traffic conditions.

Call us for more information, or check out the following:

OnBoard Tours from National Harbor/Gaylord
Shuttle service for the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival at National Harbor

Commemorate the USCT, a troop of African American soldiers who served in the Civil War at the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum. The museum displays documents and amazing photographs for visitors to learn about this integral part of American history.

Visit the home of ex-slave Frederick Douglas whose house named Cedar Hill is now the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site.

Black History Month Family Festival (S. Dillon Ripley Center; 1100 Jefferson Drive, SW; Discovery Theater, Room 3111; 11a.m.-3p.m.)

Celebrate Black History Month with the entire family and participate in a day of arts, crafts, music and education. You can also check out the new exhibit at the National Museum of African American History, “Road to Freedom: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1956-1968”.

Take a tour of Old Town Alexandria where visitors are educated on the rich local and regional history of many sites.

This month, the Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum of Washington, D.C. will host exhibits intended to raise awareness of Black History Month and learn important lessons about African American figures like Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King, Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye and Tiger Woods, who have all been set in wax.

Grupo Bahía (February 26, 2009; 6:30 PM; IDB Cultural Center)

The IDB Cultural Center in association with the Embassy of Colombia and the Ministry of Culture of Colombia are honoring Black History Month through a concert by the famed Colombian quartet, Grupo Bahia.