Park Ranger Mara Woollard demonstrates blowing a boat horn to summon the lock keeper at Great Falls Tavern on the C&O Canal. Canal boat captains often had to get the attention of lock keepers as they traveled along the waterway, especially when the lock keeper also ran a tavern and restaurant for visitors to Great Falls, Woollard said. Photo by Peggy McEwan
There are a few places in Potomac where residents gather to meet, eat, learn and exercise; some could be called “Quintessentially Potomac.” Though examples abound, such as Sprinkles for ice cream treats, dog walking along the C&O Canal, water sports on the Potomac River, watching the new elementary school going up or trailing groups of bicyclists along River Road or MacArthur Boulevard, the Almanac pictured four that many Potomac residents can identify with.