Silver Spring Downtown

Last week I spent a day in Silver Spring, Maryland. My girlfriend and I wanted to get a way from busy DC area to somewhere much quieter, but (fortunately) we ended up in somewhere completely opposite from what I wanted. Getting there was easy: we took red line metro for 10 minutes, arrived at Silver Spring metro stop and walked two blocks uphill, then we saw a giant sign that reads Downtown Silver Spring. As a delicious aroma of diverse restaurants greeted us and made us busy looking around different food, next thing we know, we felt like you somehow transported yourself to Easton shopping mall in Columbus. The downtown was full of shops, restaurants, and full of fun things to do. From CVS to New York and Companies, there were enough variety of stores to satisfy my fickle taste. Also we saw diverse people in the town, from babies playing in the street fountain to "cool" teenagers on a double date in Starbucks to elder couples fancily dining together in Red Lobsters.
Silver Spring downtown is full of dynamic energy that resembled Easton in Columbus. While the town may seem small compare to Easton, it is just big enough to spend your whole day (for girls, maybe two days...) and get yourself something that's just right for you. The ice link in the town definitely makes up its smaller size. Loud music and bright dancing lights make you want to put on a pair of ice skates and make a fool of yourself on ice. After a long day of shopping you can wind down by either going to a movie theater or go to a concert hall that features local indie bands. Also there is a giant stage in the town, so I wouldn't be surprised if big bands have their concerts there. So when you want to get a way from the heart of DC, to emerge yourself in materialism or to feel like you are at Easton, or just to want to have different kind of fun, you should go to Silver Spring.