Thursday, April 9, 2020

Socially Distant Urban Adventures

Over the last several weeks I have expanded my knowledge of the immediate neighborhood, discovering places and paths I like to call "super secret" between and behind the historic garden condos right up the hill. I've found meandering 3-5 miles routes through the adjoining neighborhoods as well, up steep hills and past all manner of tear-downs and renovations.

On some days, we pile the dog into the car and take off for nearby places, too, as long as we're confident they won't be as crowded as the bike trails and running paths that everyone is desperate to use. An early hour is always helpful, as is a cloudy day, and this morning we made our way to the Washington Harbour at the foot of Georgetown.

At 8:45 AM traffic was light and we were there in 10 minutes, an amazement of its own. From there we walked the boardwalk south toward the boat house, crossed a bridge over Rock Creek and entered the C&O canal at its origin and followed it a couple of miles north counting the turtles basking in the sun, where we turned down some stone steps to pick up the Capital Crescent Trail.

By then the bike traffic was a bit heavier, and it was time to turn back toward the city, so we followed the river on a paved path lined with vetch, wisteria, dewberries, honeysuckle and purple dead nettle, past a sycamore tree garlanded with a dozen crested cormorants perched high above their usual watery domaine, under the old stone aqueduct, and through a landscaped park to our starting point.


2 comments:

  1. What beautiful adventures you've been having. I particularly enjoyed the last line -I can see those cormorants looking down on their "watery domaine."

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  2. Impressive knowledge of plant names, Tracey! Sounds like a lovely morning stroll.

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