DC Rowhouses - a lot of Red Brick

We live only nine miles away from DC since we moved to northern Virginia from Capitol Hill. We used to go back in to town to hear programs at the Library of Congress where I worked for ten years. We haven’t taken a ride in for quite some time. So yesterday we thought we would give it a try just to see the old neighborhood. Since everything is still pretty closed up, the traffic was lighter than usual but much heavier than a month ago. The only activity was road work and construction on the air and space museum. The new Eisenhower Memorial still stands behind a fenced off space because the dedication has been pushed back. One of the things I will always love about the city is the architecture and the rowhouses. There is just something stunning about them - from the outside. Living in one can be a bit more trying - the staircases are vertical on three floors, if you live in the center of the block you’ll need to walk around the entire neighborhood if something needs to get to the back yard, and most of the pipes are clay and prone to bursting. A lot of this we know from personal experience. For that reason we are happy we now live in an up to date space - but even brand new has its own set of issues. So, it was a treat to see the homes and the gardens once again. But nothing looks as good as I remember.