Morning Walk on the National Mall

It wasn’t what we thought it would be. Our morning walk on the National Mall didn’t meet our expectations. The city was dead, there was no sunshine, everything was under construction and all the sidewalks were blocked off. In front of our old condo we couldn’t find a place to park because the sidewalks were ripped up and the work trucks were blocking the streets. That was commonplace when we lived there. At least our favorite squirrels were on hand to meet and greet. The squirrels in DC were always very friendly because they usually got and accepted a lot of handouts. Whatever huge fruit that looks like a brain and falls off the trees this time of year has become a seasonal treat. The Capitol was fenced off as the inauguration platform was being constructed. The only sign of the season was the Hirshhorn sculpture garden - otherwise it was pretty green. Even walking through the US Botanic Garden and Bartholdi Fountain was underwhelming. A few flowers were making their best effort to attract our attention. On the way back to the car I noticed a window that was replaced with brick and not exactly a close match to the existing color. It ended up being too long of a walk which is ironic since we used to travel that distance every day. So we have become older and more out of shape and Capitol Hill becomes more and more difficult to climb. Yes, there really is a hill and it’s a lot easier heading towards the bottom.