Capitol Christmas Tree

We have seen the Capitol Christmas tree every year for sixteen years. It was a lot easier when we lived on Capitol Hill. The first year or two we would actually go to the tree lighting ceremony - things people do when they first move to DC. We have spent a lot of time on the Capitol grounds - walking, concerts, ceremonies, funerals….we have also watched the tree get driven in on the large truck and then get hoisted with a crane before the decorating begins. Now that we live in northern Virginia we drive in every week for a morning walk. A few days back we visited the tree after first stopping by the trains at the US Botanic Garden and visiting the memorials and monuments made of plant material in the conservatory. Yesterday we drove in, parked in our old neighborhood, and walked by the Library of Congress - where I worked for ten years - and then over to the Capitol. This time there were some high school groups having a tour/lecture. They invariably look bored and uninspired. So we took in another view of the tree and walked over to it once again. It is from North Carolina. Unfortunately the west front of the Capitol has a lot of construction and scaffolding around it so that doesn’t do much for the background in the photos. We still need to drive by in the evening when the lights are on. We are fortunate to live close enough to still enjoy the treats of the season. Let’s hope it lasts for a long time to come. 

Capitol Christmas Tree

We go to visit it every year. When we lived on Capitol Hill we not only saw the Capitol Christmas tree hauled in on the flatbed truck and watched it get placed and decorated, but we walked over at all times of the day and night to see the lights and ornaments. It is a lovely sight to see. Yesterday we drove in to town in search of the options for my weekly photo challenge. The subject is “in the middle” and that left a wide open field. We started out at the national gallery of art and then ambled towards the Capitol building. This year there was a path that heads toward the tree - perhaps to protect the grass and/or your shoes in foul weather. This year’s tree is from California. It stands splendidly in front of the Capitol. There were a few visitors about, but the city is still quite empty given the pandemic and general time of the year. I prefer it being quiet - makes for easy walking and visiting just about anywhere without being in a crowd. The temperatures almost hit sixty by the time we walked over to the US Botanic gardens. There are some traditions we like to hang on to. This is one of them. 

Capitol Christmas Tree from Montana

The timing could not have been better. As we were on our morning walk today, the huge flatbed truck was just pulling in to the Capitol grounds carrying on it the huge Christmas tree hauled all the way from Montana. Right behind it was another large truck carrying the humongous star that would eventually be placed on the top of the tree. You would have thought a grand motorcade was arriving based on the number of police cars and security presence. In June we took a cross country car trip to the northern Pacific states and back - one of which included Montana. So this year we felt like we could have seen this lovely tree somewhere out there in the big country. It actually came from Kootenai National Forest. Rather than wait around for the big speech, we ran in to the botanic garden to see the trains, walked to the Smithsonian Castle, and stopped back by the Capitol to see the tree being lifted from the truck and moved by a crane to the spot that it would rest for the next few weeks. It was a simply gorgeous day for the event. Last year the park rangers were distributing branches from the tree - no luck this time around. You never know what you'll run in to when you walk the Mall every day. This was a nice surprise.

 

A Saturday Afternoon in the Capitol Hill Neighborhood

Almost every Saturday we go to the McLean Family Restaurant for brunch.  They know us so well there that we hardly need to tell them our order - they bring the drinks practically as soon as we sit down. Last weekend John Huntsman and his family were behind us inline waiting for a seat. Dr. Gupta from CNN, Newt Gingrich, and other notables have also been sighted. We like the drive to there along the George Washington Parkway - Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial, Roosevelt Island, and Saturday afternoon joggers and walkers along the pathways. Today we took an indirect way home to see what Christmas decor was up. We found protestors in front of the Capitol, but the Capitol Christmas tree is now decorated, a really neat huge white bark tree commanding attention on a street in front of the row houses, several Christmas trees on top of cars on their way home to be adorned, and the work crews fixing the never ending building issues on Capitol Hill. It is a lovely drive and neighborhood. The scenery is very different than Wisconsin, and we are getting more and more used to it. But somehow it always feels more remarkable.  

A Capitol Thanksgiving Weekend

It was actually nice enough to take a walk this afternoon, so we got on our down jackets, gloves, and hats. The Capitol Christmas tree is getting adorned for the lighting ceremony planned next week. If you look across the Mall to the Washington Monument, the scaffolding used to restore it from the earthquake is about one third down. The Botanic Garden is decked out with big silver balls (we took about ten pictures of put reflections in them...a where's Waldo experience) and red berries, and of course the train display. There's a big moose standing in the First Ladies garden, and a lot of visitors enjoying the scenery and pond taking photos of seagulls - an unusual sight for many. The birds seem to love the Grant statue and were perched on his hat and horse. For some reason things feel more upbeat around town than the last year or two. The Capitol Building looks glorious with all the attention. Just imagine what it has seen! These are the times I really like living here in DC, and apparently a lot of other people do too.