I Tested the Apple Watch Fall Detection Feature

We thought a drive in to town was in order. We hadn’t parked at the Tidal Basin for a while and the plan was to walk to the White House. I’ve been suffering from plantar fasciitis for about three months so our usual morning walks have changed. I’m trying to build up a tolerable walking distance little by little while doing all of the exercises, icings, and splint wearing during the day and night. So we made our way towards the WWII Memorial. I’m always telling my husband to look down because the sidewalks are a mess. Well, I didn’t this time. My foot hit an unexpected raised portion of the sidewalk and I couldn’t catch my balance while my hat flew off. Thank goodness I was holding my husband’s hand as it most likely softened the fall. I’m just glad I didn’t take him down with me. Right after I fell my Apple Watch sent a message - “it looks like you’ve taken a hard fall.” Since I was “ok” I closed out the message. But if I hadn’t done that, an SOS would have been sent. This was a nice reminder that gadgets can save lives. Not one person stopped to help us - which I guess I’m not surprised since I got up right away. We started the walk again and then the discomfort set in … my left hand was badly scraped, my elbow was too. My left knee was also scraped and started to hurt, along with my left hip. So I fell on four points rather than one. We decided to turn back to the car and go home since I wanted to put ice on my hand and knee. So I’m sitting here with ice everywhere - including my foot, took and advil and am hoping that none of this is serious that it would require any sort of medical intervention. It has not been a good year for us. It could have been a lot worse and I am thankful for that. But for someone who tries to be so careful it didn’t make any difference today. I guess that’s why it’s called an accident. 

Glen Echo Park Carousel

We have not been to Glen Echo Park for quite a while. Many years ago we went there to see Clara Barton’s house and a few times after that to walk the grounds and the park. Since my foot has not been feeling well lately and walking our normal two miles a day has stopped, we thought we would drive over and spend a little bit of time there and see how far I could tolerate walking. One of the big draws is the one hundred plus year old carousel that was refurbished and still in operation. Since it was still the summer months a lot of kids activities were also in full swing. We rode the carousel once and this time we just listened to the music - that my husband hates - and watched as the eager customers boarded and departed from the variety of animals that spin. The sound of the carousel brings back a lot of memories. The carousel on the National mall has been removed and it is being renovated and may return in 2025? One of my goals was to ride it before we moved away from Capitol Hill. That never happened. Now I wonder if it ever will? 

Fall Leaves in Summer

You would never know it is the middle of summer when you walk through the neighborhood park. With all of the extreme heat and storms, something has happened to the leaves on the trees. When walking under the shade of the trees along the path in the park it feels like fall. Everything was wet and the leaves had dropped from the branches much sooner in the year than normal. Perhaps the extreme heat shortened their life cycle and the whipping winds of the rainstorms knocked them all off. It’s been feeling more like Florida here than Virginia with temps in the high 90’s with humidities to match. We also stumbled upon an “agreeable tiger moth” caterpillar that was scurrying across the path to hide under a leaf. He was black and yellow striped and looked a bit harmless. After the deluge it is finally starting to dry out. I don’t want summer to end too soon - who would? 

Uninspiring Capitol Hill Morning Walk

It’s been a few weeks since we drove in to town for a morning walk. It’s been so blasted hot. We have been going to the neighborhood park where the path is predominantly covered by a tree canopy. But it finally rained and the temps fell a bit and it was overcast, so we ventured in to town this week. We parked in our old Capitol Hill neighborhood. Parking is usually a pain and it still is but we found a spot right where we used to live. Since I already had one option for the photo challenge this week, I wasn’t on the search for anything in particular. And nothing in particular was even inspiring. I was hoping we would make it to the US Botanic garden. We did eventually get there after winding around the Capitol building first. But the doors were locked until eleven AM - which was rather odd. We usually get in at ten and have a look around. So that was a disappointment. We didn’t make it over to the National Gallery because it would have been too far to walk and it was still rather humid. The only things of interest that day were a few giant hibiscus. Usually we get a bit energized after visiting our old neighborhood. Not this time. 

Capitol Hill Walkabout

Monday is typically a good day to drive in to town for a morning walk. The other reason is to take photos for the weekly 52Frames photo challenge. I didn’t have high hopes for the photo challenge because the subject is “portrait” and I wasn’t in the mood to find a stranger to pose, and we didn’t come across anyone that looked like they might like to participate. So instead we just enjoyed the walk and I took photos of random things. We parked in our old neighborhood and walked the walk we took for thirteen years. The vegetable garden at the Library of Congress was growing tall already. It was very quiet at the Capitol - except at the visitor center entrance. There was barely anyone in sight in a panoramic shot. There was a large school group posing for photos. The ducks were out and about in the reflecting pool. Since it was getting quite warm we decided to make it a short excursion, stopping inside the US Botanic garden. There are always new orchids on display as well as other favorites throughout the outside gardens. There was what looked to be a pineapple plant at the Bartholdi fountain gardens, along with the vegetable garden with the Capitol building in the background. We trudged back to the car just in time to hit the two mile mark. We are never disappointed visiting the old neighborhood. 

Old Town Alexandria Walkabout

It’s been a while since we visited Old Town Alexandria. So we drove in for a morning walk last week - and of course, always order take out at Vaso’s Kitchen, park at Gravelly Point, watch the planes and eat a slice or two of pizza. But before we do that we park at Founders Park at the waterfront and start the walk. It’s so familiar to us that it’s almost like we live there. We have been visiting Old Town since before we moved to DC seventeen years ago! It’s always a treat to start along the Potomac River path and then meander along the storied streets of the town where George Washington had a townhouse. Mount Vernon is just a short way from there. There was an interesting sculpture that had water spraying from it - perfect for the dog days of summer. The silver and golden wild flowers flanked the scene. The flower boxes were filled with the best of flowers that will soon be cascading down the fronts and sides. A sure sign of summer are the magnolias that hint at southern charm. Of course the steep stair cases to the houses in town are daunting, but look nice as long as you don’t have to scale them. While waiting for our food order to be prepared we take a few minutes to sit on a bench in the shade and watch the activity - people, dogs and boats on the river. It’s always such a pleasant time.