Pentagon, Marina, and Geese

Last week we drove down the GW Parkway from Northern Virginia to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove. It’s only five miles from our house to DC; ten miles to our old house on Capitol Hill. This place is in between. We had been there at least twice before, but never in the winter. You can enter the grove from the parkway, or take the turnoff that directs you to the Pentagon. We parked in a lot just off the main Pentagon area and walked across the foot bridge over Boundary Channel where Arlington can be seen in the distance. Walking along the path we found ourselves by the marina at the other end. There’s a little restaurant at that location that is closed for the season, but a bunch of geese found the area interesting enough to hang around. We know better to stay away from them. Even though they waddle away, they can turn and become quite vicious. Nearby were boats tied to the docks. It reminded me of Florida. But the distinct difference was that the pentagon was in the background. And if you look hard enough, the Air Force Memorial can be seen behind the building. The Pentagon is massive. Then we walked back and wandered around the memorial grove. There is a great view of the Washington monument from there. Driving in to town is a great diversion these days. There are a lot of photo opportunities and a great escape from the every day routine. 

It Took Two Hours to Travel Two Miles - and the Subaru Hits a Landmark 88,888 Miles

Just as he was saying the mileage on the ten year old Subaru was 88,888, it turned to 88,889 when I got the photo. This conversation was occurring because we were traveling at a snail's pace along the George Washington Parkway at the height of the cherry blossom season and EVERYONE was heading to Washington. We made the big mistake of doing our usual Saturday routine of having breakfast in McLean, then picking up a few groceries. Getting out of town was easy but coming back in was dreadful - except the sun was out! And I was able to take photos of things that I usually can't because the car is traveling much too fast. There was a city scene from the distance, a Marine memorial, a dinner boat passing along the river, the Pentagon, and the Anacostia river along Potomac Park East.  So what is typically a twenty minute ride turned in to almost two hours because our real destination this afternoon was the Arboretum - to see more cherry trees away from the madness of the Tidal Basin. Was it worth it? I suppose so. But as it turns out some of the prettiest blooms are right in our neighborhood, but that's another story.