In Our Nation's Capital

Finally - D.C. for some serious exploring.  First on Harold's list . . .

. . . check out The Smithsonian!!

We started at the Information Center in the Castle.  This is a really impressive and beautiful building - but it's not exactly "the museum".  The Smithsonian is actually an educational and research institute with a complex of associated museums.  

In the castle cafe we met Martin - friendly & interesting fellow from 

Barcelona.  St. Lucia is his home now - he says "it's paradise." 

(I think we may need to go there one day!) 

We knew we had a lot of ground to cover in D.C., so we schlepped our bikes into the city on the subway train.  Pedaled down by our nation's grand Capitol Building and all around the National Mall.

What an awesome place to be !!

In front of the U.S. Botanic Garden . . . 

. . . . and inside their enormous greenhouse . . . a lush green and flowery feast for the eyes!

Can't resist sharing some of these . . .

The orchid collection?  Unbelievably gorgeous and amazingly diverse!!

Our bike ride took us all along the Mall (it's about 2 miles from one end to the other), past the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial and down to the awe-inspiring Lincoln Memorial, Viet Nam War Memorial and Korean War Memorial - each one a point for some emotional reflection!

Found here the name of an old high school pal - sad.

So far we've spent seven days in D.C. visiting monuments, museums, memorials and more!! I thought I'd never get Harold out of the Air and Space Museum!

Wright Brothers first actual flying airplane!!  (??)

 And a couple of other historic aircraft . . .

We enjoyed the American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery so much that we went there three times!!

Since we have our scooters, here's what we do . . ride our scooters from Greenbelt National Park where we're camped to the Metro Station, take the subway train to D.C., then jump on our bikes!  The scooter ride takes us through a pretty section of the Park where sometimes we see deer along the way!

She was one of three here this day!

So, I'll explain about the bikes!  It's a bit of a hassle to take bicycles on the subway train, and bikes are permitted thereon only at limited times!  We decided to take them to D.C. and leave them locked up there nights so they'd be there for us each day!  Great plan - and it worked for 5 nights!  Then yesterday we pedaled over to a museum and parked (locked). Came out a few hours later - cable lock cut - Harold's bike and helmet vanished!!  Well, as Mike would say, guess someone needed it more than Harold did!

. . . before the evil deed!

Hey, do you do Skype?  We finally got with the program and Alessa did the same.  (Thank you, Pinky!)  Now we get to have face-to-face visits with Graydon.

Our first Skype call - Graydon said,
"Gramps?  (pause)  I LOVE you!!"

He is soooo sweet - and he sure does love his Gramps!!

And then, off exploring again . . 

I really wanted to go up in the Washington Monument, but you have to get in line very early to get a ticket!  When the alarm buzzed at 6 a.m. I had to ask myself WHY are we doing this?  But we got there in time, got tickets, and it was SO worth it!! 

From the top of the Monument looking down the Mall toward the Capitol Bldg.

Next we pedaled over to the Bureau of Printing & Engraving and went on a little tour.  This is where U.S. money is made.  We saw literally MILLIONS of dollars!!!

Wandering through the Smithsonian Castle, we stumbled upon this exciting and eclectic collection of goodies in a most beautiful gallery.  Here we saw, among other things, Kristi Yamaguchi's skates!

Having heard they were not to be missed, we took ourselves on a night tour of the monuments on our bikes.  Starting at dusk, we watched a bit of soccer in front of the Capitol Building, just as the lights were coming on.

Soccer on the National Mall . . . 

. . . and the Washington Monument all aglow!

. . . and the very beautiful World War II Memorial.

Then, of course, old Honest Abe . . .

in the spectacular Lincoln Memorial

We rode over and saw The White House all lit up, too, but couldn't get a good night shot . . . .

So I returned the next day while Harold was at the Air and Space Museum (again!) and got a bit closer . . .

Pedaling back to meet up with Harold, I meandered through the National Sculpture Garden - fun!

So any of you youngsters know what this is?

Yesterday we had another fabulous day in D.C. at the most extraordinary National Museum of Natural History.  Here are a few of the choice exhibits . . .

In the Museum rotunda - spectacular!

In the Mammal Hall - very life-like action displays!

Harold admiring an array of BATS!!

some cool skeletons!!

. . . and the actual Hope Diamond!
(pretty pretty!)

When we left there, that's when we discovered that Harold's bike was gone!!

The beautiful Smithsonian Castle from across the way . . .

So, today we got up and went shopping - bought Harold a new bike! Tomorrow, hopefully, we'll pedal on out to Arlington National Cemetery and most likely a few other places, too.  And we still have another museum or two on our to-do list . . . 

See ya next time!  

Kickin' back at Greenbelt National Park

Sad to say our mad dash to get to D.C. in time to see the cherry blossoms was in vain!  We rushed into our nation's capitol city last week, hopeful of seeing cherry trees still in bloom. 

Here we are on the Metrorail into D.C. - the last leg of our "mad dash"

We were awed by the sight of the Washington Monument
 as we continued on our blossom quest.

But most of the blossoms we saw were dotting the sidewalks and grass or floating on the water.  Did see a few stragglers clinging to their branches, so snapped a few pics and, basically, called it good. 

. . . blooms afloat in the Tidal Basin

A few clinging die-hards survived the morning's torrential downpour!

Use your imagination to see the soft pink blossomy hue . . .

I can actually see the profusion of warmly pink and puffy blossoms in my mind, so that will have to do for now – though I seriously hope to return one day to see them for real! 

We had just a a quick visit to D.C. before it was time to fly off to Phoenix. We went to join family in remembering a dear brother-in-law who left us last November. A sad occasion, saying good-bye to Glenn, but good visiting with many loved ones who came from far and wide for the celebration of his life.

Now we're back in Maryland, where we'll call Greenbelt National Park home for a couple of weeks while we explore D.C.

"Home Sweet Home" at Greenbelt NP

Tomorrow - the Smithsonian and who knows what all . . . .   tell ya all about it in a week or two!

Shenandoah

Our scoot yesterday was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.  OMG – how to describe it??

It was a perfect scooter road, taking us down along the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We were in Shenandoah National Park on Skyline Drive, a scenic route that twists along for over 100 miles through the park. The park is at the northern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which, I learned today, are part of the greater Appalachian Mountain system – all very complicated geologically, but beautiful and wonderful in scope and view.

All along the way, we were treated to the most magnificent vistas of the lush, sprawling Shenandoah River Valley to the west and the awesome Piedmont to the east. The day was a bit hazy, so pics aren’t as good as I’d like, but hopefully you’ll get the idea . . .

The awesome Shenandoah River Valley - above & below

And the Piedmont - what a view!

There are points along Skyline Drive where the Appalachian Trail crosses the road, so we stopped at one and set out for a little walk along the trail.

Heading out on the Trail

 A few shots from our "hike" on the Appalachian Trail . . .

 And then we scooted on down the road to the 25 mile marker!

After that, it was time to head back.  Sorry to say we saw no bears today and not much other wildlife really.  It was a warm and sticky day, so I guess they were all napping!

There goes Harold down Skyline Drive!

Made it back to the RV Park happy from our scoot but, after a total of more than sixty miles on Kiwi and Blondie today - kinda tired and with very sore behinds!!

Well, tomorrow we're off to Washington, D.C.  We plan to stay there for two or three weeks, camped at Greenbelt National Park - just a quick metro ride from all the sights to be seen in our great nation's capitol!  Bye-bye 'til the next post!