Full Bloom

As promised, this is the flower after only two more days!

Peeking

An Amaryllis flower that Jen bought for the house. After a quick wikipedia search, it appears that what we actually have may be a Hippeastrum. Whatever, it's purdy and "Christmassy". Stay tuned for the full bloom.

Drumline

We walked the Help the Homeless Walkathon this weekend. There were a bunch of groups along the route providing entertainment: guitarists, a acapella singing groups, and this all-female drumline.

Fall Colors

Obligatory Fall leaves changing colors picture. This one was taken on Independence Ave near Eastern Market.

Worried

She wants to know where the rest of the pack is!

Welcome

Sticking with the Halloween theme today. My crafty (in a good way) neighbor made this for their door. Watch out for the little ghosts and goblins as you drive home tonight!

Halloween House

This person went all out on their Halloween decorations. Check it out in person if you are anywhere near Capitol Hill! You can find it at the corner of 13th St and South Carolina Ave SE.







Can't make it to DC? Check out the rest on flickr.

Upside Down

I think this is what my dog does while we are gone during the day.

Top of the World

At the summit of Old Rag Mountain.

Summit Nap

Jen and I hiked Old Rag Mountain in the Shenandoah this weekend. The weather was perfect! There are some tricky spots along the rock scramble, but it is definitely worth it. This is Jen resting at the top after we ate our turkey sandwiches. Be careful if you use the google map directions linked from the hikingupward.com page. We found out the hard way that Trails End Lane is actually a private drive that is blocked. We then spent a good 30-45 minutes driving on gravel roads looking for the parking lot. Coming from the DC area, instead of turning onto Rolling Road, go straight for about 5 miles and you will see signs for Old Rag.

Quote of the day: "That's what I do, dwell!" after Jen had asked me not to dwell on the fact that we got lost.

Pentagon Memorial

I saw the dedication ceremony of the Pentagon Memorial on 9/11/2008 on television while I was in AZ last week, and I visited it in person a few nights ago. The concept is pretty simple, but there are a lot of small touches that add up to a nice memorial. There is a single bench for each person that died in the attack. Each row of benches represents the birth year of the victims. The benches are arranged so visitors face the Pentagon to read the names of victims that were in the building, and visitors face the sky when reading the names of victims that were in the plane. There are 184 benches total. Seeing all 184 benches lit up at night really makes you think about the individuals that were lost.

Veronica has a wonderful account of her experience that day in 2001. Personally, I was in my car on the way to class that morning when I first heard the news. I remember most people being very scared, and there were rumors of other buildings being hit like the State Department building. I don't think I will forget how quiet the rest of the day felt except for the sound of occasional fighter jets flying overhead. I encourage everyone to visit the memorial if they are anywhere near Washington, DC. Here are some pictures that I took over the weekend:











See the rest here on flickr.

Paint Branch Stream

Had to dig into the archives to get a new post up. I've been out of town on travel, so I haven't had the chance to take any new pics. Someone asked if they could use this image in their publication. It had to do with cleaning the Anacostia watershed. I didn't think that this was a particularly strong picture, but it's a nice compliment.

Up for air

We took a short trip to the zoo this weekend to see the California sea lions get trained and fed. One of the nice perks about living in the city is that you don't feel like you have to take an entire day to tour the museums and parks. You see something that looks fun, and you go. The sea lions get fed daily at 11:30. Go an hour earlier and watch the otters get fed, too.

Bike Commute

While we are on the subject of transportation, this is how I got home from work on Friday. I actually wasn't supposed to go over this bridge, so I had to backtrack just a bit. WABA has links to a bunch of maps that helped me get from Beltsville to Capitol Hill. I used the one on this page for the Beltsville/College Park area. Be sure to print it out in color since the trails are color coded. It's a fun way to get around, and it doesn't take any gas!

My Rides

How I get around. 2007 Honda Civic Si and 2007 Kawasaki Ninja 250. Both small, (relatively) fast, and high revving. Which one will get upgraded first? Civic->BMW 335i? Or Ninja->Honda CBR F4i?

I was considering the new 135i, but I can't justify it to myself...

More Quiet Waters

I promised more pics of our trip to Quiet Waters, and here they are.



Leaving Eastern Market



Farrah testing the waters



There's no way that Riley is setting foot in the water



Not sure what Jen is looking at



The German Shepherds weren't afraid of the water



Post swim


See the rest on flickr.

Doggie Paddle

This is Farrah's first swim! Michael Phelps has nothing on my dog. Ok, that's a lie since she lasted about 3.5 seconds in the water before scrambling back to shore. We took the dogs to Quiet Waters near Annapolis, MD over the weekend where they have a dog beach as well as a regular dog park. I will post more pics from this trip tomorrow.

Union Station

The outside of Union Station at night.

Stairway to...

the upper level at Union Station

Movie Crowd

Jen and I went to watch Superman on the Mall last night. It was the last movie for HBO's Screen on the Green. We got there around 7:30. As you can see, it was already packed! Next year, we'll have to get there a little earlier. Another tip for those of you who might go next year: sit far away from the truck with the projector. The generator is loud and can drown out the sound.

It wasn't too bad though because Jen is a planner extraordinaire. She bought some cheap beach chairs and prepared a nice picnic. She also knows that I am unable to watch a movie without popcorn (it's half the fun!). A couple friends joined us right when the movie started.

Oh, and I forgot how cheesy the interactions between Superman and Lois Lane are.

You can check out the rest of the pics on flickr

Lucky?

I'm half Irish (the better half), so I had to take a pic of these clovers. :) Here are the rest of the photos from Deep Creek on flickr.

Swallow Falls State Park

Taken near Deep Creek Lake, MD. I was experimenting with slow shutter speeds.

Trippy

Taken in Swallow Falls State Park near Deep Creek Lake, MD.

Slacker

I've been slacking with the posts lately due do my trips to San Francisco, Yosemite, and Deep Creek Lake. Next week should be much better. SF was good, but I wish I had less work and more play. Yosemite was amazing. I will definitely be back. Check out Tim's description of our trip. He has a much better memory than me. They all got to do a lot more touring since I was at work during the day. All of the food listed was good, but Yang Sink was a bit overpriced. I now crave dungeness crab almost daily.

The Half Dome hike is intense, but worth it. Too bad I left my camera batteries at the cabin! D'oh! Check out the pics on Tim's site though. Here are some pics from when I did have my batteries:


The entrance to Golden Gate Park from the beach



Random kid playing with sticks on the beach



Sea Gull by Golden Gate Park and the beach



Dude going fishing



Lower Yosemite Falls



Chris, Tim, and John in the pool below Yosemite Falls. I was the first one to brave the cold waters! It was freezing cold even in July, but it was worth it to stand under the falls.


My entire SF set is here, and the Yosemite one is here. If you are a flickr friend, you should be able to see all of them. It was a great trip with great friends. Good stuff.

Pics from Deep Creek coming soon...

Sunbathing

A couple of large birds that were spreading their wings along the Little Devil's Stairs trail in Shenandoah National Park. We did a "training" hike for next weekend. Off to Yosemite!

All signs point to...

Haven't had an opportunity to take the camera out lately. Here's one I took earlier this month. I guess if you need a sign, this is the place to go.

Man's Best Friends

Farrah, who apparently tried to steal cookies from the cookie jar yesterday. Very sneaky!


And Riley, who is only running this fast because she thinks I have a treat for her.


Hmmm....maybe we don't feed them enough. ;)

3 Billy Goats

A few weeks ago, we were out and someone brought up the Billy Goat Trail in Great Falls. Well, I had never been there, so timfred suggested we do a Saturday morning hike. In typical fashion, there was little planning besides a Friday night call where we agreed to meet at 8 am off of MacArthur Blvd past Falls Road.

The next morning, I printed off two sets of directions to the "Billy Goat Trail" and we were off! On our way there, we passed several dozen cyclists on Clara Barton Parkway and MacArthur Blvd. Seems to be a very popular place to ride on the weekend. There are lots of giant hills though. You have been warned!

We pull into an entrance by the Old Anglers Inn. Some confusion follows...I call timfred to verify the meeting point...jokingly blame Jen for the miscommunication...get a physical beating from Jen...finally end up meeting by the visitor's center. By the way, I recommend parking by the Old Anglers Inn if you get there early enough (around 8 am on Saturday). It's close enough to the trail head and it's free! Try this link for a good description and driving directions.

Anyway, a good time was had by all. Section A of the trail has a lot of rock scrambles and great views of the river. Section B is much more flat. Check out some of the highlights:


Water levels were pretty low today


The Potomac


Lover's Rock


We must have seen at least 30 turtles!


Spent way too much time trying to photograph dragonflies


Very regal looking bird that posed along the C&O Canal

Also spotted were deer, frogs, and snakes. Check out the rest of the set on flickr. Great idea, timfred!