An Afternoon in Annapolis and Another in Washington DC

Last couple of weeks I have gotten out many times on the water. However, I still do not own a water-proof camera. There fore, my dear reader gets to see "other paddler's photos."

So, with credits in mind, here are a few pics from those two trips:

Messing around in Annapolis (credit R Dennis Greene). This was a 10 or 12 mile trip leaving Spa Creek and heading towards the Bay Bridge. We stopped south of the bridge in an area that was marked as belonging to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. We ate lunch on a sandy beach and then messed about for a bit before heading back to Spa Creek. By the way, no Ego Alley stop, it is closed off due to construction. Boo.

The next trip (below) was on the Potomac River. Dan and Dennis shot these photos. Dennis marks his with a water mark. This trip was from the Columbia Island Marina down the Georgetown waterfront. We swung around the Three Sisters (a set of huge boulders) and headed back to CIM via the Virginia side of the river.

Leaving Columbia Island

I did my little Water Gate tour guide spiel

Waiting in Rock Creek for the paddlers who were brave enough to risk the rocks further up

Aht passes the Washington Canoe Club, one of the oldest in the country

One of the Three Sisters

This is what it feels like to paddle around WDC, always beautiful

Aht is always so happy!

Pentagon at left, the end of a long day, 23 miles for me

When one lives in a "monumental place," it is easy to forget just how people who do not live here might see it. The Lincoln Monument, the Kennedy Center, the Washington Monument, the Pentagon, the Water Gate, all these loom large in our playground. And yet, they are often just landscape to me. That is, until I look over the photos and remember we live in the seat of our people's government and memory.

Allow me to wax passionate for a moment. This last photo speaks loudly, both to and for me. The lady next to me has been a legal immigrant for 30 years and is about to get her citizenship. I admire Aht, for many things. Welcome home, my friend.