Long Walks On Leafy Streets

7/30/2014 Near Skyline drive, Shenandoah Mountains, VA
The past few days we have had some heavenly weather in Washington, in the very middle of summer. Instead of hot, sweaty days in the blazing sun we have had pleasantly warm, clear days with rains in the night for the plants and a cool breeze that makes it feel more like the Nilgiri hills or the rainforests of Oahu.
The World Cup is now two weeks in the past and although I am watching the Cricket games between India and England now and then I am properly into work mode now. On Friday I took the bus to the University of Maryland campus in College Park. I had nice conversations with friends and colleagues Niranjan and Larry. I am probably biased but I find mathematicians to be among the nicest and most honest people. I am spending my sabbatical leave for the next academic year at their campus. This was my first day of visiting since getting a visitor status.
I was living close to their campus when I first came to DC and used to visit quite often for various events. I have always enjoyed visiting their campus and particularly liked the walk through some quiet leafy streets from campus to the metro station. It is always great to be among young people and enjoy the lively atmosphere. It was a very pleasant day overall and I left feeling very content and relaxed. I look forward to visiting them during the next year.
That afternoon after coming home I left right away to play soccer with some people from the online social group “DC pickup soccer meetup.” I hadn’t played soccer in quite a while and so I was very excited. I took the train to metro center and from there almost ran all the way to the ellipse, that too in soccer shoes with cleats. The ellipse is a grassy area on the south side of the White House. There were a lot of groups playing soccer there, part of some soccer program. Eventually the meetup group arrived and pretty soon we almost had eleven on each side, including some women who played as well or better than most of the men. It was a bit warm but once we started playing we forgot about the heat and the sun. I was planning to play for an hour but ended up playing for almost two. Like a dog that cannot stop running when it gets into the woods, I simply couldn’t stop playing. Most of the players were probably half my age and were much quicker. They had great soccer skills too. But I managed to play a decent game, mostly in defense. Playing group sports outdoors is one of the greatest joys in life. It is also one of the best things you can do for your mind and body. My body was sore for a couple of days with muscles aching in the back, the neck and the thighs but I can’t wait to go play again. I think my fitness has improved, though, because I was able to play longer, harder and with less injury for the body than the last time I played.
On Sunday Nicole and I went to check out the new Silver Line that was opened on Saturday. Since we use the train a lot this was exciting for us, opening new areas for travel. Nicole had never been to the Tyson’s corner mall, for example. It is one of the area’s best malls. This new line connects the East Falls Church station with Reston, a distance of 11.7 miles. Eventually it is supposed to go all the way to Dulles airport. It had been 5 years in the making with many delays and everyone is happy that it opened finally.
I was particularly thrilled about the connection to the W & OD (Washington and Old Dominion) trail, a 44 mile railroad that has been converted to a hiker / biker trail. I once rode my bike on it all the way to Purcellville. On this day we decided to just walk from the Reston station to the Lake Anne plaza, a distance of about two miles. Nicole really loved walking through the neighborhood around Lake Anne, with its elegant houses with large windows offering expansive views of the lake. Reston township was developed in the 60’s and although it is all man-made I really like how the developer Robert E. Simon (who gave it the name) built this town around two large lakes, with a lot of wooded areas and walking trails. Human beings are eventually going to inhabit most of the planet, and the more we build our homes in harmony with nature the better.

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