Long Walks On Leafy Streets

6/24/2014 Near Skyline drive, Shenandoah Mountains, VA
The soccer World Cup fever rages on but I am trying slowly to get back to normal routine. Late last week I started sleeping normally and also slowly trying to get back to work. As exhilarating as it is to watch all these wonderful games and to see the wonderful scenery of Brazil, on TV at least, it is also exhausting. In the 10 days of the tournament they play three games every day. So by Friday of last week I was a bit sleep deprived and feeling a kind of fatigue. Also, although this has come at a time when I was planning to take a break from work, I was getting restless to get back to work.
Saturday morning I woke up at 6.30 and got ready for a hike that I had scheduled for the nature lovers’ meetup and Sierra Club. Nicole was not feeling well so I went by myself. Rain was forecast for all day on Saturday so I didn’t expect too many people.
But as it turned out no one showed up at King Street metro station for the hike. I waited until 9.15 and then left. It was gray and cloudy but not very wet. In fact except for a few drops it didn’t rain all day.
The plan for the hike was to walk on King Street and then Union Street along the waterfront, taking in the scenes of Old Town Alexandria, then check out Jones Point Park that used to have a lighthouse overlooking the wide expanse of the Potomac. After that we were to go on the Mount Vernon Trail all the way to the Dyke Marsh Wildlife Refuge. Finally the plan was to return to Alexandria and watch the World Cup game between Argentina and Iran. The total distance as planned was about 7 miles.
Since I was just walking by myself I skipped the Old Town tour and Jones Point Park and started walking straight down Washington Street to reach the Mount Vernon trail. Soon I passed the recently rebuilt Wilson Bridge. The bridge carries the beltway across the Potomac from Maryland to Virginia and when they rebuilt it they took care to incorporate a biker/pedestrian path. At this point you have a view of the bridge going over the river and the big National Harbor resort complex on the other side.
After the bridge you are walking on the Mount Vernon trail which is a paved hiker/biker trail going from Roosevelt Island in DC all the way to the house of George Washington. Here the trail runs alongside the George Washington Parkway on one side and on the other side there are wetlands on the shore of the Potomac. There is a big golf course on the other side of the parkway. The walk was very pleasant and you feel a little bit removed from the hustle and bustle of the city even though you are walking along a highway. There were many egrets and Great Blue Herons in the shallow waters near the shore as well as numerous ducks.
Soon I reached the Belle Haven marina parking lot where the Dyke Marsh Wildlife Refuge begins. This area of about 250 acres contains swamps and wetlands with cattails and tall grass. I started walking on the gravel haul road surrounded by the woods and the wetlands and it made me feel closer to nature. The gray skies and cool morning air added to the feeling of calm solitude. There was no one in the refuge although later I saw a wildlife photographer with a large camera, a fisherman and a hiker. At the end of the haul road there is a boardwalk that is built over the swamp from where you can watch the wildlife. I was able to see a Great Blue Heron catch a big fish and a red winged blackbird alight on a tree. I always enjoy seeing these blackbirds with their distinct red markings on the wings. I used to see them around the reservoir near the Howard campus but not anymore. This walk brought me back to the days of my youth when I was more carefree and spent more time in solitude. There is a part of me that is always yearning to live a life of quiet contemplation in harmony with nature. I don’t know if that will ever happen but it is nice to experience that at least for a moment.
On Sunday Nicole and I visited the Georgetown waterfront before going to watch the US-Portugal game. We sat down on the grass in the nicely landscaped waterfront park that had been finished recently. In front of us we could see the river, people enjoying themselves in boats, couples in love walking along the river and children playing in the park. We sat there and reminisced about our first date during which we sat down in that very park. The park had not been completed at that time but it was still very romantic. We chatted about all manner of things and enjoyed watching the people passing by. It was a truly peaceful and joyful afternoon that we will cherish in our memories.

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