Botanical Bikes and Baseball

I've been in a strange lull between feeling like a productive prodigy some days, and a stereotypical listless modern millennial on the others. So in typical fashion, instead of taking initiative after a fairly good work day, I'm going to write a fairly traditional update of a blog post highlighting what I've been up to.

Over the past couple of weeks (actually month and a half really), I've been up to some really cool stuff. Washington DC has so much to offer, see, and enjoy, and I've been relishing in the wonderful (sometimes excessive) warmth that the once marshy capitol has to offer.

Recently I went to go see the corpse flower in bloom at the United States Botanical Gardens. It didn't stink quite as bad as it had the day before, but it was still quite a site to see.

As the largest unbranched inflorescence in the plant kingdom, this plant grew to it's max to be 7 feet 4 inches. It was quite a site to see. Also, the spadix (the center of the plant) maintains around the human body temperature (98.6°) during bloom to help it spread it's stench to attract pollinators.

Another interesting part of the whole process was the botanical gardens had their botanist artists in residence drawing and sketching the plant for their records and documentation.

Another highlight of the past month was my first real live baseball game. I attended two games where the Pittsburgh Pirates faced off against the Washington Nationals (Nats for short). The first game, which the Nats won, was delayed for 40 minutes due to rain. The afternoon downpour reminded me of the daily storms we get in Ohio after a long, hot day. Afterwards though, there was a beautiful sight over Nationals Park:

I loved both games. I didn't quite realize how fun it could be to be at a game in person, and to enjoy the cheering, drink and eat ballpark food, and hear the noises up close and personal as bats hit the ball, and runners cleared the bases.


Finally, I took one of my longest (and best) bike rides on the entirety of the Capital Crescent Trail the past weekend. I set out later in the day on a Saturday, and took the Metro up to Silver Spring, Maryland where the trail begins. The temporary trail runs through a small neighborhood and ends up on a crushed gravel path for the first 4 miles from Silver  Spring to Bethesda. At one point the trail crosses an old railroad trestle across Rock Creek and gives you a great view of the creek and valley below:

As you enter Bethesda the trail enters what is known as "The Tunnel" (even though there are a couple of tunnels along the length of the trail. On maps I saw this part of the trail cutting through the literal center and downtown of Bethesda and I always wondered to myself how it did that. Well literally the downtown is built on an elevated platform to make the Metro station and bus bays work, and underneath all of that infrastructure is the bike path.

Once through Bethesda, the trail follows an old railroad bed down in a crescent shape (hence the name) to the Georgetown Waterfront Park. About halfway down the trail meets the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and it's towpath, which people still hike on. (The towpath, mostly intact and usable, actually serves as a major trail leading into and across the Appalachian Mountains for serious trekkers.)

The canal also serves as a historic park with different historical sites to visit along the way, including the Abner Cloud House. Many people launch kayaking trips from here, and also use it as a good fishing spot. The entire canal (and bike trail) serve as a wonderful natural retreat from the stuffy and stately DC.

A look down the towpath. You can see the Capital Crescent Trail to the right, and the C&O Canal to the left.

Finally, when riding into Georgetown you come across views of the Key Bridge (named after Francis Scott Key), the Potomac, and the Rosslyn skyline (an unincorporated area just across from the District in Northern Virginia).

Key Bridge with the Washington Monument in the Background

Rosslyn Skyline

After all is said and done, I am finding so much to do and see in this area. Looking back on it, I am so glad I live in the District rather than in one of the suburbs in other states. I didn't realize how much I liked the dense urban grid, with it's good public transportation resources. (I mean Metro catches on fire, but it's still more frequent and useful than smelly old buses I would take in Vancouver.) I know I should try to evaluate a place based on it's own characteristics and not how it compares to other places. But I can't help compare it to Portland (or Vancouver).

The denser city and planning involved with it just makes so much more sense and is hella' more accessible. I haven't experienced this level of freedom and enjoyment out of a place since I lived in Barcelona, and that was only for six weeks. Does it get a little cramped? Yes. Does it get a little annoying not having solitude sometimes? Yes. But it's worth the trade off to be active, healthy, and to satisfy my sense of discovery every day. While I don't like to relegate myself to absolutes, it looks like it's going to be city living for me for at least a couple of years.