Townhouses in Eastern Market

A charming street near Eastern Market. How long til I can afford a house there??

Rainy Day …

… brings out huge slugs!! This guy was probably three inches long, hanging onto the wall just outside my door. It was actually after dark when I took the picture, so I couldn’t see the cool spotted pattern til it showed up in the flash. Pretty neat, huh?

More flowers

I thought this was the coolest flower ever – tie-dye tulip!

Birds and Boats

Looking out over the water from Navy Yard.

USS Barry

A slightly further-away shot of the USS Barry at Navy Yard. Some history, all taken from the nice pamphlet they gave out:

The USS Barry is a destroyer in the Forrest Sherman class, commissioned in September 1956 in Boston. The Barry originally had an overall length of 418 feet, but was later extended for sonar. She can accommodate 22 officers and 315 enlisted sailors. The Barry participated in the Cuban Quarantine during the Missile Crisis in October 1962, and later served in Vietnam and Korea. She was credited with destroying over 1000 “enemy structures.” The Barry was decommissioned in 1982 and designated as a permanent “visit ship” at the Washington Navy Yard.

Navy Yard

Today we went to Navy Yard! After quite a walk – you have to wander all the way around before you find the visitors’ entrance – we finally found the Navy Museum. They have a great display ship and quite a big museum, with all kinds of cool stuff covering the whole history of the Navy.

This is the ship outside (or a section of it) – the Destroyer USS Barry, commissioned in 1956. Another pic tomorrow!

Another canal pic…

A final shot of the canal last week when we stopped for lunch. It seems to have turned warm for good here and everyone is out taking advantage of the beautiful weather!

Spring = new life!

I took this at work today (yay for days when the picture comes to you!). The administration actually had to send out an email a while back to tell people not to feed the geese as they can fend for themselves. As everyone knows, mother geese are quite defensive, and this family has nested close to one of our entrances. They’re also not terribly photogenic as they tend to turn and go the other way every time you get close … and mama goose hisses at you.

Anyways, continuing a theme this week, another beautiful thing about DC in the spring!

You guessed it …

Another flower pic today – this one of the cherry blossoms from a couple weeks ago. Happy Earth Day everyone!

Yet more spring flowers …

What can I say, I’m just a sucker for a tree in bloom. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a state with a lot of snow. Anyways, no idea what this tree is, but it was beautiful. Also at Arlington National Cemetery last week.

Another view of the canal

Strolling next to the Potomac canal last week. More on this canal in yesterday’s post.

A smidge of history

What is a mule doing in downtown DC, you might ask? I was sure surprised … we stumbled across this fellow just off a Potomac canal in Georgetown.

Turns out, this is just part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, an important waterway back in the day. Built between 1825 and 1850, it stretches 185 miles and connects the Potomac with the Ohio River! (I’m from Ohio, so I appreciate this heroic effort to connect Ohio to the outside world.) The entire Canal, from what I understand, now belongs to the Park Service and is a National Historic Park. The mules used to help pull the boats through the locks, but now mostly seem to pose for pictures. The locks on the canal still work, and you can take a boat ride up the canal for just five dollars! Otherwise you can stay on shore and take pictures for free.

Pope and security detail …

Another pic of the Popemobile along with its impressive security escort.

Popemobile

Pope in Popemobile yesterday as he traveled down Pennsylvania Avenue after his meetings at the White House.

Arlington Cemetery again

Another pic from Arlington National Cemetery. According to the brochure I picked up, the cemetery is the resting place for over 290,000 servicemen, women, and their families, and an additional 24 burials take place every day.

The land for the cemetery formerly belonged to the family of Robert E. Lee, and Congress paid Lee’s heir $150,000 for the title to the land.

About the Tomb of the Unknowns, pictured yesterday – this is the burial site of an unknown serviceman who served in WWI and was buried in 1921. Later, unknown servicemen from WWII and Korea were also interred at the site. The Third U.S. Infantry maintains a round-the-clock vigil in front of the Tomb.