A Sunday night walk in D.C.

The candy shop window. (Washington, D.C.)  From left to right:  The Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the Jefferson Memorial.

Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Ford’s Theater.

I have been to Washington, D.C. several times, and always find something new to see each time I visit.  This time was different.  I not only saw new things, I saw familiar things in a new way.  Since my granddaughters have never been to D.C., it was all new to them, and it was through them that the city became new again for me.

Ford’s Theater.

By the time everyone had arrived in D.C. and gotten settled in the hotel, the dinner hour was upon us so the first thing we did was set out to find a restaurant.  We had pizza for dinner our first night.  M and I could not remember the name of the great pizza place we found last time we were there so we asked the hotel concierge to help us out.  She sent us to a more upscale place than we had in mind.  The food was delicious, but I wish we had remembered Pizza π (which we saw at a later time and THEN remembered) because that would have been just as good, not as expensive, and more fun for all.  Ah well.  Next time, right?

The Petersen House.

My oldest granddaughter, Emma, was excited about being in D.C.  She is very much interested in American history, particularly the era when Abraham Lincoln was President of the U.S. so we made sure that on our after dinner walk to see the National Christmas tree we went by Ford’s Theater where Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth during a performance of Our American Cousin.  The wound was fatal and the president died in the Petersen House across the street from the theater.

Just past the Petersen House.

This was my first big trip with my big girl camera (the Canon Rebel).  I have not had much practice taking photos at night so this was a good opportunity to learn.  Some of the shots I’ll show you aren’t that great, but I want to be sure to give you a good feel for the city and at least a glimpse of some of the things we saw.  We were on the move a lot, and I didn’t want to hold everyone up while I spent time going for the best photo possible.  In other words, I did a lot of shooting on the fly.

This cracked me up.

In case I forgot to mention it, we did a lot of walking in D.C.  We took it easy the first night and only walked a mile or two.

The National Christmas Tree.

The National Christmas Tree is a large evergreen located on The Ellipse in front of the White House.  The current tree (a 28-foot Blue Spruce from Virginia) was planted in November of 2012.  There are 56 smaller cut trees, representing the states, the District of Columbia (D.C.), and unincorporated territories of the U.S., on the Pathway to Peace.

Along the Pathway to Peace.

The girls had a good time looking for their state (Ohio), and seeing the big tree.

Ohio’s tree.

We took our time walking around the trees, and then walking back to the hotel.  I think the girls enjoyed seeing the city at night.

The Washington Monument.

The dome of the U.S. Capitol Building is currently undergoing restoration so there is scaffolding surrounding it (making it look kind of fuzzy).

The U.S. Capitol Building. I’m not sure, but I think we were on Pennsylvania Avenue when I took this photo.

Accept the children the way we accept trees — with gratitude, because they are a blessing — but do not have expectations or desires.  You don’t expect trees to change, you love them as they are.

~ Isabel Allende

Nutcrackers.

The giant Nutcrackers at the Old Ebbitt Grill were a big hit.  Emma and Maddy and their mother usually try to see a production of The Nutcracker every year around Christmas.  It’s my favorite ballet, too.

Interest and wonder.

That’s about it from me on this brisk and beautiful Monday.  The sun has been shining on us all day.  It’s nice to see it.  We had a lot of cloudy days throughout our trip.  Even our return home was under cloud cover.

One of our group got to ride on her father’s shoulders when she tired of walking.

Thank you for stopping by today.  Let’s go out to the dock for sunset.  The weather folks are saying that some clouds are going to move in, and we all know that clouds can enhance a sunset if there aren’t too many of them.  I think it’s going to be a good show.  It’s at 4:57 PM.  I’ll be there about twenty minutes early with a big thermos of hot chocolate.  Bundle up.  The wind is keeping it chilly out there.

A closer look.

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂

Today’s joys:  A quiet day at home; getting most of the unpacking done; a walk in the woods and time on the dock soaking up some sunlight; watching the bluebirds; a washer and dryer to help me with all the laundry we managed to accumulate along the way.