Saturday Stroll Along the C & O

Okay, it wasn't a stroll, and it wasn't just along the C & O, but it is Saturday, and I like the alliteration, so there you go! A few days ago, I made plans to have brunch with my friend, Alex, at L'Enfant Cafe, at 11:30 this morning. I had planned my route around that, but when I discovered that the cafe was less than six miles from home (rather than the 8 or 9 I thought it was), I decided I had to add to my route.

Remember last week when I was frustrated not to be able to reach the Chain Bridge from the Virginia side? Well, I realized that if I walked to the Chain Bridge from the DC side, adding that distance to my walk would bring my total mileage to just about 20 miles. And when all was said and done, I covered 20.5 miles today!! It was a great walk from start to finish, with the added bonus of catching up with a dear friend along the way.

I set out from home at about 8:15 this morning, and the weather was lovely and cool.

Walking east on the Custis Trail, I enjoyed the shadiness provided by the trees over my head.

A little over two miles into my walk, I crossed over Lee Highway, passing by a pretty orange lily and an adorable little bunny as I continued eastward toward the Potomac.

I arrived at the Key Bridge at 9:00, and stopped briefly in the Francis Scott Key Park on the DC side of the bridge before heading down to the C & O Canal.

The canal runs almost parallel to the Potomac, and the tow path along its south bank has been converted into a walking trail, which runs right next to the Capital Crescent Trail. While the latter is paved, I opted to stay in the unpaved towpath, so that I could have a better view of the canal. And I'm happy I did, as it gave me the chance to take a number of pictures along the way.

From this part of the canal, just west of 34th Street, NW, I had a good view of the northernmost part of the Key Bridge.

Continuing my walk northwest along the canal, I walked by one of the entrances to Georgetown University.

I saw some sleepy mama ducks, a turtle, and a goose with her little gosling. The goose was tall: the top of her head was taller than waist-level on me!

Walking a little bit farther, I had a great view of the Potomac from the towpath and saw some kayackers out on the water.

I walked by mile marker two on the towpath, and at mile three, I stopped to take a look at the Abner Cloud House, which is the oldest existing building along the canal, dating to 1802. The house was restored in 1976 by the Colonial Dames of America, whose headquarters are located on the upper two floors of the building.

The Abner Cloud House is located adjacent to the Boathouse at Fletcher's Cove, which has occupied this location since the middle of the nineteenth century.

Does eleven geese equal a gaggle? I say yes!

It looks to me like this goose is on the outs with the eleven others. He was swimming along on his own just about 15 feet away from the gaggle.

At mile four, I passed one of my favorite sights of the day: an original towpath mile marker, dating to 1828. W.C. stands for "Washington City."

Finally, a week after my first attempt, I walked across the Chain Bridge, where I took this photo of the Potomac. As you can see, the river is much narrower here than it is at the Key Bridge crossing, three miles southeast of here.

I crossed back to the DC side of the bridge and went back down to the towpath. I opted not to cool my feet in the Potomac once I saw this warning!

Heading back toward Georgetown, I once again passed the Abner Cloud House.

The family of geese was still hanging out where I'd left them 90 minutes earlier, and this time, another gosling was with the bunch. Maybe he'd been still sleeping when I passed by earlier? The mama goose was not happy with my picture taking. She hissed at me and then began chasing me toward Georgetown!

Continuing back along the towpath, I had a great view of the Key Bridge and Rosslyn.

I left the towpath and headed east on Wisconsin Avenue, once again passing Georgetown Cupcake, as I have on several other walks. At 10:30 in the morning, the line was already halfway up the block. Never having eaten a cupcake from this store, I'm sure I'm not qualified to say, but I will anyway: Why the hype? Two dollars and three shiny quarters for one cupcake? Seriously?

From Wisconsin, I walked north on 33rd Street, passing by a pretty window box and the trolley tracks on O Street, dating to the mid-1870s. The Metropolitan Railroad Company was incorporated in July 1864, and the tracks reached Georgetown in 1876.

As I turned onto Wisconsin Avenue from P Street, I passed by Thomas Sweet. Although I've never eaten here, I smile every time I see the store, because in 1985, when my Girl Scout troop came to Washington, DC, we spent an hour looking for it. One of the girls in my troop had been here before, and we thought it would be fun to buy some ice cream here. We wandered around Georgetown, going up and down M Street and some of the side streets, but we never found Thomas Sweet. (And Georgetown in the mid-1980s was a very different place from today; men with purple and green mohawks and wearing black leather were everywhere, and it definitely was not the best place for sixty eleven-year old girls to be walking on a Saturday night!!)

After crossing Wisconsin, I continued walking eastward on P, passing by a wall that looks like it's seen better days!

I love these pretty flowers I saw as I walked north on 18th Street toward L'Enfant Cafe. Maybe Belle knows what these are, too? :)

I wasn't quite sure how long it would take me to get to the cafe from home, but I arrived only three minutes after our 11:30 meeting time, so I feel pretty good about planning the route! Alex and I had so much fun chatting, and she treated me to a delicious lunch. Although a ham and cheese crepe or a croque monsieur sounded really good to me, with almost six miles of walking still ahead of me, I thought it was better to have something a little less heavy. This decision led me to order one of the weirder meals I've ever had: french fries and a wedge of canteloupe. A strange pairing, to be sure, but delicious just the same!

Alex and I parted ways at about 12:45, and I walked southwest on Florida Avenue toward P Street.

Turning right on P Street, I soon passed over Rock Creek on the P Street Bridge.

The section of P Street between Rock Creek and Wisconsin Avenue is full of lovely houses, and I enjoyed looking at them as I kept walking. I got a kick out of the warning sign I saw in one of the gardens I passed.

After taking a quick break on the corner of P and Wisconsin to snap this picture, I walked toward the Key Bridge, stopping for a couple of minutes in Francis Scott Key Park.

Leaving the park, I walked back over the Potomac and into Rosslyn. In spite of the fact that I've lived in the area for years, I am still unnerved whenever I see a plane flying toward nearby Reagan National Airport. The plane is not as close to the building as it looks in this picture, but still, yikes!

Continuing west from Rosslyn on Wilson Boulevard, I crossed from Courthouse into Clarendon.

While I waited to cross a street in Virginia Square, I took this picture of the Maury School, which used to be the Clarendon Elementary School and is now the Arlington Arts Center. The school was named after Matthew Fontaine Maury, who served as Commander of the Confederate Navy.

Arriving finally back in Ballston, I stopped for a little rest in Wellburn Square, a small park named for Williamson Crothers Wellburn, a doctor who operated a pharmacy at this location from 1906 until 1917. He was also the county medical examiner for 30 years and helped establish the Arlington Hospital, located less than a mile from here. The sidewalk located in front of the pharmacy was the first sidewalk in Arlington County.

After a short break, I went to Potbelly, where I bought a delicious boysenberry milkshake, which I enjoyed very much as I completed the last half mile of my walk.