Short Walk Weekend

I did not walk much this weekend. I really walked almost not at all, in fact. In my defense, however, I was out of town most of the day Saturday, all day Sunday, and most of yesterday. Thankfully, today was a rescheduled AWS day off for me, and I was able to get a walk in, which I wouldn't have otherwise been able to do on a Tuesday.

Before Robbie and I headed up to New Jersey on Saturday morning, I took a quick, early 3.9 mile walk around the neighborhood. As the pictures show, Saturday was a gorgeous day, cooler than the past few days had been.

Heading toward Westover, I admired many pretty flowers along the way.

Westover, located just about halfway between Ballston and East Falls Church, is home to Lost Dog Cafe, a beloved haunt of mine. Heading up Patrick Henry Drive toward Washington Boulevard, I stopped to admire more gorgeous flowers in various yards along my path.

Heading across to the other side of Patrick Henry, I walked by the Westover Baptist Church and some pretty roses in a nearby front yard.

I stopped to take a picture of the intersection of the Custis Trail and the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. This is different perspective on the trail than I'm used to; usually, I'm walking down on the trail rather than above it.

Heading into the Dominion Hills neighborhood, I stopped to take a picture of a purple hydrangea before heading up the steep hill to Wilson Boulevard and going in an eastward direction back toward Ballston.

I thought it very appropriate that I passed by Liberty Street on this Fourth of July weekend!

I saw some pretty red roses in a yard along Wilson Boulevard, and while I wanted to stop and admire the roses at the Bon Air Memorial Rose Garden, I really needed to go home and pack, so I kept going on my way.

From the rose garden, I walked eastward (and uphill) on Wilson Boulevard and stopped to take a picture of the bell at the Constitution Bicentennial Gardens. The bell was placed on the corner of Wilson Boulevard and North Geoerge Mason Drive in 1987, to commemorate the signing of the Constitution two hundred years earlier.

Crossing over Glebe Road, I stopped to read this historical marker right outside Ted's Montana Grill (which has delicious bison burgers, by the way).

As the sign above indicates, the nearby intersection has been an important location for more than 270 years and is one of the oldest crossroads in northern Virginia. It became known as Ball's Crossroads when Ball's Tavern was established nearby in 1800. From here, I walked around the corner to Manhattan Bagels, where I got an everything bagel with veggie cream cheese and an iced coffee, then headed home to pack.

Robbie, Eli, and I got on the road and began the drive up to New Jersey. We certainly were not the only ones who had decided to head north on I-95 this weekend! We arrived in Ridgewood in time for an early dinner, and while Robbie and Dad fired up the grill, Eli enjoyed romping around the backyard.

Dinner was delicious, and while we enjoyed eating on the porch, Eli took a nap.

We ended up spending about five hours with Mom, Dad, and Linda (visiting from Pathfinder Village for the long weekend), which was such a treat. Before leaving to head up to Robbie's parents' house in Carmel, we posed for this picture in the family room.

We arrived in Carmel very late on Saturday night, and the next day we awoke to heavy rain and chilly temperatures in the low 60s. We figured it was a good day to stay inside and play with puppies! Robbie's dad breeds Tibetan Terriers, and I had so much fun holding these three little four-week old puppies. The little black one was quite mischievous and curious, and Eli took quite a shine to him.

We celebrated Robbie's mom's birthday on Sunday afternoon at Arturo's and had a fun visit with extended family yesterday morning. By the time we got on the road to head back home, the rain had cleared and the weather was gorgeous. Eli enjoyed looking out the back window, but every so often, he turned toward the front to make sure we were okay. What a cutie!

We got back to Arlington just in time last night to enjoy some neighborhood fireworks, which was a great end to the long weekend. Which was made even longer for me by the fact that I got to take today off. I went for a short 6.1 mile walk as I ran some errands. I hope to take some longer walks this coming weekend . . .weather permitting.