Washington Wednesday: Gravelly Point

Ok, so this "Washington Wednesday" is a day late and promises to be short . . . A few weeks ago, Chris and I decided to celebrate our 3-year anniversary with a "date day" on one Saturday. See, I will not have a free weekend until September because of my summer teaching schedule so we decided to use one of my last weekends free to celebrate our anniversary, enjoy the nice weather, and do something new in DC. To us, that meant a picnic out at Gravelly Point.

Gravelly Point is a park in Arlington, Virginia along the Potomac River, just north of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. It's a pretty big park, with enough space for sports games, family get-togethers, etc. And, not only is the park picturesquely located along the river across from DC, but it's also an awesome place to view airplanes taking-off and landing at the airport. Plus, the Mount Vernon Trail goes right through it! Sounds pretty nice, right?

Unfortunately, in the almost 4 years that we've lived here, we've never stopped to actually enjoy Gravelly Point. We literally lived less than 3 miles from it for 2 years, we would run through it on the trail, and Chris would even drive by it every day on his way to and from work, but we never actually stopped to hang out there. That is, until our anniversary picnic a few weeks ago where we bought some cheese, crackers, fruit, and a bottle of wine (not sure if that's legal??...), parked ourselves under a tree, and relaxed while watching the planes . . . 

(for better plane pictures, check out our friend, Shea, at It's a Guy Thing who is a MUCH better photographer and has a cute little boy to boot!)

It also helps that we finished the day off with some good food and Boulevard beer at Rustico, a great restaurant in Alexandria. (For those of you that are unaware - and it's a-ok if you were - Boulevard beer is a local KC beer that just started being served at select restaurants here in DC. To say that Chris was excited for this beer is an understatement . . .)

Even though it wasn't some lavish anniversary dinner or night out on the town, it perfectly suited us and was a great and relaxing day. Chris, can we go back and do it again?

Vertical Gardening

 One of our #1 requirements when we were house-hunting was to have some kind of a backyard, or whatever kind of a backyard we could get in the city. We knew it was a long-shot in finding a place with enough green space to warrant a real lawnmower, but Chris really just wanted a back "yard" to plant some herbs, relax on our adirondack chairs, and grill. That's really it. We eventually ended up putting a contract down on a short sale house that had absolutely no backyard. Imagine that. But, thankthegoodness we got tired of waiting on that short sale and fell in love with our current house, because it has a nice little backyard patio! No grass, but areas to plant some things, to sit in our chairs, and grill!

Last year, we worked on converting some of the greenery on the patio from bushes and flowers into a little herb garden of rosemary, chives, sage, parsley, dill, and oregano. It was our first time "gardening" and we definitely learned a lot. For example, did you know that dill grows out of control? Oops.

So, this year we decided to be a little more methodical in approaching our little herb garden, aka, not planting everything in the ground and giving them free reign to grow! I had been inspired by others' garden projects that I found on blogs and Pinterest and thought that something similar would be perfect for our little "yard"!

I figured that making some kind of vertical garden to hang on the brick wall at the back of our patio would not only hide the ugly, and boring, brick, but it would also make our herb plants inaccessible to the little herd of alley cats we got going on in our neighborhood. As you can guess, it wasn't hard to convince Chris to do a projects that required measurements and using tools either!

First, let me say that you can obviously literally do a vertical garden however you want, just look at those ideas that I found. They can be hung, stood, or leaned on a wall. It can be made of clay pots, mason jars, and even gutters. It'd be perfect for people who want a little planter garden in their huge yard, and even better for those of you with tiny apartment balconies. It's really what works best for you.

What we decided to do was hang ours on the brick wall at the back of our patio. We used clay pots we bought last year, some pine boards we picked up from Home Depot, "L" brackets to hold it all together, a little paint to make it pretty, and some thick rope to hang over the ledge of the brick wall, and voila!





 As you can guess, this project was really pretty simple, especially since it was completely customizable. Chris, being the "builder" of our relationship, drew out the plans, gathered the materials, and put it all together based on what we thought would work best for our yard (aka, cover up the brick wall). All he had to do was cut the pine board into the right lengths and screw it all together. He used the "L" brackets to reinforce the shelves to the back so that it could support the clay pots and plants. The shelves may not be that pretty from the inside, because of all of the brackets and whatnot, but the paint and plants cover them up just fine and at least it won't fall apart!

Chris also used some thick rope to hang it over the top of the brick wall. We figured this way it'd be easier to take down to store next fall.

If you want to build a vertical garden just like ours, Chris gave me some pretty detailed notes to share: Vertical Garden Assembly Instructions. The notes might even be too detailed, but that's Chris for ya!  ; )

 Oh, and if you are curious about what I did to contribute to this project, besides being inspired by Pinterest, I painted the darn thing! Behr's California Poppy to be exact. It's not the best paint job in the world, but I only used half the quart I bought for it so at least I can touch it up year to year.

And, you might think that I created the cute little plant labels on the shelves, but I didn't, Chris totally did. It was his "idea," so I gave him the supplies (white spray paint and a blue acrylic paint pen) and he went to town with some scrap wood. He even made little label stakes for our herbs in the ground.

Our back "yard" patio definitely looks complete now that we have something fun hanging up on that brick wall. And, in case you are in awe of our awesome Adirondack chairs, Chris definitely built those, from scratch, for us when we first moved out here to DC! (Oh, and those cute yellow and white pillows were from KMart. I'm super proud I found them!)

So, that's our vertical garden. Super simple, but perfect for a second try at our herb garden, even if we don't have a "yard" to plant anything in!

Oh, oh! And, look at these bad boys . . .

Do you see them in that little cluster in the center of the photo? Baby strawberries!! Cross your fingers that our alley cat friends (I'm talking to you Clipper/Homie Half Ear/Socks) don't snack on them before we can!

Camping, Hiking, and History

Here's the deal, Chris and I love to go camping and hiking, but so do a lot of other people. We've had bad luck in the past where we'd driven all the way out to a park, only to find out that there were no more campsites available. Boo. So, this past weekend I was lucky enough to have a couple of days off work, Chris wanted to get away from the grind of homework, and there was no rain in the forecast, so we headed out to Shenandoah National Park, which is a couple of hours outside of DC in Virginia, to try to camp for a night and get some hiking in. And, as you can probably guess since I am writing about it, we were successful! Not only did we get to camp under a full moon, but we got in almost 17 miles of hiking. It was great to get outside, work our bodies, and get away from life for a day. A good hike and some outdoors is always rejuvenating for us!

We got to Shenandoah a little later than we had wanted, but after we quickly get our campsite set-up we hit the trails. We actually decided to repeat a hike we had tried to do a few years ago, but the pouring rain made us turn around early. The first leg of the hike was to Rapidan Camp, or Camp Hoover. But, before I get off track talking about that, here are some photos of that hike . . .

One of the first things we noticed was all of the greenery popping up throughout the park. The greens were just stunning, including these strange ferns . . .

Seriously, does someone know what these are?

We also came across a TON of deer. Seriously, a lot of deer. I probably saw more deer in those 24 hours than I have in my whole life. We came across a little herd of deer in the middle of our hike, they were all just chilling, eating some stuff. You know, doing deer things.

We saw a pretty waterfall . . .

. . . and the Blue Ridge Mountains. (Chris said they looked like a painting, and they did.)

And, I couldn't resist capturing the setting sun.

Lastly, our hike ended with a couple of miles along the Appalachian Trail which looked so serene and pretty with the grass sprouting up along the edges.

Now, as I mentioned, our hike took us to Rapidan Camp, otherwise known as Camp Hoover. Before Camp David, U.S. Presidents had other retreat locations, and President Herbert Hoover had Camp Rapidan (you can also read about it here at a NPS travel site). President Hoover and his wife, Lou Henry Hoover, desired a close retreat and settled on the 164 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains at the headwaters of the Rapidan River less than 3 weeks after his Inauguration. To reduce the Presidential budget, Hoover decommissioned the Presidential Yacht Mayflower (yes, there was once a Presidential Yacht!) and transferred its mess crew mess crew and supplies to the new camp. The camp consisted of a lodge, mess halls, cabins, an outdoor fireplace, hiking trails, trout pools, and even a mini golf course! Hoover hosted many distinguished guests while on retreat there, such as Thomas Edison, Charles Lindbergh, and the British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald (there is even a cabin for the Prime Minister at the camp).

When Hoover lost his bid for re-election in 1932, he donated the camp to the Federal government for future Presidents' use. Unfortunately, only Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Jimmy Carter visited the camp. The camp also served the Boy Scouts and other high-ranking government officials, the last one being Vice President Al Gore, before being renovated to its original condition and opening it for public access.

Ok, so now that I got that brief history lesson out of the way, here's some photos! First, the big outdoor fireplace that often served as the backdrop for many group photos.

The Brown House (in contrast to the White House, get it?!) where President Hoover and his wife stayed.

 

Another pic of the Brown House and its view of the mountain peak.

The Brown House is usually open for ranger-led tours (which we took last time we visited the Camp Rapidan site), but it was closed by the time we got there that afternoon. We learned last time though, and it still fascinates me, that the walls in between the windows could fold down only leaving a screened wall in its place. President Hoover and his wife chose this design so that the cabin felt more tent-like, reminiscent of the time they spent in mining camps.

And lastly, us!

 

We had an amazing day for hiking and camping, and soaking up some history along with it. The next day, we hiked Old Rag Mountain, a Shenandoah favorite for us which I blogged about last year, before heading home, back to life in DC. I'm so glad we got a couple of days to escape, enjoy some fresh air, get our exercise on, and explore some local history! If any of you want to go out there, you know I'd be on board!

Tourist Tuesday: Cherry Blossoms

It's only fitting that I write a Tourist Tuesday about the Cherry Blossoms since this year marks the 100th Anniversary of Japan's gift of the cherry blossom trees to the U.S. to celebrate the growing friendship between the two nations. In 1912, 3,000 cherry trees were gifted from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, DC. First Lady Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two trees from Japan on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park (around where the FDR and MLK Memorials are now). (Actually, a first batch of 2,000 trees arrived diseased in 1910, but just two years later new trees arrived and were planted.) These are the trees that now turn the Tidal Basin into a cloud of pink each spring!

Over the last 100 years, the cherry blossom trees have become staple attraction in DC, probably just as notable as some of the monuments and museums. The National Cherry Blossom Festival, which has been taking place since 1927, celebrates the gift of these trees, the Japanese and American friendship, and springtime in Washington! Usually the Festival lasts 2 weeks, but because this year is the 100th anniversary the festival is 5 weeks long (March 20 - April 27)!! Chris and I have never attended the Festival events, because while the cherry blossoms are gorgeous, I cannot stand the crowds, but, there is always a lot of fun stuff going on, such as a 10k race, a parade, and daily activities.

The Festival usually coincides with the trees' bloom (thanks to the National Park Service's predictions), however, because we had such an unseasonably warm winter, the cherry blossoms bloomed really early this year, like, two weeks ago-early. I'm definitely writing this post kinda late because some of the blooms are already being replaced by regular old green leaves. Oops! BUT, be sure to mark your calendars for next year's Festival!!

Like I said, Chris and I really don't like the Cherry Blossom crowds so we've only really walked around the Tidal Basin to take them in a couple of times. But, below are some photos I took of them two years ago (I think). The trees were right around peak bloom when I took these photos, but just google or flickr them and you'll see TONS of awesome photos of the trees, WAY better than these!

Now, like I hinted at, the Festival attracts over a million people every year. This is what some of that million usually looks like . . .

Looks like a lot of fun, right? Wrong (at least for us). If you are like us and would like to check out the Cherry Blossom trees but avoid the madhouse, here are my suggestions:

1. Go early in the morning. Not only are there less crowds early in the morning, but sunrise at the Tidal Basin would be really pretty. I wouldn't know though, I've never gone ; )
2. Go on a weekday or weeknight. Yes, there will still be the crowds of spring-breakers, but it won't be as bad as a weekend, I promise.
3. I also promise that there won't be as many crowds on a cloudy or even rainy day, that's another good time to go if you don't mind getting a little wet.
4. Avoid the Smithsonian and even the L'Enfant metro stations, but especially the Smithsonian station. They are like a cattle herd of lost tourists - crazy. Make it a day to get some exercise. Put on your walking shoes and walk from a further station. Archives/Navy Memorial is my go-to metro stop, probably because there is a Potbelly and Au Bon Pain right up the street from it, and it's on the yellow/green line where I live!
5. Lastly, just skip the Tidal Basin all together and go to the National Arboretum. I think that's what we might do this weekend, or sometime this spring. The National Arboretum has a huge variety of cherry blossom trees, including late-flowering ones! It also has what is called "Azelea Hill,"which is apparently gorgeous and may not be around much longer.So, go there!

So, that's the scoop on the Cherry Blossoms from a "Washington-insider." Even though we really don't get into the Cherry Blossom hype, they are really truly pretty, and definitely something special to the DC area, whether you see them at the Tidal Basin, around the National Mall or the National Arboretum, or just see them scattered throughout the neighborhoods!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow, PLEASE!

Who would have imagined that living out here on the East Coast would bring us the most extreme weather conditions? In the 3 and half years that we've lived out here, we've experienced blizzards (3!), a hurricane, tropical storms (2), a micro-burst (small tornado), thunder-snow, and even earthquakes (one that was too small for us to feel and, of course, the one this past summer).

Microburst Damage in Alexandria, VA

Snowmagedon, or the Snowpocalypse. Either way, that's a lot of snow!

Growing up, I thought that extreme weather only happened in the Midwest, more specifically, Missouri, but that's definitely not the case. Sure, our summers aren't as hot as Missouri's, but they're still too humid for my taste, and my hair. And, yes the winters here are definitely not as cold as Missouri's, but sometimes, when the wind is a-blowing, I do feel like I'm back on the frozen tundra that is northeast Missouri (yea, Kirksville!). Either way, we're currently experiencing another weather-extreme here in the DC area - an unseasonably warm winter.

I don't remember what the winter was like when we first moved out here, but the second winter brought us 3 blizzards and almost 2 weeks worth of snow days from work and our third winter (last year) we got a decent amount of snow ice which caused a few early-closings and late-starts at work. Now I may be spoiled, but I want my snow! Correction - I want my snow DAY! (Picture me stomping my foot and pouting. That's how much I want a snow day.) If you don't know already, I work for a local university here in DC, one that actually deems some days as "snow days." (We NEVER had a snow day during undergrad, and trust me, I remember at least 1 day that should've been snow day in my 4 years there!) So, I want my snow day!

Yes, it's lovely to have had a hardly-cold winter so far. Sure, I love 60-degree weather, especially in January. But is enough snow or ice to allow me to sleep in, go home early, or be at home all day too much to ask? Hm, Mother Nature? Hm? We've only had one good snow fall, but it didn't stick and there wasn't much accumulation anyway! Boo!

Now, I know that I'm probably acting like a 5-year old, but I don't care. I want my snow day! Cross your fingers, shake your rain stick, pray, whatever you do, but help me get a snow day! Thank you.

(And, thank you for letting me rant!)

My work has been really crummy the last couple of weeks months, to put it nicely, and so every day I hang on to those things that make me happy. My walk to work this morning was one of those things . . .

First of all, on my way to work I pass two historic cemeteries, a sprawling armed forces campus, a high school, and other various places that have a lot of green space. As you can guess though, there isn't much "green" about these spaces lately. They are literally bursting with beautiful fall colors - reds, oranges, yellows. The image below is of this magnificent tree in one of the cemeteries that I pass in the morning. Brilliant, no?

Via slack13 on Flickr

Anyway, this morning not only were all of the trees bursting with colors, but a thick fog was still hanging in the air making the colors seem even more vibrant than usual. On top of that, there was a slight breeze making it literally rain brilliant fall-colored leaves. It was gorgeous, and made me happy.

Even though I live in a huge city, I'm so grateful that I get to pass through lots of green spaces every day that often remind me that whatever crummy day I've had (or will have) doesn't really matter. Right?!

Happy Thursday, everyone!

No green thumbs in this house.

Well, Chris and I have realized that neither of us are green thumbs, and that "urban gardening," as I like to call it, is hard. Or, at least hard for us.

We* started off well. Back in March we cleared out our jungle of a front yard, digging up all of the ivy, replanting the monkey grass, and laying grass seed. See how nice it looked back then, full of potential, *sigh*...

Front Yard - March 2011

And, in our back "yard" we planted a lot of herbs, marigolds (because I read they ward off mosquitoes, who looooove me), lettuce, tomatoes, and even strawberries for fun. We were pretty excited for what this summer would yield...

Buuuuut, then the first big heat wave wiped out half of the grass in our front yard and probably about half of our herbs in our backyard. I guess we should have asked our neighbors to water all of it since we were out of town. Oops...We salvaged what we had, and trudged on.

Front Yard - July 2011
See, the left side and my hydrangeas are pretty pitiful... boo.

(As a side note, in the meantime I manged to kill two sets of flowers in the hanging baskets in our front yard and an umbrella tree, orchid, and another plant inside. Ironically, while I let the flowers outside fry from the heat and sun, I pretty much drowned our indoor plants, including the orchid. Maybe I am not the green thumb.... hm.)

As first-time "urban farmers," it has been a learning experience for us. For example, we just recently realized that our oregano was not actually oregano. Yup, they were probably weeds, or something else. Bummer. Also, did you know that dill grows craaazzy fast? Too bad we didn't need much of it, because it was probably one of our most successful herbs. Also, for awhile we couldn't figure out why our strawberries were rotting before they were ripening. Yup, we needed to lay some hay or plastic (or something) down so that the baby strawberries weren't touching the ground to avoid "soil rot." Again, oops.

Despite all of our mishaps and mistakes, we've learned our lessons. Even if at the end of this summer the only things that have survived are my marigolds (which are CHAMPS) and some herbs, we definitely learned our fair share of gardening life lessons to take into next year:

First, water is essential. We do not have much shade on our yards, so we have to be diligent about watering. And I know what you're thinking, we should be have been smart enough people to figure that one out. Nope. Lesson learned.

Secondly, research is essential. Using the strawberries as an example, I've never grown strawberries or known someone who has (which is a common thing with both of us) so, I should have researched to know about "soil rot" when berries touch the ground. Lesson learned.

Thirdly, gardening is work. I've come to the realization that I'm lazy when it comes to yard work. Probably because I want to avoid getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. Tearing out all of that ivy back in March should have been an indication of what was to come in our forays in gardening. Granted, it hasn't been back-breaking hard, but there is not room for laziness, that's for sure. Even watering the plants ever day is hard for my lazy butt to remember to do. Bummer.

Marigolds are supposed to ward off mosquitoes,
although I'm pretty sure I got bit just snapping this photo.

From front to back: cilantro, rosemary, lavender, Japanese maple,
lavender, and pineapple sage. All Successful so far.

 I'm still on the hunt for that magical garden that trims, weeds, and generally maintains itself. If you know of it, puh-leeeeaase let me know! Maybe it's a good thing that we only have 200 square feet of green space...

*Also, please note that sometimes (read: most of the time) when I use "we", I probably mean "I". But hey, it's a team effort, right?!

Old Rag Mountain

The title of this post probably sounds like either some horror film or an old Disney/Hayley Mills movie, like there are crazy mutant people hiding behind trees ready to kill your friends or as if there was some secret about the mountain that a 13-year old girl discovers . . . Sorry to disappoint you all, but Old Rag is just a mountain in Shenandoah National Park that we happened to hike this past Saturday.

Old Rag Mountain is located about 1.5 to 2 hours away from downtown Washington, DC (depending on what kind of traffic you hit on I-66) not too far from the cute little town of Sperryville, Virginia . . .


View Larger Map

Old Rag Mountain is one of the most popular hikes in Shenandoah National Park, probably because it boasts of a great rock scramble and breathtaking panoramic views of the Virginia countryside, Shenandoah Valley, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is one of my favorite hikes just because it has a good variety of difficulty levels and is 8.5 miles in total, which is good for that calorie burn!

Anyway, Chris and I had hiked it last fall, sort of by accident, so we I decided we would hike it again this past Saturday in the hopes of beating the crowds and actually enjoying the rock scramble and views. We left our house around 7am, and after stopping for gas, paying the National Park fee, and using the restroom, we started our hike around 9am. The first few miles aren't strenuous, granted, you are going up and definitely begin to feel the burn, but it is the last mile to the summit that is the most fun.

And once you reach the top, it is great to sit your butt down on the rocks, eat some snacks protein, and take in the views! (Including the crazy hiker guy we saw who was wearing something similar to snow/ski boots, pictured below.)

See the crazy boots behind me?!

Great views!

Hawk!

Demonstrating how to "hop" on the rocks.

 The hike back down is relatively uneventful. You have the usual switchbacks and then an endless fire road. The most exciting part of our hike back down were the butterflies . . .that were feeding on horse poo. Eww.

Butterflies . . . Had to!

Even though the end of the hike is kinda boring for our taste, the views and the hard work to get to the top are worth it! We got to our car a little after 1pm (4 hour hike isn't bad!) got home around 3:30pm, so it made for a great day trip and a gooood workout.

I love going out to Shenandoah to camp and hike, however, I think I really love making the trek out there because the Virginia countryside and forests remind me so much of Missouri! Love the fresh air, and endless country roads with cute farm houses and silos . . . Love the trees and hills, and the crunch of leaves and rocks under your feet . . . so, if any of you want to go hiking or camping out there with us, let me know!