Tag: washington dc

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general

sprung

Well, it’s comparitively warm, and quite definitely wet. I think Spring has definitely sprung in DC.

Cherry blossoms that remembered to blossom.

Flags outside the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in DC.

“… and of course we’ll have a flag out the front of the building.”
“How about two flags? One at either end? That would create a bit of a statement wouldn’t it?”
“Well, it would certainly demonstrate the patriotism of the FBI.”
“You know, I think it would be even more patriotic if we had more flags…”

There’s a thunderstorm rolling in at the moment (accompanied by a downpour that started as I was walking home with my groceries). All I need now is a verandah to sit on and watch it from.

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in slightly geekier news..

I just watched the first of the new series of Doctor Who and loved it (when shop dummies and wheelie bins go bad).

The weather isn’t looking particularly nice for climbing this weekend. It keeps looking like turning to Spring here (a nice sunny afternoon, some blue skies), then going “HAHA, FOOLED YOU AGAIN!” and being gloomy and raining for a week straight. All of the rain has led to flood warnings, and the Potomac River has been enroaching on the edges of Alexandria. I went for a ride along the bike path the other morning and several sections were under a few inches of water – there was no putting my feet up on the handlebars to get through either, I never would have made it out the other side just by cruising (although that would have created an amusing spectacle for passers-by).

blossomI was hoping to go and look at some of the Cherry Blossom Festival festivities as well this weekend (DC has a Cherry Blossom Festival thanks to a gift of 3000 cherry trees from the Mayor of Tokyo in 1912), but the cherry trees seem to be determined not to bloom. And although I’m sure the festivities will be nice, I don’t think it will be quite the same if we’re just wandering around dead trees.

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it’s still snowing…

more snow

I’ve spent most of today staring out windows in amazement. I’m from Australia, we don’t have snow down there you know. The previous sentence was a lie – I think the main novelty is that I’ve never been in a city with snow before. And the only trees I’ve seen covered in snow are snow gums, and the whole effect is entirely different. Washington seems to close down when it snows. Everyone has either not gone to work, or come home early. The schools are closed, the malls are full, and there are constant updates on the TV about the weather situation, and where the crashes are interfering with traffic flow. I’m glad I’ve managed to catch at least one lot of snow before Spring kicks in properly.

Edit: Oh, but the climbing gym is closed because of the snow, so no climbing tonight :(

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general

chinese new year

lantern

We went to the Chinese New Year parade in Chinatown in DC yesterday. I was thinking it was my first ever parade, but I’ve the feeling I skipped out on a Physics lab with my lab partner back in 3rd year, and went and saw the Australian Olympic team parading through the streets after the Sydney Olympics. There was a lot more jostling on the pavement for this parade, and a lot more noise. Nearly every kid there had a box of this stuff that looked like sawdust, but made a loud exploding noise when they threw a pinch of it at the ground. If I was a chemistry geek I’d probably realise what it was. I was suprised they were allowed to have it actually, it wasn’t very stable stuff, I had my ears set ringing when a guy standing behind me had some go off in his hand (his girlfriend was unimpressed as well).

The parade itself wasn’t as long as I thought it would be, and there was no enormous dragon, although there were lots of smaller ones. The group that got the biggest cheer was the bunch of cheerleaders dancing energetically infront of the marching band.

The cutest dragon of all was this little boy though.

lantern
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general hiking

leafless

I went hiking in Great Falls Park today. There were frozen waterfalls, and icy puddles, and trees without leaves. Hoards and hoards of trees without leaves. I can understand now why people get so excited about the leaves in autumn (or fall), as it would be pretty spectacular. Just about all Australian natives are evergreens, so our autumn isn’t anything special.

These are the Great Falls of the Potomac. Hmm, apparently many people consider them to be the most spectacular natural landmark in the Washington DC area (according to google). The Potomac is actually the dividing line between Maryland and Virginia – these photos were taken from the Maryland shore. More photos if you click on the link thingo underneath (the later photos are taken further downstream, earlier on in the hike).

Potomac at Great Falls
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