local travel

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In and Around DC: Activities Spring 2026

A dogwood, Virginia’s State Flower, in bloom in early Spring 2026.

Since arriving in Washington, D.C., C and I have tried to make the most of my posting here by exploring the city and the surrounding region whenever we can. Whether visiting museums, attending special events, or discovering places just beyond the Beltway, we have enjoyed experiencing all that the National Capital Region has to offer. While Spring 2026 brought more challenges than we expected, we still found opportunities to get out, explore, and make a few more memories together.

The first activity we tried this spring was Puppy Yoga. With Washington’s unpredictable weather in late March, it seemed like a good choice. As it turned out, we could not have asked for a more beautiful day, with warm temperatures and clear skies.

We took the Metro to Rosslyn and then walked across the Francis Scott Key Memorial Bridge, perhaps my favorite bridge into Washington. The bridge offers beautiful views of the Potomac River, and I especially enjoy seeing the towers of Georgetown University rising above the trees.

Each week, Puppy Yoga features a different breed. We lucked out with the puppies that day as the featured puppies were corgis, C’s favorite kind of dog. They were absolutely adorable. There was also one especially friendly Bernedoodle puppy that “attacked” both C and me with enthusiastic face licks. We had 45 minutes of yoga instruction, with puppies on the loose, followed by 30 minutes of puppy playtime. The time was very generous. We all got enough puppy time, and for those who wanted the yoga – like me – we had an excellent session. I found the whole thing therapeutic. We enjoyed it so much we returned for more puppy yoga six weeks later.

Getting our therapy done with adorable puppies and yoga; the puppies alternate between rambunctious and exhaustion

Two weekends later, we were greeted with another beautiful spring day. My plan was to take C to the Bluebell Festival at Riverbend Park, a beautiful Fairfax County park adjacent to Great Falls National Park. For just a few weeks each spring, Virginia bluebells blanket parts of the park in a carpet of delicate violet-blue wildflowers.

Unfortunately, it seemed everyone else in Northern Virginia had the same idea. By the time we arrived, the parking lots were full and park staff had stopped admitting additional visitors.

Rather than call it a day, C asked if we could go to Annapolis, Maryland, instead. Now that she is firmly in the Sea Scouts, she had expressed an interest in visiting America’s Sailing Capital and the U.S. Naval Academy, and I had been telling her for some time that I would take her. Annapolis was certainly not nearby, but with such a beautiful day, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make the trip.

The Maryland State House, the country’s oldest state capitol in continuous legistative use seen from blooming tulips; C at the Annapolis City Dock

We strolled along the historic streets of downtown Annapolis, visited the campus of St. John’s College—the nation’s third-oldest college after Harvard University and my alma mater, William & Mary—and popped into the Museum of Historic Annapolis along the waterfront. Unfortunately, the United States Naval Academy was closed to all visitors due to security protocols, so C drowned her disappointment by picking up some USNA merchandise at a shop on Main Street.

A few hearty bluebells remained

With temperatures climbing into the mid-80s—almost unheard of in early April—we were not especially hungry. Instead, we each got an ice cream and sat by the city dock enjoying a little taste of summer in April while watching the boats and the people go by.

Two weeks later, while C was away on a Scout campout, I returned alone to Riverbend Park. The peak bloom for the Virginia bluebells had passed, though a few patches were still hanging on. The festival crowds were gone, and while there were still plenty of other hikers enjoying the beautiful spring morning, the trails felt wonderfully peaceful. I spent a couple of hours wandering through the woods, occasionally emerging along the banks of the Potomac before the trail disappeared back beneath the trees. It was a wonderful way to spend a spring morning and a welcome chance to slow down and enjoy being in nature.

In late April, I drove C to New York so she could participate in Sea Scout University, hosted by a New York-based Sea Scout ship at SUNY Maritime College. The college is located on the narrow peninsula of Throggs Neck in the Bronx and occupies part of historic Fort Schuyler.

Rather than make the long drive early Saturday morning, we left Virginia after work and school on Friday afternoon and spent the night at a hotel in Flushing, Queens. The following morning, I dropped C off at Sea Scout University, where she spent the day taking classes and meeting Sea Scouts from other ships, primarily from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. I had planned to spend the day sightseeing while she was in class, so I drove out to Oyster Bay on Long Island in hopes that the weather might improve. Unfortunately, the steady rain never let up, and my sightseeing plans were largely washed out.

Sea Scout University took place in the classrooms of the Maritime Industry Museum at Fort Schuyler on the campus of SUNY Maritime College; C had an opportunity to try the same navigation simulator as the college students

At 5:00 p.m., I picked C up from the college, and we began the drive back to Virginia. Despite missing out on some exploring of my own, I never mind a good road trip with my kiddo. And though brief, we had an opportunity to see more of New York outside of Manhattan.

Our next adventure came about through one of C’s Scouting commitments. In addition to being active in her own troop, she serves as the Den Chief for a Webelos den in a local Cub Scout pack. As part of that role, we joined several of the Cub Scouts and their families for an afternoon of kayaking on the historic Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park at Pennyfield Lock.

Although showers had been in the forecast, they never materialized. Instead, we enjoyed two wonderful hours paddling along a particularly scenic stretch of the canal. Surrounded by lush greenery and the quiet waters of the C&O Canal, it was hard to believe we were only a short drive from downtown Washington. It was another perfect spring afternoon.

C paddles ahead of me on the C&O Canal at Pennyfield Lock

By May, however, the season took an unexpected turn. With our apartment move scheduled for the end of the month, just after Memorial Day, I had intentionally kept our calendar fairly light. C had a one-night biking campout with her Scout troop at Antietam one weekend and later traveled with her Sea Scout ship to Sea Scout Academy at Fort Monroe. My plan was to spend those weekends preparing for the move.

Then, on Mother’s Day, everything changed.

While standing in my kitchen on the morning of May 10, I was suddenly hit with searing, electric pain that shot from my lower back down my leg. I had not lifted anything or twisted awkwardly. I had simply been standing there. The pain was so intense that I froze in place for several minutes before I was finally able to limp to the sofa.

My recovery has been slow, and I have been much more limited in what I can do. After the move, we did manage one outing: a Washington Spirit match at the very end of May. I had purchased the tickets before my injury as a little treat to celebrate getting settled into our new home. For the half of the game I actually saw, it was an exciting match, and the Spirit won. Unfortunately, I spent the other half either in the stadium’s medical unit asking for pain medication or waiting in line to buy us hot dogs for dinner. It was not exactly the evening I had envisioned.

Although Spring 2026 did not unfold quite as I had envisioned, C and I still managed to get out and try a few new activities, discover a few new places, and, most importantly, spend quality time together. As summer begins, C is off enjoying her summer camps while I am taking things a little easier and focusing on my recovery. With a bit of luck—and a lot of physical therapy—I hope to be back on my feet and ready for our next big adventure.

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In & Around DC: Autumn 2024 Activities

C sits in the autumn splendor of Gulf Branch Park

Autumn is when Foreign Service Officers about a year out from the end of an assignment bid for their next position. As I had just started a new job, I was exempt from taking part, but soon I began to see a flurry of excited postings online about where my friends would be going next. I am not a fan of how we go about obtaining our next assignments (I honestly do not know anyone who is), but I do feel a twinge of envy when others are going through it. Next year I will be bidding again, and the realization made me think about how quickly the time here in the U.S. might pass. I have often been posted to places that do not have an autumn, and thus I really want to make the most of the ones we have.

I may not know much about hockey but Caps fans really love the sport and it was exciting to be there in person!

In August, my daughter C started ice skating lessons at the Medstar Iceplex, where the Washington Capitals, the national ice hockey team in the area practice. She told me she would like to attend a hockey game. As luck would have it, an old friend from college reached out to ask if C and I would be interested in joining him at his company’s box for a Washington Capitals game in early October. I have taken C to see a good number of baseball games, but never to a hockey game. I had never been to one in my life. My friend also had two extra tickets for C to invite two friends. Though it was a school night, her friends’ parents let them join us and the girls had an amazing experience that surely gained them some cool points at school.

My sister scaring the beejeezus out of attendees at the Dracula Experience

I thought I might like to take C on a haunted walking tour in the area — there are plenty of ghost tours around. She has recently told me she was old enough to do one. As I cast around for which would be the best tour for a pre-teen, my sister posted that she had been cast in a “Dracula experience” in Leesburg. It would be part performance play and part Halloween-y experience in the garden of a historic manor. We met my brother-in-law and nephew at the location to see my sister play one of the three brides of Dracula. It was spooky, corny, and fun and another great opportunity to share something with family while supporting my sister in her acting passion. These are the kinds of things we could not just decide to do while living on another continent.

Two weeks later, I returned alone to that historic manor in Leesburg for a house tour. What was this manor? Dodona Manor, a National Historic Landmark that served as the residence of General George C. Marshall from 1941 until his death in 1959. Marshall served as the Army Chief of Staff, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and U.S. special envoy to China. He was the architect of the Marshall Plan, an economic recovery act to assist with the support and reconstruction of Europe after WWII. He was Time Magazine’s Man of the Year twice and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. It seemed weird that just a few weeks before we had been screaming in the rose gardens as we watched a spooky play and people jumped out of the bushes at us. I had grown up in this area and had not known this site existed until I attended my sister’s performance. Granted, Washington, D.C. and its environs are chock full of historic sites and the former homes of our nation’s leaders. There really is not enough time to see all that this area has to offer; we really are spoiled for choice.

Dodona Manor from the rose garden in early November

On Veteran’s Day, we joined my friend NP and her family for a hike at Gulf Branch Park. NP and her husband BP, also a Foreign Service family, are into spending time in nature and finding fun and interesting low-cost or free things to do. We love hanging out with them. They introduced us to Donaldson Run Park in September and gave us another education on the incredible local parks available in Arlington. Although by this time it was late fall, the autumnal colors of the trees were still very much on display. C needed to learn about some plants for a Scout requirement and BP, who knows a lot about flora and fauna, patiently talked to her about them while I talked with NP and their kids ran and laughed. C and I are a small family unit, just her and I, so it is fun to spend time with NP’s big, joyous family.

Later that week, C and I joined another of our long-time Foreign Service friends on an outing to Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Virginia. Once again, I grew up in this area and had never heard of nor been to this place. While searching for something fun to do, I came across this place and read they put on a great holiday light show called the Winter Walk and I invited the JKs, who are currently in D.C. for training. The JKs served with me on my first tour in Ciudad Juarez and we later visited them in both Chiang Mai, Thailand and Harare, Zimbabwe. We had dinner with them and then headed to Meadowlark. The organizers had done an amazing job decking out the park with elaborate light displays. We stopped at a beverage stand for some hot cocoa, and towards the end of the walk bought marshmallows for roasting over a large fire. It was just the right kind of cold – chilly, but not too much so. Perfect for warm drinks and good company. I expect the park is also really great to visit in Spring and we may do that.

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens puts on a lovely lights display

On that weekend, I took C and her friend AH to an archery merit badge class at Burke Lake Park, a local park in Fairfax, VA. As the girls did their course, I took a long walk. It was another gorgeous fall day and the park, another in the area that I have no memory of visiting, is a large one at 888 acres. I read that the land was originally set aside for an international airport but then another site was found in neighboring Loudoun County for Dulles International Airport. And Burke Lake, with its golf course, hiking trails (including nearly a 5-mile one around the lake), playgrounds, picnic areas, fishing pier and marina, and mini train, became this incredible public park. With the weather as good as it was, golfers, walkers, joggers, cyclists, archers, ultimate frisbee players, and families were taking advantage. Yet, though there were many people, I still felt I had space to enjoy it on my own, and I enjoyed a good two hours of walking meditation and forest bathing.

Burke Lake Park – fantastic for autumn forest bathing; C and her friend practice archery at the park

C and I wrapped up our fall activities with a magic show at the Kennedy Center. I think we managed to do a little bit of everything from sports to art, history and nature. It was a great fall. I hope others take advantage of and not take for granted the amazing wealth of activities available in the Washington, D.C. area.

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In & Around DC: Sights & Activities of August 2024

August was a busy month for C and I what with my starting my new job as an entry-level Career Development Officer at the State Department while managing C’s final three weeks of summer camps then the start of seventh grade, and C pursuing several merit badges for Scouting. It still sometimes feels a little strange to me to be posted to Washington, D.C. and to have so many activities at our disposal. Had we remained in Guinea we would have had one more year left. There would have been no summer camps and we would have had only a fraction of things to see and do.

Our first activity of the month (actually the tail end of July), was a visit to the Flying Circus Air Show in Bealton, Virginia, about an hour southwest of DC. One of C’s merit badges, in Aviation, had a requirement to either tour an airport, visit an aviation museum, or attend an airshow. In Malawi, C had a tour of the airport and control tower for a school field trip and we had been to the National Air & Space Museum a few times, so an air show sounded like something different to do. A quick Google search brought me to the Flying Circus. How lucky that there was an air show every weekend throughout the summer within an easy drive. Of course there was. I wonder sometimes if there is anything this area doesn’t have?

Photos from our afternoon at the Flying Circus

C and l located our lawn seats, last used when C was a toddler, and headed out to the air field. It was a real hot and muggy mid-summer day, perfect for grabbing some food truck goodies and hiding in the shade of one of the free trees to watch the aeronautic acrobatics. These daredevil pilots go up in their WWI replica open air planes every weekend to demonstrate the barnstorming tactics of the early airmen and women. Pretty fantastic stuff.

Gunston Hall from the garden

Three weeks later C had her merit badge event in Lorton, Virginia, on the expansive grounds at Gunston Hall, the residence of U.S. founding father George Mason. As C would be there a good eight hours, I decided to make excellence use of the time and do a little sightseeing. I had not visited Gunston Hall before, so I booked myself a house tour with access to the gardens and grounds. As luck would have it, I was the only person on the tour that morning; I very much enjoy historic home tours, especially when I get the guide to myself.

Gunston Hall sits on a plain overlooking a slightly over a half-mile tree-covered slope down to the Potomac River. It’s a grand location about eight miles south along the Potomac from George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon. Though river travel was the way to go, Mason didn’t like to do it much as his father had died when his boat capsized on the same river and I learned he was a bit of a homebody. I suppose with an estate like Gunston Hall (and the wealth and privilege it conveyed) it was not so bad hanging out at home. I enjoyed the tour and a little meandering outside before heading over to the small historic town of Occoquan for lunch.

A colleague recently told me how much she enjoys walking in and around Occoquan, with its lovely location alongside the Potomac tributary of the same name. I found a nice table at a restaurant on the water, to enjoy a delicious meal and take in the view. Boats of families were coming and going in the small marina, and visitors were kayaking or stand-up paddle-boarding. After lunch, I took a long stroll through town, including a loop using the footbridge across the river, up back to the highway, and then back over the pedestrian sidewalk on vehicle bridge, ending with a big cup of frozen custard. I spent the last bit in the small local museum and a riverside park. The history of the town, established in 1804 but with colonial tobacco warehouses and mills set-up as early as 1734, is well worth a stop. I would have liked more time to visit both Occoquan, maybe getting out on the water, and Gunston Hall, where the numerous trails on the property beckoned for a long walk.

We wrapped up the month of sightseeing with a visit to the George Washington Masonic National Memorial located in Alexandria, Virginia. I remember in the early 90s dropping off a boyfriend at the Amtrak Train Station across from the memorial and thinking, I really ought to visit there someday. I grew up in northern Virginia and spent several parts of my life here, but it took until now to finally visit this extraordinary memorial to both masonic traditions and the first president of the U.S.

The fantastic George Washington National Masonic Memorial– left: the grand hall; center: the view; right: the memorial itself

In the early 1900s, American freemasons decided to build a monument to George Washington, not only the country’s first president but also a prominent freemason. They hired a famous New York skyscraper architect, who went on to also work on 30 Rockefeller Center, and its rumored the building is at least partially inspired by the ancient lighthouse in Alexandria, Egypt. Work began in 1922 but was not completely finished until 1970; in 2015 it was designated a National Historic Monument. Sitting on Shuter’s (or Shooter’s) Hill, the 333-foot tall building is at once both imposing but also seems smaller than its true size. Standing in the grand hallway, with its 40-foot high columns flanking either side and a much-larger-than-life statue of Washington at one end, the place feels so much bigger than expected. The tour took us to the replica of the Lodge room where the freemasons of the area would have met (Washington was often too busy being president to attend), including a chair of Washington’s. On other floors we could visit a chapel, a small museum to freemasonry and other related fraternal organizations, and to a platform on the top floor allowing 360 views of Alexandria, the Potomac River, and off into Maryland, and Washington, D.C.

C sporting her new nationals football-style jersey at Nationals Park

But that is not all! Oh no, we really had a very full month. We also caught another Washington Nationals game. C and I love to catch a game at Nationals Park and we try to go to 2-3 a season. C especially likes to go on promotion nights. We also attended a performance of MJ the Musical at the National Theater, where each season they bring Broadway blockbusters from New York. MJ is a biopic about Michael Jackson told through his songs and music. There are several of these types of Broadway plays out there such as about Tina Turner, Britney Spears, Neil Diamond, and the show We Will Rock You, which uses the music of Queen and we saw on our cruise ship to Norway last year. I don’t now how many of those C would like, but she lists “Smooth Criminal” among her favorite songs of all time, so I figured this would be a hit, and I wasn’t wrong. At the end of the month we also took in the Cat Video Fest at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Crystal City, Virginia. The film was just 90 minutes of video clips of cats. Like watching one really long YouTube Video. BUT, the money goes to support shelters and other cat support organizations. We went with Foreign Service friends we met the year I was here for French training and who have just returned to the States for another year. It was an hour and a half of wholesome fun in comfy theater seats and yummy, not-all-that-healthy food.

C and I rounded out our month with a visit to the Arlington County Fair. I could not remember when I last went to a county fair! As I try to recall, the last I remember was in Frankfurt, Germany, in the 90s. Foreign Service friends of ours on a domestic tour who were volunteering at the fair invited us to spend the afternoon with them. They had been given some ride tickets for volunteering and their eldest daughter received a bunch of ride tickets as a prize for her winning photograph. The forecast had been for a bit of rain, but the weather turned out spectacular! Carnival rides, games of chance, and fair food like corn dogs, pizza, nachos, funnel cakes, deep fried oreos, and cotton candy were in abundance. Ah, so, very, Americana!

All in all, we had a great final month of summer; we really made the most of it. As of now, the spring and the summer have felt like they have been around a long while, and I love it. The weather will remain warm for another month or so, but soon enough things will cool down. It is, I think, harder for me to appreciate being in the D.C. area when the cold of late fall and winter roll around. Still, I will continue my attempts to make the most of our domestic tour in Washington.