Trees!

Happy Earth Day and hello citizens of our lovely and glorious planet!  My post today is about trees!  Well, no, not really about trees, but there are lots of trees in the pictures of our recent visits to the U.S. National Arboretum and the Winkler Botanical Preserve.  And, seeing as how it's Earth Day, I thought we'd just go ahead and do some stuff out of doors.

Last week Diggory and I visited the U.S. National Arboretum for the very first time at the invitation of our good friends from church, Abby and her son Noah.  In the midst of our commute, however, I was reminded why I've lived in Alexandria for five years but had never made the trip to Northeast DC just to visit the arboretum.  We got stuck in traffic in the middle of the morning because of a parade (albeit a parade for a good reason, but still) and a trip that should only have been 35 minutes to travel 15 miles, turned into an hour and a half of stop and go, stop and go, slam on the brakes for a jay walking tourist, stop and go, then go really fast, then stop, etc., etc., etc., etc.  Oh, DC traffic, how I loathe you.  I'm not complaining, really.  I'm just sayin'.

But, alas, I am super glad we finally made it to the arboretum, which is an incredibly lovely (and huge) oasis of all things green and growing.  Our first stop was the Arbor House to use the "facilities."  I'd been in the car for an hour and a half, mind you, and drinking coffee the whole time.  The Arbor House has restrooms (with changing tables), a drinking fountain, maps, and a gift shop.  It's near the parking lots at the R Street entrance to the arboretum.  There is also an entrance off of New York Avenue, and there are parking lots scattered throughout the arboretum so you don't necessarily have to walk the whole thing.  AND, there's also a tram!  I thought it would be super fun to take Diggory and Noah on the tram ($4 for adults, children under 4 ride free) but it only runs on the weekends.  Alas.

Running up the hill to the Capitol Columns.

We stopped into the Administrative and Visitor Services building next, to ask about what the best stops for kids might be and found that the large koi pond surrounding the building is closed for renovations.  There are restrooms here too.  Pick up a map, if you don't already have one, and pick up any of the numerous brochures.  There's a cell phone tour of the whole arboretum, a walking tour of flowering trees (available through the "blooming season"), and a calendar of events and programs.  Next we walked through the herb gardens and then up the big hill to the National Capitol Columns.  The twenty-two sandstone columns were carved in the 1820s for the U.S. Capitol building but removed in 1958 during an expansion project.  There's also a small waterfall and a reflecting pool, which Diggory promptly stepped (and then fell) into, resulting in a less than graceful and slightly dramatic rescue and totally not-glamorous wardrobe change.  After that, we walked due west across the lawn, had a snack, and then followed the Eagle Nest Road back to the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum.  The bonsai were really amazing and clearly lovingly attended to and admired.  (I had a bonsai once.  Briefly.  I got it at Epcot Center on a high school band trip to Disney World.  It did not like the three day drive back to Iowa on the non-airconditioned bus.)  We also caught the tail end of the Ikebana exhibition highlighting the flower arranging art of Japan.  The next big event is the Potomac Bonsai Festival, May 3rd through 5th.  And, if you go, don't fret over the thousands of bees.  They're apparently male carpenter bees who have made their home in the wooden pergolas.  They don't have stingers...but they might bump right into your head.

Yep, he literally paused, looked at the water, and stepped straight into the pool. Awesome.

Post-wardrobe change snacks.  

Holding hands to cross the street.

Playing with rocks in the Japanese garden.

Wow.  That's basically the only caption necessary.

We probably covered less than a third of the arboretum in the two hours that we were there...so, I suppose we'll just have to come back.  Wink, wink.

That brings us up to today...when Diggory and I spent our Earth Day morning at the Winkler Botanical Preserve in Alexandria, VA.  It's super close to our house, but I'd never actually been there because I couldn't figure out (and/or didn't take the time to figure out) how to actually get there.  Where's the entrance?!  Well, needless to say, it's not advertised very well and the signage isn't great...but I think that's sort of the point.  It's a preserve.  It's not a park.  I won't go into the details, but you can read about how the preserve is currently threatened by the expansion of office and federal buildings on Seminary Road here, and there's another good review of the preserve here.  The main entrance is at 5400 Roanoke Avenue.  Turn off of Beauregard Street onto Roanoke Avenue and drive all the way to the end of the street.  Go up a short hill and drive through the metal gate.  There's a small parking lot on the left.  Park there, and voila, you're at the preserve.  There are a bunch of trails, generally arranged in a loop around a small pond and a waterfall.  If you walk straight north, toward the gigantic BRAC building looming on the horizon, you'll come to Catherine's Lodge, used for programs in partnership with Alexandria Public Schools.  We saw some geese and that was cool for Diggs, "honk, honk," but the flora was absolutely spectacular, and I was totally impressed with how well maintained the preserve's trails are and how truly peaceful it was, even considering the ever-present drone of Interstate 395.  We turned right to walk around the pond, crossed a bridge, and found the top of the waterfall...clearly man made, but still nice...and then walked back down, making a big loop.  There were trails that led into the southern part of the preserve that we'll have to check out next time.  We had to meet daddy for lunch, after all.  But, even though this was our very first visit, I know we'll have to make this a regular outing.  I was totally impressed.  I've said that already, I know, but it's true.     

Annnnnd...there's the big BRAC building.

Wow, a stick!

Stop to smell the flowers.

Running past the lodge.  Please don't run into the pond, Diggory, please!

Climbing rocks...after filling pockets with smaller rocks.

We practiced saying "green" a lot.  Because there was a lot of "green."

See, a lot of green!

We also talked about moss.

I also put Diggory in a tree.

Hiking the trails above the waterfall.

See?!  We really did go have lunch with daddy.  Food trucks on 7th Street in L'Enfant Plaza.  And, yes, there's a food truck that sells cookies and milk.  Yum!

Catching Up...Yet again, yet again.

Hum, so, wow.  It's been a long, long time since I've updated my blog.  Bad, mommy blogger, bad.  Suffice it to say that I have actually been going to museums and other historic sites.  I just haven't had (ahem, or taken) the time to actually sit down and devote an entire nap time to writing.  That said...I'm not going to devote this entire nap time to writing either, so I'm going to do more of a photo essay...for the sake of time, yours and mine.  

Since the end of February, Diggory and I have been to six sites together, and I went to one more without him.  So, yes, I'm a little behind in my one-a-week, goal...maybe I'll play catch up one of these days.  First, I wanted to go to the Alexandria Black History Museum, and I thought Black History Month would be the perfect motivation to final get there.  It's a very small museum, but the permanent exhibition, Securing the Blessings of Liberty, on the history of African-Americans in the Alexandria region is extremely well done, full of information, and just every so slightly text-heavy...an incredible feat for such a large and important topic.  I especially liked the panel of photographs listing homes in the area with important slave and African-American histories.  Maybe we'll devise our own walking tour one of these days.  From a logistical stand point, there's plenty of free and metered street parking in the area, and the museum is directly across Wythe Street from the Charles Houston Recreation Center, which has a small soft playroom.  

Checking out the permanent exhibition at the Alexandria Black History Museum.

The Alexandria Black History Museum in the background, across the street, is partially housed inside the historic Robert H. Robinson Library, built in 1940 following a sit-in at the segregated Alexandria Library.

Over the next several weeks, Diggory and I visited several sites with my parents, aka Nana Lynn and Grandpa, who were in town for a few weeks.  First, we visited the Nordic Cool exhibition at the Kennedy Center.  The exhibition closed on March 17th...another reminder to get my posts up in a timely manner...but the building and performances themselves have an excellent history, and it's a marvel of architecture, to be sure.  There's a parking ramp under the Kennedy Center, and it's not terribly expensive, if I recall.  If you're on the metro, there's a free shuttle to and from the Kennedy Center from the Foggy Bottom metro station.   

Checking out Scandinavian design with Grandpa.

Half Norwegian?  I think so.  (Posing with the Lego mural.)

Building with Legos.  I didn't know they were Danish-designed, did you?

"Hi, Grandpa!"  Inside one of the artworks in the Nordic Cool exhibition.

My very own little Viking.  He's only an eighth Norwegian, but he somehow got the blonde hair and blue eyes!  Woo hoo!

Just a few days later, we all made the trek to Hot Springs, Virginia for the Virginia Association of Museums Annual Conference.  I was presenting a workshop on mannequin dressing for museum textile collections with a lovely friend and colleague of mine...and I have to admit, I was perhaps a little more excited about spending some time at The Homestead than I was about the conference itself.  The Homestead was opened in 1766 and has an extremely rich history. The Jefferson Pools are their own little wonder...ever taken a dip in a hot spring, surrounded by an octagonal building built (and just ever so slightly patched up) in 1761?  I have.  

Diggory and Grandpa at The Homestead.

Building a snowman at The Homestead.

Inside the Ladies' Pool House in Warm Spring, Virginia.

The lobby at The Homestead.

See, we actually did do some work?!  The presenters at VAM.

On our sojourn back to Northern Virginia, we stopped at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.  A check box ticked off on that ol' bucket list.  I won't describe all the details, but I was pleasantly surprised that they were so child friendly and accommodating.  Diggory got sort of upset at one point, and the tour guides guided my mom (God, love her) someplace else (where ever that was) and brought us the stroller, etc.  I think he just really didn't want to be on the tour...he wanted to run around, and I don't blame him, he'd been strapped into the car seat for over two hours already.  So, once the tour was over, he did get to run around, and he promptly fell into the mud.  Red mud.  It was awesome.  Luckily, there were bathrooms nearby.  Logistically, the site itself is great...the new(ish) visitor's center and museum are extremely accessible, there's a shuttle up to the house itself, the cafe is great (lots of high chairs and indoor and outdoor seating), and there are family restrooms just past the entrance.    

Yep, red mud.

Our tour group entering Monticello.

Momma and Diggory at Monticello.

Grandpa taking pictures...we did a lot of that.  Beautiful day, and beautiful views of the Charlottesville area.

Before Grandpa and Nana left, we needed to check some things off Grandpa's sight seeing list.  Namely, the exhibition The Civil War in American Art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (which is beautiful and closes on April 28th) and President Lincoln's Cottage.  Both of these don't really count as blog-worthy sites, not because they're not awesome (they are) but because Diggory and I already "did" SAAM last year and he didn't come with my dad and me to Lincoln's Cottage.  But, alas, they are museums...and you should go to them.  A few notes about Lincoln's Cottage.  It's accessible through the Eagle Gate of the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Northwest Washington, DC.  Admission is $15 for adults and $5 for children ages 6-12.  Children under six are not encouraged to visit, due to battlefield imagery and tour length of approximately one hour, though I suspect it's more of the tour length that's the issue.  Tours are guided in small groups, and once you're in the house and on your tour, an upset child would be a huge distraction and inconvenience.  Just sayin'.

Nana pushing the stroller through the water scrims in the courtyard at SAAM/NPG.  Do you see our "artful" designs in the lower left?   

Taking pictures after the tour at President Lincoln's Cottage.  Wonderfully restored, great visitor's center and permanent exhibition, free parking, not hard to get to.  

Ha, ha!  That brings us to today!  This morning Diggory and I ventured into Georgetown to run an errand, and I thought, "Hey, let's just check out the Old Stone House while we're all the way into the city."  So, we did.  And it's true when they call it an urban oasis.  The garden in the back is so sweet and quiet, in the midst of the chaos that is M Street NW.  I've walked by many times, and I think I did poke my head in the gift shop on the lower level once, but I'd never been into the actually museum.  Very interesting, indeed.  The house itself is the oldest structure still standing in the District of Columbia.  Built between 1764 and 1766, the house was used as a residence and merchant's shop, and even a car dealership until it was transferred to the National Park Service in 1950.  And, wonder of all wonders, more than 85% of the structure is original...that's really quite a feat.  Parking can be tricky in Georgetown, but there's a public ramp right next door...and don't discount street parking, though it can be a little tight.  The last two times I've been in Georgetown I've found a free spot and a metered spot within two blocks of where I needed to be, and today, our meter still had 48 minutes left on it when we arrived.  And that's really something...especially when a quarter only buys you seven minutes.  There aren't any public restrooms at the Old Stone house, but there's a bounty of restaurants and cafes nearby, and a Barnes and Noble right across the street, if need be.  Oh, and other than the ground floor, it's definitely not stroller accessible...but you probably assumed that.

Okay, that's it for today!  Where will be go next?  I've got some ideas...stay tuned.

Enjoying the sunshine on the steps of the Old Stone House.

The dining room in the Old Stone House.

 Climbing the stairs to the garden at the Old Stone House..."Look, Mom! No hands!"