Updating

Life is what happens while you're making other plans. I can assure my dear readers that I have planned to write a blog post or two since the last one, but somehow that plan has not come to fruition. Due to work, winter, and my commute there isn't even that much to write about, but here are a few updates for you...

Entertaining visitors...A friend from overseas was in DC for a couple of days, so we made sure to enjoy life in the big city -- we ate seafood at Old Ebbitt Grill, we caught the movie "45 Years" at Landmark E Street Theater, and we enjoyed a brunch in Alexandria before she had to fly off again. Another friend from out of town came to stay with me for a few days -- she essentially invited herself for a visit after reading several of my blog posts about museums that she wanted to see. She did a great job of covering a lot of territory. On Friday while I was at work she hit up the Renwick, then the Postal Museum, and after that the National Museum of American History. On Saturday she and I visited the Phillips Collection (inconveniently my camera battery died, but I will write about the museum and its current exhibit another time -- I bought a membership for the year, so plan to return relatively soon) after which we gorged on a three-course bottomless mimosa brunch at Kellari Taverna (courtesy of Groupon). Then she went to do even more museum-exploring while I took care of some other things. On Sunday we did some necessary girlfriend things - a bit of shopping, plus enjoying dinner with great friends..

Working...Yep, not much I can say about that.

Commuting...Metro is terribly infuriating at times. However, I have lots of dedicated reading time!

Enjoying...the fact that the day is slowly becoming longer. Seeing more of the sun is exciting! One gorgeous sunny weekend day a friend and I visited Great Falls Park, which is on the Virginia side of the Potomac (as opposed to the Maryland side about which I write frequently). Instead of entering the area from the NPS site, we hiked there from Riverbend Park. The hike was muddier than expected, but it was very enjoyable to walk right along the river and to once again see the falls from the other side.

The river was very high, and the falls impressive.

Planning...This weekend I will attend the Washington Wizards game -- for the sole purpose of seeing Latvian superstar Kristaps Porzingis play as the Knicks visit DC. A Latvian acquaintance organized a big seating section -- there will be over 100 Latvians and friends-of-Latvians in attendance, all cheering Kristaps on from the nosebleed seats! Next month I will fly to Michigan to visit family, and for the beginning of summer a friend and I just planned an interesting outing to which I am very much looking forward!

Feeling grateful...for the fact that winter was not all that horrible. And - truth be told - once the leaves return, I will miss the unobstructed view of sunsets from my balcony...

Snow melt and Sunset on the Potomac

Although instituting daylight saving time can throw me off for an entire week, I do enjoy having more sunlight in the evenings. One recent day after work and dinner, I convinced a friend that we needed to drive to the Great Falls area on the Potomac river, which on the Maryland side is accessed from the wonderful C & O Canal National Park. I was quite sure that with the snow melting the river would be high, and the falls impressive. Given clouds in the sky, the sunset might be nice to watch, as well. Luckily, I was right, and the visit was memorable.

In some spots the ice on the canal had not yet melted, and the towpath was quite muddy.

This was the view on one side of the first bridge...

...and from the other side...

In some spots, small piles of snow still remained.

Crossing the next bridge, one side...

...and the other...

I liked this mini pond (or is it just a large puddle?) and the trees' reflections in it.

And this is how the main part of the river looked when were arrived. Typically far more rocks are visible in the river.

As is the case with sunsets, the colors and the cloud formations kept changing.

Outer Banks Sunrise

A relaxing weekend trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina means that I have finally visited that state, and thus I have set foot and seen something in 35 states. Only fifteen states remain!

The Outer Banks are beautiful, and any time spent on the water and out in nature seems to be refreshing. Having time to witness a peaceful sunrise over the ocean was just one of the activities I needed to help recharge my batteries.

Late October sunrise on Atlantic Ocean in Nags Head, North Carolina

More photos and impressions of my inaugural North Carolina visit to follow in the coming days...