Sunday Wandering

We've been a bit busy lately, so we haven't posted much recently. Time to catch up a bit.

The first week of November was very stressful for me, so when the following weekend came up, it was definitely time for some low-key relaxation. We spent a very pretty Sunday wandering around and stumbled across some (for us, anyway) unexpected treats.

First on the non-agenda: Geek Girl and I introduced Mama Geek to Theodore Roosevelt Island (not to be confused with that other Roosevelt Island to the north). There is a pretty 1.3-mile trail around the perimeter of the island, where a kind passer-by snapped this picture of The Geeks. Lots of nice fall foliage as you can see.

Part of the trail is along a boardwalk over a tidal wetland, where we saw lots of ducks and Geek Girl enjoyed looking for tiger tails among the cattails and reeds. Mama Geek took this picture of Geek Girl and me on the boardwalk:


After finishing the walk, we were ready for lunch and headed to Columbia Heights for pizza, followed by a meander around the neighborhood. It was an interesting mix of old and new buildings, including this brightly-colored house that caught our fancy:


Afterward, it was time to "go home", which of course means "stop for coffee and a snack", so off to Georgetown for a stop at Dolcezza, followed by a bit of hill-climbing to burn off the gelato. We stumbled upon the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, a very pretty old mansion at the top of the highest hill in Georgetown. It has a spectacular set of gardens that are free to wander in from November to March (they cost $8 the rest of the year), so wander we did.

First, Geek Girl practiced her tree-climbing skills:

(She notes: "I'm afraid of Daddy-longlegs - good thing there weren't any!")

Here's a shot of Geek Girl and Mama Geek being silly:


And a couple of garden shots for Grandma:



On the way back to the car, we uncovered a playground at Montrose Park, where Geek Girl played until we dragged her away to head home. Overall, we had a very nice day with no real plan.