I hate to admit it but we’ve been living just outside of Washington, DC for the past 3 1/2 years and it was only just today that we finally made it to Ben’s Chili Bowl – the iconic diner.

We continue to wait.  Six weeks plus three days and counting…  To silence the inner countdown clock, if even for just a few hours, we took ourselves on a bit of an adventure to Great Falls National Park where we took a good long hike and spent the afternoon communing with Mother Nature.  And then we stuffed ourselves with hamburgers, fries and a decadent milk shake topped with whipped cream and a cherry.  It did the trick.  Unfortunately, today the inner countdown clock is ticking louder than ever.

It was on our calendar.  We’d take a daycation to Washington, DC to see the Cherry Blossooms at their peak.  It would make two years in a row after missing them for more years than I care to remember.  But, mother nature had her own game plan. The early unseasonably warm weather fooled the trees in to an early bloom and then just when the blossoms were peaking, in rolled an arctic blast and 10″ of snow fell in some of the surrounding areas.  We weren’t going anywhere!

It should come as no surprise that I am a lover of the written word; of books.  No matter how many times we pack up and move, there are a dozen boxes of books that move with us.  Over the years I’ve downsized as much as I can, but I have my collection of true loves and I will never part with them.  So, with that thought in mind, if it’s possible to be in love with a library, then I am hopelessly in love with the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

As we climbed the flight of stairs, to the second level of the mansion at Mount Vernon, we ran our hands over the centuries old wooden railing; the same railing George and Martha Washington ran their hands over as they climbed the stairs of their home.

The Luray Caverns

Seventy down and sixty-eight back up – that’s the number of stairs and the only way to get in and out of the Luray Caverns in Virginia. And, surprisingly, there is no grand cave-like entrance; rather just a simple doorway near the gift shop that leads the way.

When you think of spring, what comes to mind? Cherry blossoms maybe? The start of a new year, a new season or maybe, new beginnings?  I’ve always tended to wonder why we don’t celebrate the new year on the 1st day of spring, it seems so much more fitting.  A new year with the onset of spring daffodils sounds so much more serene than a new year in the dead of winter.

At the crack of dawn if I roll over in bed and twist my neck just the right way, I can see the sunrise from our bedroom window. It’s quite the view.  Frederick County – our new extended neighborhood – has views galore and we’re determined to see them all, including the covered bridges.

“The Smithsonian museums are among this country’s most endearing treasures and I look forward to helping maintain and enhance their coveted works of art.”  Xavier Becerra

With commands such as left forward, right back, forward two and HOLD ON! the adrenaline rush of white water rafting on the Rogue River makes for an awe-inspiring (and ridiculously fun) afternoon on the water.