The Wood Between the Worlds

It's possible that I visited a magical in-between place this past weekend. Possible, but not probable. I mean the place really is an in-between, but who knows if it connects you to the realms of other worlds? Wouldn't that be wonderful? But before I get ahead of myself, let me explain:

In the spirit of checking things off our DC list, JB and I decided to explore Teddy Roosevelt Island and then to locate the DC version of the Bermuda Triangle: the mysterious place that allows one to actually park & walk around the Iwo Jima Memorial & the Netherlands Carillon (hint: take the 110/Jefferson Davis Highway between 395 & 66).

Teddy Roosevelt Island is located on the Potomac River between the Georgetown/Kennedy Center Waterfront area & Rosslyn, VA. It is place lost in time and can only be visited via a footbridge along the George Washington Parkway, and once you step onto one of the island's trails, it's easy to forget that you're anywhere near a city. You follow footpaths and boardwalks all around the swampy island, spotting skittish blue tailed lizards and jumpy forest toads (and if you're lucky, some deer friends, but alas, we were not on the VIP list that day).

 ^^just how thrilled does he look to be in this picture? Overjoyed.^^

 ^^the last glimpse of the real world for awhile^^

And then eventually, you meander onto this clearing paved in stones and granite honoring the protector of our land, Teddy Roosevelt.

It is eerie, especially when no one else is around. Eerie, but beautiful. And this is where my imagination and reality actually merged, because this clearing in the woods had two murky, stagnant fountains, perfect for jumping between worlds. I half expected to see Digory & Polly emerge from one of the fountains with their hands jammed in their pockets. If CS Lewis had been an American, I would have thought this memorial inspired his in-between place connecting Earth, Charn, & Narnia in The Magician's Nephew, but as we all know, he wasn't, so maybe instead the memorial connects to one of those magical fountains?? One can only dream.

Moral of the story: magic is real. my imagination heavily enhances my life and makes me longwinded. Clearly.

 ^^fyi, I looked & there were no buttons in the fountains. But there are presidential seals on the feet of the fountains. Teddy's gettin' fancy^^

Onto the DC-Bermuda Triangle, where you can't get much better views of the DC panorama than from this hill housing the Iwo Jima Memorial & Netherlands Carillon. Sad to say our real camera didn't tag along on this trip, but with views like that, it's on our list to revisit. As for this forgotten Netherlands Carillon, it was given to the US in thanks to the relationship our two countries forged during WWII while their country was under Nazi control. The Carillon contains 50 bells, all inscribed with with emblems representing different groups in Dutch society, and is guarded by two lions overlooking a field of thousands of tulips (aka I will be visiting next spring to see those beauties in all their glory). 

^^one of those rare times that rust is beautiful^^

random musings from old town & hometown

+ I think I'm officially becoming acquainted with the local life. Case in point: while watching an episode of West Wing {second episode, second season} the other night, I recognized the diner where the scene was filmed. It's a neighborhood diner in Old Town that has since been changed from a BBQ joint to Greek, but that's not the point. The point is that I know. Gosh the embarrassing amount of pride I felt was on the level of gooby news you hear about hometown progress, and I haven't even lived here for a year. Now that I've admitted how nerdy & dramatic I can be, let's change the subject.

+ After introducing our guys to the wonder of Despicable Me this past weekend, I think Emily & I have made the case to see its sequel in theaters when it comes out this week. It's been awhile since I've heard 4 adults belly laugh as hard as we all did watching that animated movie. All I'm saying is as long as Agnes & her obsession with fluffy unicorns is still in the script, I'm golden. And just to spread the fun facts around, anybody else think it was hilarious to see "Bank of Evil, Formerly Lehman Brothers" over the door? Gets me every time, but probably because Lehman Brothers was founded in my lovely river city, Montgomery, AL.

+ Speaking of Montgomery, my recent brief stint in that fair city was nothing short of wonderful. Mainly because it tickles me pink that downtown has become so cool! Cool enough that we felt compelled to support the hometown team & buy two Biscuits t-shirts for ourselves & a Biscuits hat for a friend at the Biscuit Basket in Riverwalk Stadium. Sadly the one we bought wasn't a real biscuit hat {picture a cheesehead in the form of a biscuit}. #hometownpride

+ And why might you ask did I disappear for over a week after I said that I was coming back? We hit up Seagrove Beach with my former roomies {my parents} for a week. And it was awesome, other than the sunburned shins I managed to get as well as a frisbee induced skinned knee {clumsy Kat strikes again}. If I get my act together around here, I'll post some pictures of our adventures. Did I mention I reclaimed my honor at goofy golf... by almost 20 strokes? Boom. Roasted. Sorry husmate.

+ Finally, I'm in the market for any and all interesting documentaries to watch on Netflix. Every now & then I have this overwhelming itch to watch something incredibly involved & academic & possibly propaganda-esque that can quell my thirst for fixing all the world's problems. Lately I've watched documentaries on Arlington Cemetery & the Honor Guard of the Unknown Tomb {their jobs are intense, I kid you not}, the growing social divide between the wealthy 1% & the rest of us & what power politically they wield {this documentary has forced me to add Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged to my reading list just to be better informed of their argument}, & dramatic food movies that cause me to actually eat better & buy what seems like 80% or more of my grocery list from the perimeters of the grocery store rather than the maze of the middle aisles {for you foodies out there, a wonderful (& short) book to read is Michael Pollan's Food Rules: An Eater's Manual. Seriously, so good. Next on my list is his In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto}. So hey, any fellow nerds or people passionate about something that have some good documentaries up their sleeves, please give me suggestions to watch for my late night viewings! 

virginia beach weekend

 ^^ Wouldn't it be grand if all city halls were this pretty? Meet Alexandria's City Hall, a stop we had to make before we drove south to the beach^^

^^ He beat me by one shot. ONE. Next time, husmate, next time...^^

So what does one do if they succumb to beach fever but are unaware of what Atlantic beaches are on the approved list {as one has always been accustomed to the serene Florida beaches}? Take a stab in the dark & try one, of course. How else would we ever find out the truth? 

Two weekends ago on a whim, husmate & I took a trip to Virginia Beach, VA. Not exactly what we tend to like in beaches, but it was fun nonetheless. It was an air show & concert weekend for the VA Beach Oceanfront, so there were people of all walks of life everywhere. But hey, watching a harrier hover out over the stretch of water in front of you? Pretty cool & totally worth it. 

When we weren't burning our feet crossing thrice the depth of sand that we're used to or getting slightly sunburned {because surprise! we're of the pale variety}, we were wandering the strip & boardwalk majorly people watching {note: modesty isn't a thing here, but bikini tops, unbuttoned shorts, & basketball shoes are} & watching Mississippi State's Regional baseball tournament {accompanied by late night runs to Sonic for cherry limeades, tater tots, & corn dogs}. Also, after two games of mini golf {a required beach activity in our book} in which husmate putted into the water twice, he still won both. Lame. I expect a rematch will come out in my favor {fingers crossed} & I think next on our list of beaches to try is the Outer Banks in North Carolina or perhaps a beach in Delaware. Any suggestions are welcome!

uva crush

Last weekend, we roadtripped with our friends Emily & Josh to Charlottesville. Needless to say, 3/4 of us are nerds at heart & wouldn't mind getting a graduate degree from there... Maybe one day ;)

I learned a few things about UVA that make it all the more intriguing to me:

1. Jefferson was one cunning dude. He knew how to get money out of legislators by building his Academical Village {his term, not mine} in multiple locations all at once. That way when the guys with the power came by to see its progress, they would see that more money would be needed to finish the whole project (instead of cutting funding after one part was done). Due to his reasoning, the cornerstone of the Academical Village is found in Pavillion 7 {totally haphazard}. 

{Today his Academical Village, along with UVA & his home Monticello, is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site}

2. Their graduate school of business alone could house my entire prep school at home. & this is their parking deck.

3. Secret Societies rule. And they have lots of them (supposedly second only to Princeton). Or maybe I just have always been captivated by their intrigue {and now I want to figure out who all the Sevens are... or just maybe see a tomb with the wreath}... 

{Walking around campus, all the chalk/graffiti on buildings & sidewalks that say IMP, Z, & 7 are the marks of the three known societies at UVA. For any who are hesitant about graffiti-loving cult groups, these three all have philanthropy at their roots. So they're cool and good at heart. Oh, & my favorite: if anyone has a message they want to pass along to the Seven Society, they leave a note at the carving of TJ in the Rotunda & it'll get picked up every night & delivered to them.}

4. I love that Jefferson made his Rotunda a library & the center of everything in his plans. & that the top floor hid its bookcases behind its columns so that when dances were held there, the center of attention was on the dance & not on learning {because learning can be so distracting}.

5. I would have wanted to live on the Lawn my senior year, even though the rooms have no bathrooms, no central air {they're heated by fireplaces}, & are tinier than the shoebox of the rooms in the Chi O house that I lived in for three years. I'm that gooby {& Sarah you totally would have wanted to as well}. 

{the Lawn rooms are reserved for high GPA/very involved UVA undergrad students & the Range rooms are for grad students. Both have been in use since the start of the University. Originally the faculty also lived there in the ten Pavilions- living above their classrooms. Today some of the deans live there. Neat, huh?}

so in short, I have a crush on UVA.

a sunrise at arlington

At husmate's suggestion, we spent our Easter morning braving the cold to join with his fellow early birds {I am not a member of that club, sorry} at Arlington National Cemetery. But as luck would have it, my usual crankiness {due to being woken before the sun graces us with her presence} was delayed until later in the day, so the service was actually a really cool experience. The entire service was lead by the Army (Army Band/Chorus, Officers & Chaplain), & it was neat to see the full gamut of ranks leading & participating in a church service. Not to mention walking past the thousands of tombstones in Arlington on the most fitting Sunday to see them. So despite my night owl tendencies, I really hope we make that service an Easter tradition during our time here.

If you're in the area next year, you should consider coming! The service starts at 6:30, gates open at 5:15. Parking for the service is free, unlike the rest of the year when you really should metro in to spare your wallet the pain.

Note to self: do bring a thicker blanket to sit on/wrap in next year. Marble really is quite cold at 5:40 in the morning. Oh, and consider going to bed before midnight, so as to spare husmate the terrible crankiness.

& in case you missed it last week:

the fifth day of spring {by title only}

a petition of clemency

meet our third renter

sweet cornbread muffins

ode to the muggliest of muggles

Old Rag Mountain

1. Old Rag from the road

2. a Marbled Orb Weaver (check out the horned face on his back & his trendy striped legs)

3. Virginia really is for lovers (good call Sarah!)

4.Let's be honest: a puny upper body strength girl like me could never pose as Atlas, but look at the view!

So let me preface this post by saying that this was a first time experience for me in mountain climbing... both in reaching a summit AND in actual rock climbing. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise to most of you, but before the climbing part actually came into play, I thought I was only going to be experiencing the summit portion. Ha, silly me... 

So husband suggests we tackle Old Rag Mountain Saturday morning and preps me for increasingly cooler temperatures and 5 hours of hiking, but slyly leaves out the part about rocks. Crafty, husmate, crafty. After parking our car in a random lot in the middle of nowhere, VA, we follow the half mile road to the start of the trail. We stop for a moment at the trail map, and I notice nothing out of the ordinary with the exception of this small mention of misplaced boulders due to erosion? Eh, that doesn't cause me to even guess what's coming (I can be really naive sometimes), so we start the hike up. 

We randomly come across the crazy colorful spider, the tree for lovers, and even a few pieces of fallen pine that reminded us of the coming Christmas holidays. Things are going swell until we reach nothing but rock, and I overhear this mom telling her daughter that they best turn around because she doesn't think they'll be able to finish the hike... That definitely perked up my ears. So here I am thinking that we're very near the summit... oh how I was wrong. 

5. Just following the blue stripes

6. Before I started testing my rock climbing skills

7. Anybody surprised that husband is downing this platypus of water? 

8. One of the many boulders we got to walk under/over/around

This is about when husmate (husband + roommate = husmate) tells wifey that the remainder of the hike to the summit involves rock climbing and that the summit is still about a mile away. I have to give him credit: he knew that I would fret over this portion the whole way up if he had told me beforehand, so kudos to him. Ha! About a fourth of the way into this alternating climbing and waiting period (the trail is so narrow and the hike so popular that you get to wait in Disney-like lines for your turn to go), I turn to husband and say "They really should tell people that this hike isn't for the faint of heart" to which he replies "They do... I just didn't tell you." Cleverrr... At least my panting is now justified. 

So after about four summit fake outs on my part ("Husband is this it?" "No, not yet... See that even higher point? That's where we're headed"), we finally make it to the summit. The past few hours have started to make me feel 20 years older (hello hamstrings! I hear ya, I hear ya), but it was so fun! However, let me clarify: I was not going back the way we came as I was fairly certain that I might have rolled off the mountain due to some of the rocks being so smooth. So after a light lunch on top of our rock, we escaped the crazies and hiked back down a longer and less adventurous way to our car. 

9. The view from the REAL summit

10. Both excited to have finally found it!

11. Our reactions from some of the things we saw/heard from other hikers

12. Leftovers for dinner

This side of the mountain cut down on the number of hikers significantly (probably because it was double the length) which finally allowed us to have some pretty fun conversations (much better than wifey panting up the mountain while husband was totally fine during the first half...). I think one of my favorite things that husband said during this part was sharing his excitement over potentially going to sleep at 8:30. Old man wannabe, but so adorable all the same. 

We eventually started to follow a brook back to the beginning of the circuit, which made for a nice change from all the dead leaves. Plus since all the loud and annoying groups decided to be dare devils and return from whence they came, we got to see and wait on two sweet deer to cross the trail as they looked for food.

And speaking of food, since we hiked almost nine miles and burned off over a day's worth of calories, we were totally justified in ordering a Papa John's pizza on the way home as our aching muscles began to talk to us. Right? Right? Right. Thanks for agreeing with us. At least we enacted the reduce, reuse, recycle bit by drinking the rest of our hiking water at dinner rather than wasting it. We're so granola. 

Luray Caverns

Last post I shared about our short little day hike in Shenandoah, but to finish off the day, let's go back to that morning when we went to explore the Luray Caverns (I know- I realize that I posted about the afternoon before the morning... What can I say? I work backwards sometimes). 

So to give a little background, the last time I ventured into a cave was during a third grade field trip to Desoto Caverns in the great state of Alabama (please note I refrained from using the phrase "sweet home Alabama." Growing up with that song being played at every.single.dance until you're into your 20's means that you tire of the phrase at the age of, oh, fifteen). What I remember of that trip was learning the cutesy way of distinguishing stalagmite and stalactite (some things never leave you, usually the ones that aren't useful for everyday life), being told that you should always carry a flashlight in a cavern unless you're feeling courageously stupid, and getting lost in an outdoor maze and climbing under the fences so that I wouldn't get left. Quite the adventure for a bookworm third grader whose glasses took up half of her face.

In comparison to the memories of that trip, the Luray Caverns are HUGE. Like I thought it was kind of ridiculous at the start what we were paying to see, but after the hour long walk through the massive underground world, I'd say the trip was worth it. Now that I have an inkling of what a cubic inch is and how long time can be (neither of which you understand in the third grade), it's incredible that that it takes 120 years to form one cubic inch of new deposits. I mean good grief. The tour guides at Luray estimate that with the formations they have, Luray began forming a loooooong time ago. Like 400,000,000 years ago. Hello dinosaurs, how's life up in the Shenandoahs? That's swell.

I think my favorite part of the Luray story was how it was founded: Some men discovered a sinkhole in the late 1870's, and like all men would, decided to lower one of their friends into the sinkhole armed with a candle. Excuse me, what? Yes, a candle. So the guy with the candle noticed the depth of the caverns and survived the descent, and Luray has since become one of the most visited caverns in the world. Many thanks to the courage of the guy with the candle.

Anybody else think this would be a cool place for an Avett concert?

The two neat things about Luray:

1. There was a electronics scientist who worked for the Pentagon that designed and created a stalacpipe organ, which plays a four-keyboard console by using stalactites instead of pipes. It took him almost 40 years to perfect all the notes (only two were perfect from the start, the rest were sanded until he was satisfied) and install 5 miles worth of wiring to connect them all. Nerdy, but seriously cool.

2. They have a wishing well at the end that you can throw in whatever change you have in your pocket and all the donations at the end of the year goes to a charity. The extraordinary part is that in the heat of some sort of argument, more than one soon-to-be bride has thrown in her engagement ring and called off her wedding at that spot. Crazy people. And they didn't want their rings back. Now, that's some kind of charitable donation. Hmm, I wonder if it's tax deductible?

The guides say this is several feet deep of change... Woah.

And just FYI, Luray has a garden maze of hedges. I declined to participate. Rolling under fences is so much easier than crawling through pointy hedges.

P.S. Sorry for the grainy pictures, but it's just a teensy bit dark down in the underground...