A trip to our nation’s capital – Washington DC.

June 28, 2023June 28, 2023 John3 Comments

As our two oldest children, (ages 5 and 3) have gotten older, their fascination with the outside world has only blossomed. They are in awe at the size of trees, they dig and search for rocks and gemstones, they wonder about the dinosaurs and the search for animals of all types. They love all of it. They learned about the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC through their children’s books and have been itching to go. What would be cooler than visiting the world’s largest museum, education and research complex?

So on a Friday night before Memorial Day weekend, we set off for our Nation’s Capital, Washington D.C. We arrived in the heart of the city just blocks away from the National Mall. After a good night’s sleep, we awoke to 2 giddy children eager to walk over to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. The kids marveled at pretty much everything. From the stunning rock and gem collections to the towering full scale dinosaur skeletons, it was everything they had hoped for and more.

We ventured through an area I haven’t visited, the Smithsonian gardens. In a busy city, this section was a nice escape from the crowds as we enjoyed the vast array of plants, flowers and trees. Our meandering took us through the gardens and into the National Museum of American Art, where we were once again just amazed by the beautiful collections, and the history behind each piece.

taking a breather at the national mall lawn

We spent our next couple days, exploring the national mall, the national monument, the Lincoln memorial. The wonderful part of it all was the fact that we just walked and took the very easy to access Metro subway.

It had been decades since I’ve been to the Smithsonian Museums, National Mall and all of the memorials, and I feel like I was just as amazed as I was as a child. I think visiting this area can be described as both powerful and uplifting. This is a beautiful country – the combination of memorials, monuments, bustling federal buildings and museums really paint a landscape of history, present and future. Our monuments and memorials celebrate the thousands of lives lost to give us our freedom. A strong reminder that freedom is very fragile. The museums demonstrate what we are able to discover and learn under the blanket of that freedom. This knowledge will hopefully help us to provide a better future, and the very active federal buildings show the day to day work which keeps the country running. Washington D.C. is a remarkable place for all ages.

Mt Rainier National Park – Washington, USA

May 4, 2016September 28, 2016 John3 Comments

With so many famous parks to see in the pacific northwest, It was difficult to choose one to explore. In a split decision between Olympic National Park and Mt Rainier, we opted for the latter. Mt Rainier holds the title as the fifth national park in the United States and is famous for the subalpine meadows, old growth forests and 25 glaciers. The centerpiece: the stratovolcano that towers over 14 000 ft, known as Mt Rainier. Apparently, summer is the best time of year to visit, when the skies are clear and the best views can be obtained. In the early spring, it was wet, rainy and foggy. One step into this landscape and we knew we were in temperate rainforest.

fun guys

river

canopy

The land is certainly different from the eastern forests that we are used to in Virginia and Ontario, the ground is lush with vegetation and water seemed to be present in all nooks of the forest. Small streams seemed to course their way through the entire forest. The evergreens, towered above us and created a canopy unlike any that I’ve seen. As with most things, our time here was much too short. Magical park.

Fog

a refreshing drink

Pike Place Market – Seattle, WA

May 3, 2016May 27, 2016 John2 Comments

One of the first places we visited in Seattle was the Pike Place Market. Open since 1907, it is one of America’s oldest public farmers’ markets. It attracts more than 10 million visitors annually, earning it the rank of 33rd most visited tourist attraction in the world. Certainly a place to overwhelm the senses; the smell of fresh cod in the air, vendors bargaining, the fresh, salty air from the Elliot Bay and of course tastes of all different sorts. I was able to pick up a cool book on canoeing in British Columbia, serving as a little incentive to return one day.