Washington D.C. - Day # 8 - Paint Branch Trail

Hard to believe we have been in Washington D.C. for 8 days already, and there is still so much to see.  We had, in relative terms, a warmer night Wednesday night....it only got down to 45, and I only had to run the middle gas heater to warm up the coach for a change.

As you know we spent some time by the fire Wednesday night, and apparently there was a lot of pollen in the air.  TLE and pollen do not mix well.  TLE woke up Thursday with watery eyes, and really did not feel like spending the day along the National Mall, so we called an audible and decided to stay home and take a bike ride early afternoon after it had warmed up sufficiently.

There are numerous bike paths all over the D.C. area, and it is possible to ride all the way to the National Mall using "Bike Paths". "Bike Paths" are not to be confused with "Bike Lanes".  "Bike Paths" are typically separate from the roadway and often are far from the roads, whereas "Bike Lanes" share the road with cars and are only separated from traffic by painted lines.  The nearest "Bike Path" to Greenbelt Park is the Paint Branch Trail which roughly follows the path of the Anacostia River.  The path also runs around the edges of the University of Maryland.

After attending to some chores around "home" we set off around 1 pm to follow the Paint Branch Trail down to Cherry Hill Road where there was a hair salon (Shear Pleasure) TLE had found on Yelp that had very good reviews.  Ever since she let the lady at the Supercuts in Stuart, FL cut her hair back in February she has been unhappy with her hair.  She always looked great to me, but apparently it took her a lot longer each day to attain that state of fetching beauty that I appreciate so much about her.

 The Anacostia River...TLE knows she is getting her hairdo fixed today!

 One of the numerous bridges along the way

The night we met Jonathan and Shari at the dive bar (The Big Hunt) in D.C. they had told us about the tornado that touched down near the University of Maryland September 24, 2002.  Well, the picture above is of some of the devastation to the forest land along the Anacostia River that resulted from that touch down.

In all we rode around 6.5 miles north on the bike path to Cherry Hill Road, then up a hill to the shopping plaza where Shear Pleasure was located.  Of course, lady serendipity shined on us as I also spied a Starbucks nearby.  By this time is was after 2 and I was getting hungry so after TLE had gotten her hair done, and I might add she is very, very happy with this cut, we headed over to Starbucks for coffee (Chai Tea for TLE), and for me a Panini Southwest Chicken sandwich.  I used to get this sandwich all the time at the Starbucks near my office in Rancho Cucamonga.....they are soooo good!

A fishing lake along Paint Branch Trail

After a brief stop at the local "Shoppers Market" for some steaks, wine, eggs, etc. we headed for home.  When we left the park to connect with the Paint Branch Trail we rode downhill for about .6 miles.....it didn't seem that steep until we began to ride back up it near the end of our ride....we were both quickly in "granny gear" and chugging up the hill.  Just past the crest of the hill we found the entrance to Greenbelt Park and rode the last 1.5 miles back to our coach arriving a little after 4:30.  It was a great day for a bike ride, and it was so nice to change our plans at the last minute and go riding.

Shortly after 5:30 I got out the BBQ and grilled the filet mignons TLE had bought....TLE made broccoli and saute'd mushrooms and onions.....what a delicious dinner.  Since it was another warmish evening we put another Duraflame log in the fireplace and sat outside talking about our travel plans for the rest of the year, and into next.  We have a general plan....always subject to change, of course.

We will head back to the National Mall Friday early to see some more American History, and then over to Arlington National Cemetery.  

Thanks for stopping by!