Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Three Beautiful Things 02/14/17: Thanks to Phillip, Rock Creek Hike, Old Line is Chill

1.  My gratitude to Philip who provides tech support at the school where the Deke works.  This morning he bounded out to the Sube and enthusiastically helped me carry three of the four IKEA boxes into the school. He was so pumped to help that he carried the last one in all by himself, deadlifting it atop his shoulder, with a burst of energy fed by adrenaline and his eagerness to be of assistance.

2. Back in the old days, when I lived in North Idaho then Spokane and then Eugene, it took a few hours to drive to the nearest National Park. Here, in Greenbelt, and in Washington, D. C., National Parks abound. One of them, Greenbelt Park, is just minutes away from our apartment home and the nearby Baltimore-Washington Parkway is maintained by the National Park Service. A spacious National Park sits in northwest D.C. It's Rock Creek Park, the United States' third National Park (after Yellowstone and Mackinac), established in 1890.  I buzzed over to Rock Creek Park early this afternoon, parked the Sube in the Nature Center parking lot and hiked a part of the Western Ridge Trail, humping up hills and down into a couple of creek beds, racking up nearly 10,000 steps and getting myself winded several times.  It was not a good day for photographs; all the trees are bare and it was a gray, sunless day. No matter. I enjoyed being in the park, enjoyed how easily I got there, and look forward to returning -- especially as long as the temperatures are so chilly.

3. The Deke and I went to Old Line as soon as her work day was finished. It was perfect. The place was quiet. I was happy that the Barrel-Aged Big Punisher Double IPA from Jailbreak was still on tap. We split an order of calamari. As we left, the place was filling up with couples taking advantage of the three-course dinner special. We glided back to our apartment home to relax some more. I read. The Deke watched, and I listened to, Godfather, Part II.

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