MARYLAND

This is a picture of a snake I saw crawling into the C & O Canal recently. The canal runs alongside the Potomac River and in my mind, the two bodies of water are connected through every story inside my head. I loved seeing this snake slither a few feet away from us.

This is part of the Potomac River. The river changes drastically over many miles from placid, shallow stretches to these incredible rapids. And isn't that a little metaphor for life?

People who come to visit are always excited when we get stuck in one of the parades or protests that grind D.C. to a halt. I totter on an unbalanced triangle of sometimes being mildly annoyed, extremely annoyed, and beaming with excitement.

We recently went to the FolkLife Festival on the Mall. This painted bus was from an earlier festival, but it was back on display this year. That's one of the perks to living here--you get free museums and lots of festivals that come through town.

Pictures of D.C. would not be complete without a view of one of the landmarks. This is the Capitol. I took this picture on July 4th, hence all of the star-shaped balloons.

This is the road that leads into my favourite farm. We go here once a week or so in the summer and fall to either pick fruits and vegetables or buy them from the market on the property. I always thought that this road would be the perfect place to get married.

Because I love it so much, another picture of the road. It's a place nearby that makes me incredibly happy. And if I'm not happy during the moments before I enter the road, it has the ability to bring peace to that three minutes of space.

VIRGINIA BEACHES

Chincoteague and Assateague is a town and nature reserve on the eastern shore. We go almost every summer. It is one of my favourite places to be. I like knowing that it exists and that it is only a three hour drive away. When I am having a particularly shitty day, knowing that driving out to Chincoteague is a possibility makes things calm even when I am still in the storm. I don't even need to go--I just need to know that this place exists and I could get there if I needed to be there. Does that make sense?

One of the things I love about Chincoteague is how low everything feels. When you drive onto the peninsula, you're on a bridge that rises only a few inches above the water. There are all of these spaces on the island where you feel like you have your ear pressed to the ground even when you're standing.

Chincoteague is a nature reserve on federal land. Whenever we're there, we ride through the nature reserve at least once during the day. There are paths you can bike where the wild horses that live on the island will canter right up to you and allow you to pet them.

Another view of the nature reserve on Chincoteague.

Another beach in Virginia--this one Virginia Beach. I took this photograph from my hotel room balcony yesterday. I was already missing the beach and we were still there. I have a hard time leaving.

I think the scope of this picture is amazing (again, from my balcony yesterday). The beaches are so crowded. Sometimes it's fun to be with this many people enjoying the same thing at once. Usually, I'm more of an off-season sort of person. I like the beach all to myself.

A restaurant I enjoy at Virginia Beach--Mizuno. It didn't feel like a tour of the space without at least a passing reference to food...

Now go fly back up to the top of this post and catch another leg of the journey around the world.