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Monday, July 16, 2007

World Traveling

Patience at the Impatient Patient has set up a virtual world tour of the infertility/pg loss community. You can go to the world tour page and click on the links to see a photo tour of the world. I wanted to do two places--Maryland (where I live) and a series of beaches in Virginia that make me happy. Since they're in quick driving distance by American standards, I thought I could include them in the tour.

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.

14 comments:

M said...

Mel, what a truly beautiful place you live in! I am just loving seeing a little glimpse of my poota-friends' lives, thank you so much for sharing these pics with us!! x

Brenda said...

Beautiful pics of the beach!

Hugs
xxx

Baby Blues said...

Nice! Thanks for sharing.

Bea said...

I love your road pics. I'm quite a road trip girl myself. There's just something about going places.

Bea

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful place, thankyou!

Dr. Grumbles said...

Thanks for showing us your favorite spots in the DC area! I have never actually been to that area, even though I nearly got a job there. I hear it is a fascinating place to live.

Anonymous said...

Great idea showing us the daily places and the special holiday shots. I especially love getting away to the water...something about the sound of the waves and the smell of the sea.

And I do love a good parade!

JJ said...

Lovely pics=) I dated a guy who lived in VB, and I looooove Mizuno's!

Anonymous said...

We didn't have time to go to Chincoteague when we visited my SIL in Norfolk, though I really wanted to. Maybe next time. We did drive all the way up the Delmarva peninsula to Annapolis, though, and loved it. Thanks for the lovely pictures.

megan said...

lovely pics! my family used to vacation at Virginia Beach when i was a kid. i loved the side trips to Chincoteague and Assateague too. which one has all of the wild ponies?

Anonymous said...

Wow, I didn't realize you were just down the road from me... okay, not 'just' down the road, but at least on the same coast. Maryland is a beautiful place. That road has me mesmerized. I feel like I have to know where it goes. It reminds me of so many of the old farm roads in NH.

Leah said...

Love the pictures of MD and VA. But I especially loved the conversation with your daughter about babies (in your previous post). I like the way that girl thinks. :-)

katd said...

I love seeing parts of the country I've never seen. I love to travel, and now Virginia Beach is on my mind....:)

Anonymous said...

Love the pics - I love DC, have to get back there sometime. Also would like to snag the Infertility's Common Thread logo at some point if that's ok with you.