rediscovering great falls

We wanted to hike Billy Goat A at Great Falls - accessible only on the Maryland side, but we were so engaged in conversation that I didn't even notice when my phone's map sent us to the Virginia side.

Growing up in Georgia, I was relatively far from other state borders. We had to work to get to somewhere else. My mom would honk the horn when we would cross the border into Alabama or Florida, Tennessee or South Carolina. We'd holler our hoorays. I always felt this bubbling excitement of the unknown. Like crossing that state border would show me something so special I couldn't even imagine it yet. It always filled me with that mix of excitement laced with a tinge of fear of the unknown. To this day, it's the feeling I crave most.

It still isn't ordinary to me that I cross from DC into Maryland or Virginia with such ease and frequency. They're all right there, practically on top of each other. At Great Falls, you can literally wade from one state to another. You can accidentally end up in Virginia when you meant to go to Maryland. And if you want to fix your mistake? It's less than 20 minutes.

Maybe that's a reason why I feel so at home in DC - it's a place that isn't a state, it's neither here nor there, neither Virginia nor Maryland, Yankee nor Southern, but in so many ways, it's the epicenter of America - at least in my nerdy, political, international affairs world. It's a place where there's always something new to discover.

(I'm not sure where that tangent came from, but it felt good to write. Do you ever just feel good writing? It doesn't even matter what comes out, it just feels right to say it all.)

I love Great Falls, and this hike with Jess rejuvenated my soul. That sounds so crunchy, but damn if it isn't true. I haven't been hiking in far too long. Zan and I did some good walking in Costa Rica, but it wasn't the same. I need that nerves on edge, heart pounding, lick my lips and all I taste is sweat, kind of hiking. And I need a view that makes me want to sit and stare and think and be grateful for everything. In the past few years, I've overlooked Great Falls for mountains and bigger peaks and more expansive views. But sometimes the best view is what's in my own backyard that I've left untouched for too long. This was one of those days and one of those hikes.

I'd never seen the Great Falls themselves - in nearly four years of living in this beloved city. Isn't that crazy?

I'm so glad we went to the wrong state. It was the right hike. Standing up there on those rocks, looking over the cliff to the river below, I was excited with just a tinge of fear. The best way to be.

If you're interested, we started near the Falls and made a loop that combines the Patowmack Canal, Matildaville, and River Trails.

friday photo | golden hour on the national mall

I had to give it everything I had. If I failed, I could accept that. But I knew that if i did things halfheartedly and they didn't work out, I'd always have regrets. -Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Since I've lived in DC, I've wanted to be a great many things: a journalist working at overseas bureaus, a public relations problem solver, a diplomat, a student, a bartender, a writer, and even an actress. All my childhood dreams collided the moment I stepped foot in this city. It's a cerebral city that feels like a small town; it fosters ambition and makes you want more.

DC drives aspirations because so many talented, smart, well-connected people live here. But ultimately, DC isn't a city for dreamers; even its most iconic monument is on the straight and narrow, structured, designed to aesthetically please without breaking any rules. It endlessly appeals to the intellectual and realist and very soul in me. I think I learned to be a dreamer and a romantic, but I was born with my nose in a book and my sights set on somewhere and something that was more.

I have such big goals for the next few years: expanding my freelance writing career, taking the GRE, graduate school, and joining the Foreign Service. And for the first time ever, I see how all the seemingly arbitrary choices I've made along the way - studying in South Africa, teaching English in Japan, starting this blog - have led me to this moment right now.

bylines...

5 things you probably didn't know about kyoto 

scenic drives in the dc area 

teeing & taking off at hains point | dc

I'm guilty of being fickle. I make extraordinary plans that sound incredible in the moment - kayking, golfing, camping, yes, yes, yes! But when the time comes to execute them, I occasionally err on the side of, "But it's raining a little? I mean, I think I felt a drop of rain. And Netflix has movies, you know, that we could watch inside. And I hear pizza places deliver these days." For instance, Zander and I have been together for almost a year and a half, and we've seen a grand total of two movies in theaters. It's not for lack of trying - we plan to go to movies all the time! But when the Friday evening comes, and we saddle up to a bar for a pre-feature flick happy hour drink and snack, it's suddenly 10:00pm, and where did the night go? And I guess we missed the movie. I can be fickle, and I'm working to change that.

Zander's helping me. This past Friday night, we had planned to go out to Hains Point, a beautiful park peninsula that is so peaceful and quiet and outdoors-oriented that it doesn't seem to belong in DC, but that's what's so great about this city - there's always something new to discover and relish. We grabbed a drink at Dino first, and after one glass of Prosecco, I yawned and protested: "Are you sure we don't want to just stay in and order a movie and dinner?" Zan didn't flinch when he said, "Nope, we decided to go, so let's go." I've seldom been more attracted to that man.

Hains Point is all the way past the National Mall and across the water from the Southwest Waterfront. It's the southern tip of East Potomac Park. It's under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. There's an 18-hole golf course, a driving range, a mini-golf course, a public outdoor lap pool, trails for running and cycling, and stunning views of the Potomac River and planes landing and taking off from Ronald Reagan National Airport.

Zan and I tried our hand at the driving range. I learned a few things... 

1. Zan owns golf clubs. He played golf when he was younger! He'd like to take lessons and improve his stroke.
2. Hand-eye coordination is not, nor has ever been, my strongest suit.
3. But with a little instruction, I can hold my own (read: hit the ball and not just air).
4. Driving ranges make for great dates! You can buy beer and there are plenty of opportunities for hand-over-hand, get-you-in-the-correct-position guidance.
5. There are lots and lots of double entendres in golf.

There are times when I mentally and physically need to take a break and relax, but from now on, I'm going to be more discerning about it and stick to my plans. They make for the best, most memorable weekends, after all.

Now, when's the next showing of Blue Jasmine?

If you go...

Hains Point overview

map and directions

east potomac golf rates