Maryland And Virginia

I write from the sky, again, as I return from a weeklong trip to Maryland and Virginia, immediately on the heels of last week's trip to Squaw Valley and Western. I'm proud to say I never had to check luggage.

The first four or five days were spent at a bruising professional conference in Maryland, with sessions lasting all day. The setting was National Harbor in Maryland, on the Potomac River. The place was a bit too enclosed, but I managed to get out one night with friends and catch a monument boat tour up the river, with stops in Old Alexandria and dinner in Georgetown at Martin's Tavern. Oyster stew, crab cakes, and a bit of soft shell crab. We sat in Richard Nixon's favorite booth; the booth behind us was where Jackie accepted JFK's proposal in the early '50s. Georgetown on a hot summer night is a real kick.

After the conference, I stayed a couple days in Virginia with my folks. We had a barbq on the fourth of July, and watched fireworks from the street. Lightning bugs, copperhead hunting, baby deer, corn on the cob, politics and chatter--i more and more treasure my visits. Temperatures got up around 95, and so I put in some time in the pool, including a nice session of nightswimming after the fireworks, with a star-filled sky to backstroke to. Fortunately, no one was watching, as I am not a good swimmer.

I'm feeling ready to test my running wheels again--I just signed up for the Chuckanut 7 miler for next Saturday. Presuming I go through with it, it won't be fast, but more to feel where I'm at. I'd like to hope I can bounce right back into things, and start hitting the North Cascades. It's such a short window each year, but so worthy.