Alexandria, Virginia

Last week I rolled into Virginia to visit my kids, David and Lindsay with their little daughter Eva!



The first night it snowed and I woke up quite late to find a snow covered landscape. That's my Subee out there in the street, all dressed in white.

Deer roam through their backyard, browsing on the plants and birdseed spilling out from the feeder.



View from the inside looking out; much better to be inside in front of a fireplace than alone outside in the freezing snow, trying to keep warm in front of a campfire!

Lindsay and Eva took me for a walk through the most beautiful little trail in their neighborhood.

 Brilliant purple crocus flowers pushing up through the snow.  

That would be me standing in front of the huge picture windows that overlook the forest.

 One afternoon I went out exploring behind their house, and climbed through wet leaves, logs, and these terrible sticker plants that insisted on reaching out and grabbing me with their sharp thorns. My reward was this little pond reflecting the trees and sky. So very sweet!

At last I have seen a cardinal and am very impressed! The backyard is like a nature reserve; birds, a red fox, black and bushy tailed gray squirrels, lots of deer, bats and even a turkey! No Don, you can not go hunting here!

 The squirrels are forever raiding the bird feeders and keep amazing us with their antics.

I stand in the backyard and look up into the sky, all the while pretending that I am a tree swaying in the wind. No troubles, no fears, just gentle peace, rocking me back and forth.

Lindsay took me down to the Potomac River where we looked for sea glass along the shore.



 Lindsay and Eva patiently waiting for me to finish my scavenging.

Old Town Alexandria is one of the most unique cities I have seen, with cobblestone streets, centuries old buildings, a busy waterfront and quaint shops residing in the old brick buildings. 

 The King Street Blues had strange faces carved into the front, live music every night and a very popular pub going on inside.

The Torpedo Factory is an old torpedo and munitions factory right on the waterfront that has been magically transformed into a working art gallery, with 82 studios and over 150 artists. We toured three floors of studios and saw artists working on site, painting, making jewelry, stained glass, ceramics and textiles. It was an explosion of artistic energy all melded together in one place, a welcome addition to any city.

 The  Lavender Moon Cupcakery, offering a wide variety of cupcakes, coffee and tea!

This huge riverboat is aptly named the Cherry Blossom, and is a re-creation of an old Victoria steamboat. The cherry blossoms are just now starting to bloom and hopefully before I leave, will burst forth into full bloom. 

Eva stood there pondering this duck on the wharf. We ended up giving the duck a few of her crackers and were soon inundated with more birds than we wanted.

Lindsay spotted the osprey first. She saw it bringing sticks over to its nest on top of the pilings.



There were originally two osprey building the nest, but when we got too close, we scared one of them off. We figured it was the guy, because girls rule the world and get the job done. Hope I didn't ruffle any feathers........o well. All in fun.  

 An awesome bird, the osprey. I have seen them all over the place, from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to the harbor in Oceanside, California, but never have I seen one building a nest. It was all very cool.

Congaree National Park, South Carolina

Congaree National Park is the 41st National Park I have visited! Last time I checked there were 59 United States National Parks and I plan on visiting every one of them.

It took me forever to get here, like I was driving to the end of the world. The Park itself had flooded with the recent storms, and part of the boardwalk over the swamps had been destroyed by ice. All the trails were flooded and only a portion of the boardwalk was open.

The Congaree River flows through the park and even though this part is still,  other parts were very rough. While I was in the Visitor Center, the ranger got a call from 3 very distressed kayakers who had capsized and lost their kayaks along with all their gear. Scary. I didn't even attempt to get on a canoe or kayak.

 Always love reflections, this one of the pine trees in the Congaree River. In Southern California where I am from, we are in a drought. There is no drought going on out here in the southeast! I must have crossed a hundred rivers, creeks, ponds, lakes and swampland in my journey.

I didn't have the guts to cross the boardwalk here and muck through the swamp. Lucky for me, I turned around and found a rather long stretch of boardwalk that survived the flooding.

 

I found portions of the swamp to be very beautiful. Don't know if I would have felt the same way surrounded by a cloud of blood-sucking mosquitos. Heard lots of frogs croaking, owls hooting, birds calling and even saw a turtle sunning himself on a rock, but never once did I see a mosquito.

In places the river took on a deep blue sheen, as opposed to murky brown.

 Took this shot from the boardwalk, where the reflection of the trees almost becomes one with the tree! It was so fun.

 After Congaree I stayed one night in a rest stop, then headed north to find Jellystone Park in VA. Enjoyed it so much I ended staying two nights! It was awesome. Beautiful tree lined sites, hot showers, and some very nice rednecks from Arkansas who moved up here to work on the power line. This guy Michael came over and we played music over a blazing bonfire. Then the next morning he cooked me a gourmet omelet and hot coffee with a dark chocolate kiss in the bottom of the cup. Then I joined him and the guy in the trailer next to him for a delicious dinner in Larry's mancave; jalapeño cornbread, beans with pork spareribs and rice. Very fun. Will miss them both tremendously.  

In between the rain and bursts of sunshine, I wandered through the park taking pictures. Love that cold autumn feel in the middle of spring!

In spite of the 29 degree cold at night, I kept snug and warm huddled in my sleeping bag and quilts in the back of my car. Life is good. Blessings!

Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas

Just this last week I took a roadtrip out to Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. It was a very long drive and at times I grew discouraged. Slept at Walmart and rest stops along the way, drank way too much coffee and stopped in Cracker Barrels for meals. Found all kinds of funky old buildings along the way and of course had to get pictures.

Something so cool about naturally weathered signs.

Beautiful old buildings in Flagstaff, Arizona.

I loved the windows and arches of this old brick building. So appealing to the eye.

Just before pulling into Hot Springs I stopped at this wayside BBQ place and had a delicious pulled pork BBQ sandwich. Thank you Lord!

By the time I got to Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, I was ready for a good rest. I camped in Gulpha Gorge Campground, right by this little creek.

That would be me in the campground, so happy to have landed!



Hot Springs National Park is our smallest National Park! It protects the natural hot springs for 4 miles square around the Visitor Center. The Parks have federal jurisdiction over the area and are in the process of restoring some of the old buildings. The Visitor Center is so gorgeous, and is located in one of the original old bathhouses.

I happened to arrive in Hot Springs on the weekend of St. Patrick's Day! The whole city was very festive and full of life.

The steaming hot springs bubble up from the ground all around the city. This waterfall flows over natural volcanic rock and is located in the heart of the city.



Spring daffodils bloomed in brilliant patches of yellow and white.



Colorful old buildings lined the street in the old historic section of the city.



Two feisty fellows dressed for the "The World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade. It seemed like the whole city came out for the event!





Jim Belushi was the Grand Marshall of the parade and instead of riding in his float, he walked up and down the street, greeting people and throwing out green necklaces. He came to our side of the street and came right up to me and shook my hand! Definitely made my day!



This crazy character called Mountain Man from Duck Dynasty, handed out necklaces with little rubber ducks on them. Everybody wanted one of those!



That would be me, all ready to walk the city in my new turquoise tennis shoes!



Pastel painted houses bring the colors of spring to a side street in the city.



Beautiful white flowering trees blossomed throughout the city, sharply contrasting against bare, spindly branches.