Dan and Hannah Bike the Potomac River Trail to Washington, DC

It should come as no surprise that Hannah and I think an excellent day on vacation is one where we exercise for three to four hours.   After a hike to Great Falls, Maryland (see May 12, 2012 blog), today we hit the bike trail along the Potomac River in Virginia.  Near the river in Old Town Alexandria, VA, we find Bike and Roll just off the downtown, a little before 11A in late April. 

Bike and Roll, Alexandria, VA

Fitted for 21-speed hybrid bicycles, we have two wheelers which for the first time in our bike rental history (which includes Key West, FL, Hilton Head, SC, and Bozeman, MT [cue my shameless name dropping) are bikes comparable to the ones we have at home. (They prove to be the best bikes we’ve ever rented!)  They’ve a pouch in the front for lunch and a rack in the back with a lock and helmet, too.  It's $14 for two hours and $7 for each additional hour.  All quite reasonable.  Our bicycling partners/guides for the day are our very much pregnant daughter Molly and her husband Tip. 

From Bike and Roll, we bike and roll to the nearby Mount Vernon Trail along the Potomac.  The trail heads south to George Washington’s Mount Vernon, but today we head north through Alexandria and Arlington to the Memorial Bridge, the gateway to the Lincoln Memorial.

Mount Vernon Trail on the Potomac River

On this near 70 degree day the trail is busy.  No two ways about it, but it’s not an insanely crowded busy, more a weaving-in-and-out kind of busy.  Many times we ride single file, by ball fields and views to our right over the river into Washington city itself.

Washington Monument from Virginia

There’s a wake-up from winter, springtime party feel to the day.  Families are bicycling together and picnicking by the river.  An organized wiffle ball league is in the background for our first water stop.

The level trail meanders along the river so it meets the needs of feral high-speed bicyclists as well as soccer moms and dads with kids.  A bell is a must on this trail.  The George Washington Memorial Parkway is to our right as we pass Reagan International Airport with views of the city.

We are fortunate to have the time and the money to travel to Virginia and beyond to be a part of the lives of our children, Molly, Robyn, Will, and Tip as well as travel to hike throughout the United States.  As parents, Hannah and I always thought money spent on experiences with the kids was money well-spent.  Hiking and camping in the Rocky Mountains provides us all with lifetime memories; perhaps that's part of the reason why the kids don’t think that the world is such a dangerous place.  The flip side is that they have found other places to live than York, Maine.

Driving the 500+ mile drive from Maine to Virginia through the Northeast megalopolis or flying with the hassle of the TSA inspections and cramped quarters are small inconveniences for the experiences and connections we make with family and friends throughout this country.   

Meandering on, we four cross the Memorial Bridge which takes us quite conveniently to the Memorials in Washington proper. 

Memorial Bridge

Lincoln Memorial

Just over the bridge is the Lincoln Memorial with its truly inspiring majesty that reminds me of the blessed life I  have.  I’ve had the opportunity to follow my dreams, including having married a lottery pick.  I paraphrase my brother Richard when he says that life is not  always fair—and we must not forget we are among the very fortunate.   Many of us our lucky to be born and live in America.  Consider:

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, 

and spare change in a dish some place,

you are among the top 8% of the world's most wealthy.

Regardless of where you live,

if you can read and you have a pair of shoes,

a change of underwear and can choose from two or more foods to eat,

you belong to the top 10 per cent of the world's most wealthy.

We picnic in the shadows of the Lincoln Memorial on Molly-made sandwiches, apples, and carrots.

Molly, Dad, and Mom

Ready for an afternoon nap on the couch or in chairs back at Molly and Tip’s place, we double time it, single-file back to Old Town Alexandria.  We return our rented hybrid bikes back to Bike and Roll just as the bell tolls three hours. 

Life is good.