My very active weekend

Since it was one of the first nice weekends in DC (after months of several freak blizzards, cold, and rain), we decided we were going to make the most of it. On the schedule: Paddle-boating in the tidal basin for Saturday and hiking on Sunday. 

PADDLE BOATING

It was the first time since I have been in DC that I took time to relax on the mall, apparently a popular pastime of DC residents. We played frisbee on the mall in front of the American History museum. Next we hiked down to the tidal basin for paddle boat time!!

 

It is funny to see the different approaches people take to paddle-boating in the basin. Some start out as fast as possible, other people stay in groups- we decided to try to get to the opposite end. While examining some unique sculptures on the side of a bridge, we made ducky friends, and they followed us for the rest of the time on the basin. 

While paddle-boats are fun, its a lot more work than you imagine. Paddling is exhausting, and I wouldn't want to do it on a hot day! After lots of paddling and our hour was up, Shawn and I parted ways from the gang and walked to the fish market for some good eats! We waited in a long line to get fish sandwiches (I had whiting, Shawn had flounder) and after much waiting we received what we had talked about getting for at least 3 weeks- our sandwiches. And of course no trip to the DC fish market is complete without cake, but we didn't even have to order any because we grabbed free samples that were being given out while people waited in line! People are vicious when it comes to fish market cake. We took our sandwiches and walked down the harbor and ate our lunch on benches. 

HIKING IN VIRGINIA

I have never been hiking for real, except for some light hiking and exploring in the relatively flat North GA. Shawn is a big hiker, and I am very glad to learn and experience something new. He informed me we would be hiking Little Devils Stairs Hike in the Shenandoah National Park. The name pretty much sums up how difficult this hike was for me. It is a 5.5 mile hike with 1,480 feet gained in altitude. Before embarking on our hike, we stopped at REI along the way to pick me up some real hiking boots (Shawn said tennis shoes just wouldn't cut it). I now own one very manly pair of hiking boots, which took a while for me to feel fashionably comfortable wearing.

And boy did these boots help! I would have been dead meat without them. The trail was very pretty though. The first half of the hike was along and criss-crossing back and forth over a small stream that had a couple of small waterfalls. Shawn had to help me across almost all of the crossings so I didnt slip and fall.

 

This weekend inspired a new goal at the gym for us: 20 minutes of cardio on the stair stepping machine in addition to weights! Maybe the next hike will be a bit easier for me :)