CONTINUING OUR WALK ALONG THE POTOMAC RIVER

It was a beautiful day as you can see by the sky.

We are looking at National Harbor across the Potomac River.

We have had a few storms passing through these last few months.  A branch had broken off this tree...

and landed on the old picnic table.

Another photo of one of the pair of ducks included in yesterday's post...

and also the Osprey tending its nest. Gregg took these photos from a different angle showing the bridge in the background.

and a collage of both our photos.  The Osprey was once known as the fish hawk as they live on fish that it catches by snatching them in a shallow dive from the surface of the water.  Fish is their main diet but they also have been known to eat a wide variety of other prey, including birds, reptiles and crustaceans.  Ospreys are one of the world's most widely distributed bird, and can be found through much of North America, Northern Europe and Asia, and around the coast of Australia.  I found these facts and many more at this website.

There is no trail by this part of the river.  We walked along the grass to a marina which we explored for half-an-hour.

Always fun being around boats, and it's been a while since we did this.

We have known people with them.  In fact, when we lived in the area all those years ago, a friend introduced us to a relative who had invited us all for a weekend ride on his boat.  Our friend steered and I will never forget being stopped by the river police because he was driving too fast.  I was wide-eyed when I saw and heard the sirens of that police boat. 

 He was told by the officer that our speed was causing a wake that affected yachts participating in a race some distance away, was given a warning and not a ticket.  Our friend's reasoning was that he wanted to put distance between us and that race.  His heart was in the right place, and that was the first and only time I have been or will ever be stopped on the Potomac for speeding!  

And on we walked along the river where all these memories came flooding back... 

as they seem to do these days.

Reagan National Airport isn't too far away and the plane was coming in to land.

This large building with the high rise was across the river at the National Harbor.  The last time we were there it had not been built.  It is the MGM National Harbor Casino and Resort.  I read that it has 23 stories, 308-rooms and a 135,000-square-foot casino floor, a 3,000-seat theater, seven restaurants, a spa, plus other retain and event spaces, and let's not forget the 4,800-car parking garage. 

Below you can see the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge.  We have taken that many times on our trips into Maryland. You can read about it here for more information.  In part it read that it was named for the 28th President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), a native of Staunton, Virginia.  While he was president, Wilson reportedly spent an average of two hours a day riding in his automobile to relax.  President Wilson was an advocate of automobile and highway improvements in the United States.  You can read more at the link I provided.

We were now on our way home.  (There is a marsh wildlife preserve nearby but we decided to leave that for a future walk.)  We passed by Mount Vernon and saw the tavern (Mount Vernon Inn Restaurant) we have visited often over the years.  We have lived in this area for 32 years.  You can see one of those visits if you click here.  There is also another link within that post, from yet another visit when a relative was visiting us.  It is lovely inside and the meals have been excellent.  When you go to the gift shop and to the tavern, you don't have to pay for the ticket that allows you to go into George Washington's home, and also the grounds which has a very pretty garden.  We have been there many times when taking relatives and friends over the years, and I daresay we will be taking others on future visits.  But I do enjoy going to the tavern and gift shop, especially when looking for those birthday and Christmas presents.

And that's it for today's post.  I hope you have enjoyed seeing a little more of our area.

Thanks for visiting and take good care of yourselves.