Bully Island

The Kaminoge family took a walk around Theodore Roosevelt Island early this afternoon. Literally. It only took a leisurely couple of hours or so to make a counter-clockwise circuit of the small island located in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. For those of you, like me before I moved here, who had never heard of the place, Theodore Roosevelt Island is both a nature park, and a national memorial to the nation's 26th President, providing 2½ miles (4 kilometers) of trails making their way through forest, marsh and swamp. As such, the island offers an almost idyllic break from the heavily urbanized Beltway...except for the low-flying jets that make their presence known every 2-3 minutes as they approach Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

The island is approached by a footbridge from Arlington, on the Virginia side of the Potomac (this is where we also parked our car). The waters around the island were constantly being crisscrossed by canoes and kayaks (though obviously not when I took the above pics).

A statue of you-know-who. Various columns nearby contained words of wisdom presumably spoken softly, but backed up with a big stick.

My daughter in the forest section of the island. On this warm, humid afternoon the sounds of cicadas could be heard. It was like being back in East Asia again.

As the photos below demonstrate, the marsh and swamp sections of the island were teeming with various forms of wildlife:

Across the river in Georgetown, the haves were enjoying the good life:

My little one found the opportunity to snap a self-portrait, while a passerby offered to take a family photo:

Back in Falls Church, 波ちゃん enjoyed a well-earned ice cream break at Baskin-Robbins. In the picture, she's proudly showing off an "America's Birthday Cake". You can make out the red, white and blue all over her face.

Though we pretty much covered Theodore Roosevelt Island this afternoon, there were a few shorter trails that we didn't get to. The close proximity to our apartment means going there on my own early on a weekend morning sounds like a bully thing to do.