You're just going to have to take my word for it...

Man, it was cold today. Not in terms of temperature, which reached a high of 43°F (6°C) this partly sunny, partly cloudy afternoon. No, I'm talking wind chill - the wind was strong, and it was biting. The windbreaker and hiking gloves I'm wearing in the picture above afforded very little protection against the chill, but Amber and I soldiered on nonetheless, making our way along Ohio Drive SW in East Potomac Park, admiring the choppy Potomac River and watching the endless procession of planes landing and taking off at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport across the water from us. 

The wind gusts kept my daughter off-balance at times, while my frozen fingers made it difficult to manipulate the camera, which explains why this shot was the best I could do (that's the Air Force Memorial at the bottom right of the photo).

The two of us eventually rounded Hains Point, where the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers meet. Amber struck a pose with the National War College and Fort Lesley J. McNair in the background.

A closer view of the ornate National War College building. It was this point that my Nikon ニコン announced "That's all for today, folks!" and turned itself off. Seems I had exhausted the battery with this shot, and had neglected to bring along the fully-charged spare, which was keeping itself warm in the drawer of my bedside table back in Virginia. 

Which means that you're just going to have to take my word for it that the two of continued walking, making our way along the Washington Channel. We eventually came to the Tidal Basin, and then the Jefferson Memorial. Believe when I say that we went inside to see the statue of the 3rd president, and to read some of his noble words, and furthermore that afterward we went down to the lower level, where I bought a book about Jefferson for Amber. I'm not stretching the truth, either, when I write that we stopped off at the George Mason Memorial before finally ending up back at the parking lot that was the starting point for today's walk. And I swear that we really did walk 4½ miles (7.2 kilometers), fighting the cold and wind the entire way, but enjoying the beautiful views nonetheless.

At some point before our alleged departure for Shanghai 上海 in April, I'll come back and resume the part of the walk from where my camera's battery gave up the fight. I'll take more pictures of the National War College, of the beautiful buildings of Fort McNair's General's Row, of the scenic Washington Channel and Tidal Basin, and, of course, of the Jefferson Memorial. 

And maybe I'll even dress better for the weather.

The Perils of Pǔ​tōng​huà

http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/11965.html

That isn't me in the photograph above, but it might as well be. Apparently I'm not making sufficient enough progress in Mandarin Chinese 普通话, and so, instead of leaving for Shanghai 上海 in early February as originally planned, we're going to be here in Washington until mid-April. 

Mandarin and I have had a long, mutually antagonistic relationship. In spite of having lived for years in Taiwan, taking Chinese lessons first at language schools such as TLI and now at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Virginia and, most inexplicably, being married to a native speaker of the language (not to mention having a daughter who is also proficient in Mandarin), I still struggle to understand what people are saying and fumble what should be easy sentence formulations. I could blame it on the humiliations handed out by certain less-than-kind Taiwanese (like the young woman at the tea stand who was literally rolling on the floor laughing at my efforts to order an 一杯奶茶不要冰快), but let's face it, I have no one to blame but myself. 

My hang-ups are numerous, but it mainly boils down to the fact that I don't really like to talk for fear of making mistakes and looking foolish in front of others. Which means, of course, that I don't learn what I need to know and thus end up making mistakes and looking foolish in front of others when I do have to speak Chinese. I also tend to freeze up during evaluations and tests. Though I'm far from fluent in Japanese, while I was living in that country I could see doctors and discuss tax and insurance matters at city hall, all in the medium of 日本語. And those few of you who read this blog semi-regularly know that I frequently travel solo in Japan, relying on the local lingo for almost everything while getting around. And yet when I was tested in Japanese at FSI, my score wasn't high enough to get off of language probation. I was told that even though I demonstrated comprehension and speaking skills, my answers were "too short". Reticence, thy name is me.

On the bright side, now that our timeline has been pushed back, a lot of deadline-generated pressure has been temporarily lifted. And, of course, I now have more time to learn what needs to be learned in order to get out of here and on our way to Shanghai. 加油!

A view I'll be seeing more of until next spring

Not Watkins Glen

Definitely one for the younger set today. I went with my daughter to Watkins Regional Park in Largo, Maryland, a family-friendly park of carousels, miniature golf and a small-gauge train ride. Only seeing as it's now mid-December, all of these attractions were shut down for the season. Not to worry, though, for there were still some pleasant hiking trails and some live animals to make the outing an enjoyable one for Amber.

Amber outside the nature center. Inside were several live animals, including owls, snakes and turtles, while some cages outdoors held birds of prey such as hawks, owls and turkey vultures that were being rehabilitated in preparation for being returned to the wild.

In my not-so-humble opinion, this is the best time of the year for taking walks in the woods. The lack of leaves on the trees makes it possible to see relatively deep into the forest.

The trail we walked on took us through an area of wetlands. In addition to these ducks, we saw (and heard) a woodpecker.

The Wetland Trail eventually took us back to the parking lot in front of the nature center. Seasonal lights were set up alongside the road, making it fairly apparent that Watkins Regional Park would be make for a nice drive through once it gets dark.

The Chesapeake Carousel, currently in hibernation for winter, dates from the early 1900's. Both it and the small-gauge train ride merit another visit some day, some spring or summer season. Not to worry this day, though, for the Old Maryland Farm was still open.

Chickens, llamas and peafowl, oh my! Amber enjoyed seeing these and other animals on display at the farm. Having dad buy a bottle of bubble blowing liquid also helped to end the day on a high note.

Paying respects

Guess I'm getting old. I had the chance this evening to go to a dingy dive in D.C.'s Dupont Circle to bid farewell to one of my A-100 classmates. In years past, I would have leapt at the chance to enjoy the nightlife. Today, however, I was so worn out after spending the day with the family that I just didn't have the energy to get on the Metro and ride into the city tonight. So my apologies, Strader, and have a safe trip to Guangzhou 广州.

The cause of my exhaustion was a most satisfying visit this afternoon to Arlington National Cemetery. Spread out on 624 acres (253 hectares), the cemetery contains the graves of over 300,000 soldiers and their dependents. Leaving the convenient Metro station, we headed toward the grave of John F. Kennedy:

The 35th President lies next to his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who was buried here upon her death in 1994. Behind them is the eternal flame.

Two of their children are also lying here. Next to JFK is their son, Patrick, who died just two days after he was born in August 1963 (and only three months before his father's death). On Jackie's side is the grave of an unnamed daughter, who was born stillborn in 1956.

The view looking towards Washington from the Kennedy family plot is an impressive one. On the walls are extracts from JFK's famous inaugural address.

Nearby is the simple grave of Robert F. Kennedy. The equally plain graves of the other Kennedy brothers, Edward and Joseph, Jr. are also close by.

Next, we walked over to the Tomb of the Unknowns, aka the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier:

Under the big marble sarcophagus lies an unknown soldier from the First World War. Unknowns from World War II and the Korean War lie beneath the white slabs on the ground on the left and right, respectively. The slab in the middle used to contain the remains of a soldier from the Vietnam War, but were removed when he was later identified.

We just missed the hourly Changing of the Guard ceremony, but we did watch the Tomb Guard going through his paces. From the Wikipedia entry:

1. The soldier walks 21 steps across the Tomb. This alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the highest honor given to any military or foreign dignitary in America. His weapon is always on the shoulder opposite the Tomb (i.e., on the side of the gallery watching the ritual).
2. On the 21st step, the soldier turns and faces the Tomb for 21 seconds.
3. The soldier then turns to face the other way across the Tomb and changes his weapon to the outside shoulder.
4. After 21 seconds, the first step is repeated.

 Here's a brief video of part of the ritual:

Behind the Tomb of the Unknowns is the Memorial Amphitheater, where special remembrance services are held on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

On the left is a memorial to the astronauts who died in the 1986 Challenger disaster; in the middle a memorial to the failed 1980 Iran rescue mission; and on the right the memorial to another space shuttle disaster, that of Columbia in 2003.

The poem High Flight is inscribed on the back of the Challenger marker

"Remember the Maine!" The mast of the USS Maine, which mysteriously exploded and sank in Havana harbor in 1898, leading to the Spanish-American War and the emergence of the United States as a colonial power.

From the area around the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we headed back toward the Kennedy graves, to see Arlington House:

The walk en route led past numerous headstones and views of the Pentagon in the background.

The vista in front of Robert E. Lee's home was even more impressive than that fronting the Kennedy family graves. Fittingly framing the scene is the grave of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the architect and civil engineer who designed Washington, D.C.

Close-up shots of the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial

The parlor room of Arlington House, with some of the original furnishings. The federal government in essence confiscated the estate after Lee resigned from the U.S. Army to take command of Confederate forces following Virginia's secession in 1861. The grounds starting serving as a cemetery for Union dead in 1864, the origins of the present-day Arlington National Cemetery.

Another look at the view. Airplanes were constantly flying overhead on their way to landing at nearby Reagan National Airport.

Amber poses on the steps of the Arlington House

Looking back up at Arlington House as we made our way downhill to the exit. The flag is flying at half-mast in honor of the victims of the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting, another sad example of certain elements in this society's warped interpretations of the Second Amendment.

Amber checks out a model of the funeral cortege for JFK, at the visitor center

Ain't no bull

Sundays have become a day to get away from the Chinese language (for a few short hours, anyway) and, lately, worries over visas, and just spend time ambling through the woods with my daughter. Today it was a short half-hour drive west on Interstate 66 to the Bull Run Mountains Natural Area, 2500 acres (1012 hectares) managed by the non-profit Bull Run Mountains Conservancy. 

Our walk began by crossing the train tracks - taking a photo of Amber while keeping a wary eye for the sudden appearance of a freight train brought back memories of a close call my cousin and I once had.

The sky was overcast, the trees were mostly bare of leaves and, with the exception of a few birds and squirrels, wildlife was scarce. The overall effect was beautiful in a grungy, Pacific Northwest kind of way. 

Dawson's Cemetery, located deep in the woods. William Dawson has been lying here since 1853.

My daughter really seemed to enjoy herself in the woods this afternoon. I hope she'll always have this love of the outdoors. Now if the two of us could only convince the third member of our family to significantly alter her sedentary lifestyle...

A long section of trail made its way along a ridge to the top of the southern extension of High Point Mountain, passing by exposed sections of ancient quartzite.

As we reached the top, the fog came rolling in. Or rather, we reached the fog, which was there waiting for us, and kept us company as we walked along the top of the ridge.

Eventually, we descended from the fog bank, and made our down to a hollow

A dilapidated wooden house sitting forlornly in a grove of beech trees. It was apparently the home of a mill worker, who soon moved out after the mill closed down in 1951.

The ruins of the aforementioned mill. Chapman's Mill was built in 1742 and ground cornmeal and flour until its closure in 1951. During the Civil War, Confederate forces used the building to store meat, before burning it down in 1861 after the First Battle of Bull Run. The mill was restored and back in action by 1876, but a fire in 1998 left the building the gutted ruin it is today.

Amber strikes a pose next to Quarry's Trench, site of the Battle of Thoroughfare Gap. From where she's standing, Union troops were firing at point-blank range at Confederate forces on the other side of the trench. 

The family cemetery of the Chapmans, owners and operators of the Chapman Mill. Our walk today was a short one, taking only about three hours, covering a distance of approximately 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers), with an elevation gain of only 810 feet (247 meters), despite our ascent into the fog. Cemeteries, ruins and history combined quite nicely with the early winter scenery to make this one of our most enjoyable short hikes.