my last day at the Conservancy was supposed to be today, but i ended up working about 12 hours over the weekend and skipped my flexday the week before, so i think we’re just going to call it even.

sparklet and i got up early and hiked along the potomac in cabin john, maryland — which she loved, especially the part where we were hiking under the landing path of national airport. being the dad that i am, i then one-upped myself by taking her down to roaches run, to show here what it’s *really* like being under the flight path of an airport.

we finished up with lunch, and a run through the fountains at columbia heights — i have to say, days like these are going to be one thing i’m going to miss about my old gig.

i might have to take a friday off now and again, just to pretend like it’s a flex day.

a couple months ago, the lady and i were looking for photographs of mount pleasant to hang on our walls when i realized that i hadn’t taken any — like none in the four years i’ve been here, outside of a couple batches from snowstorms.

so, during my flex days this year i’m going to spend some time wandering around the neighborhood.

this week i knocked off all of ingleside, 18th and 19th streets, most of lamont street and half of newton. map of the route here, and photos below.

i haven’t looked it up yet, but the 2 mile trail we just did had enough altitude gain that it might as well been the north face of mount everest, as least as far as my frail body/flabby midsection was concerned.

and, sparklet was unkind — providing very verbal feedback every 10 feet when her daddy/sherpa stopping to suck wind.

the big news of the morning came on the way back down, when we ran smack into a herd of cows — animals, i should point out, that didn’t seem to be having a problem with the altitude.

we ran into them right as we were coming over a blind rise, so by the time sparklet saw them they were maybe 10 feet away, and she was utterly confounded about how a whole pack of her friends from the petting zoo got up here (and how she got on the wrong side of the fence, i’d imagine).

after about 10 minutes of staring (with a competition between sparklet’s eyes and her mouth for which could be open the widest) we finally said goodbye to the cows and continued on.

sparklet wailed, until we turned back.

after 5 more minutes of staring (and waving, and giggling) we once again said goodbye to the cows and continued on.

sparklet wailed.

it wasn’t until three more rounds of this that the cows were far enough away that sparklet finally lost interest in her first official “wildlife” sighting.

and, being the out-of-shape/selfish nit that i am, the whole time i was wondering why we couldn’t have seen the cows on the way UP the mountain, when i could have used the excuse to stop.

trail information:
Trailhead: 38.992886,-77.967272 (Google Maps); Length: 2.1 total miles; Elevation Gain: 360 feet; Trail Type: Out-and-back; Skill Level: Moderate.

trail information:
Trailhead: 38.997516,-77.255065 (Google Maps); Length: 1.8 total miles; Elevation Gain: < 100 feet; Trail Type: Loop (Canal Trail, to Matildaville Trail, to Old Carriage Road); Skill Level: Easy.

i’ve been stockpiling vacation days in expectation of sparklet, but apparently did too good of a job. now i’m maxed out on how many vacation days i can save up and HR won’t let me accrue anymore unless i use a vacation day every two weeks.

don’t get me wrong, it’s a good problem to have … i just wish i figured out I had to take today off before i spent two hours sitting at my desk.

anyway, the lady sparkler and i are still negotiating with our work to nail down the details of how our maternity / paternity leave is going to look.

for now, it looks like mommy is going to be off from now through Martin Luther King Day (that mid-january, for anyone in arizona) and i’ll be off the four weeks following (through President’s Day).

once we figured that out (and shipped the notion off to our respective office places) we took a quick trip down to dupont circle to get some fresh air, and show sparklet her first neighborhood outside mount pleasant.

and, needless-to-say, mommy was tickled to have an extra set of hands for the day.

needless to say, my happy little three hour ride turned into a six hour extravaganza … one from which my thighs (and butt) may never fully recover.

fortunately, no one scheduled any meetings for me this Friday, so i was able to take the day and bike down to Haines Point and back. no where near as far as my last trip, but the 83 degrees (and low humidity) certainly made up for it …

now, about 90% of me wanted to stay home, sleep, eat, play wii, etc … but with 72 degree weather, and working for an organization with “nature” in the title, it seemed like the slacking could wait until those 102 degree days in July.

so, i hopped on my bicycle, and headed up the C&O Canal Towpath that runs along the Potomac towards West Virginia. The trail head is four hilly miles from our place but, once on the path, it’s mercifully flat for the rest of the 35 mile round trip.

there really are about ten days out of the year where D.C. is the most beautiful place on earth, and i just got lucky with one of them.