National Mall and Memorial Parks: Cherry Blossom Festival - Washington, D.C.

We knew it was going to be cold and possibly rainy but we ventured out anyway. We boarded the metro in the morning with tons of other people to check them out. I mean, afterall, we've lived here for over 5 years and have never gone into Washington, D.C. for the Cherry Blossom Festival.

So, we braved the cold and armed ourselves with two umbrellas and jackets that had hoods. Although the cherry blossoms have not hit their peak they were still beautiful, despite the fact that they didn't have the sun to beat down on them to really make the pink pop.

We basically walked through a cloud of fog all day and it didn't rain but the mist from the clouds never let up. However, that foggy mist in the air gave everything an eerie glow. Two people walked past us at one point and said to each other "it really isn't pretty out here at all today". I begged to differ.

              

              

                           

              

Manassas National Battlefield Park - Manassas, Virginia

This weekend's destination was Manassas National Battlefield Park. It's only about a 15 minute drive from my house so it was the perfect place to spend a few hours exploring. The Civil War fascinates me and just this past year, my husband and I took a trip to Gettysburg and I loved it. You can feel the history in the air as you walk what used to be harsh, bloody battlegrounds. I ventured out by myself and quickly realized that I wasn't the only one taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather ( 74 degrees to be exact!). It seemed that every area in the park I went to I was met with dozens of people. I even had to wait for a parking spot to open up at one of the areas. I was discouraged early on because I really didn't want to be around a bunch of tourists. Not that there's anything wrong with tourists, I mean technically I was one as well. I just wanted some quiet time to myself. Be careful what you wish for.

I finally made my way to the unfinished railroad and as I drove down a secluded road that eventually turned into an isolated dirt road I began to hope I would run into others when I got there. No such luck. I was by myself, and after spending about 5 minutes taking photos of the clearing in the trees that would have been the site of a railroad if everyone working on it hadn't been slaughtered, I heard snapping twigs in the woods and decided it wasn't worth it and ran back to the car! After that, I decided that having people around me might not be such a bad thing after all.

              

                           

              

I'm not going to lie, I really hoped something mysterious would have happened while I was there. I absolutely believe those who have had encounters with the unexplained, whether it be on a battlefield or in a house, etc. While exploring Gettysburg, some interesting things happened to my camera in places where really horrible events occurred. However, nothing out of the ordinary happened this weekend. I'm still holding out hope for next time.

Nomahegan Park - Cranford, New Jersey

My husband and I traveled north to New Jersey this weekend for a short visit with his family. I decided to make a little trek out to Nomahegan Park on Saturday, which is basically a hop, skip and jump from my in-laws house. I currently have a pretty decent cold and I didn't want to be gone for too long or go too far away. So, I made my way out to this pretty simple park. A park where those from the neighborhood go for a bit of fresh air, a run or some fun on the playground.

I wandered around the pond, taking some photos of ducks when I almost turned around to leave because I thought there wasn't really anything to take pictures of. But that's the kind of situation where I want to try and really challenge myself, so I pressed on. I made my way off the trails to explore a little and as I dodged a carpet of geese droppings I was able to find some great little quiet spots. After about an hour I was going to turn around to make my way back to my car, then I saw them. About 15 deer grazing only 500 feet away from me. I went deeper into the woods and was able to get pretty close to them before they took the cautious route and walked away from me. So, I took a little more back with me than just pictures, a lesson...at first glance it might not seem worth it, but give it a chance...you may be surprised.

              

              

                           

              

              


The last photo is something I stumbled upon as I was making my way through the woods back to the trail. It's one tree trunk but 4 trees growing out of it. Quite an interesting site, and something I would have missed if I just gave up after only 5 minutes.