D.C. area with Michael and Becky

Since I needed to be in D.C. for a Bon Voyage Weekend with the American Rhodes Scholars, I decided to go a few days early and hang out with Michael and Becky. I spent a day being a tourist, walking around the Capital and Mall area, and visiting a few museums. These are a few pics from the Capitol and the Botanical Gardens nearby.

This is from a sculpture outside the Air and Space Museum- it looked pretty cool with the clouds.

These mushrooms were outside Michael and Becky's house. They were probably almost a foot tall! I had never seen mushrooms like this before! I was waiting for the garden gnome to pop out from behind it!

We took a day trip to Harper's Ferry, WV, which sits at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers and on the borders of MD, VA, and WV. The leaves were turning and it was very pretty. We walked through the historic district, which is best known for John Brown's raid, and this is the bridge that forms part of the Appalachian Trail.

We crossed the bridge and walked along the river,

where we came across two blue herons either doing a mating dance or a fighting dance. It's impressive how much they can puff themselves up.