On Saturday I really wanted to go to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in SE DC. I heard a piece on NPR about how the lotuses (loti? lotae?) are are their peak now. It sounded really amazing; I was all for it. I could pick the Boy up from work at 4:00 and drive out to the wilds of Anacostia, check out the flowers, and be back in Yuppie civilization by dusk.
‘Twas not to be; the gardens close at 4:00.
So instead I suggestd we walk out to Hains Point and check out “The Awakening,” the awesome statue of a giant coming up out of the ground. Last spring the Boy and I walked around the Tidal Basin by the Jefferson Memorial, and I knew there was a sign pointing right across the street to East Potomac Park and Hains Point. Cool, it’s a gorgeous day, we’ll just walk over there, take some shots of the statue, and head back to the car and go get cocktails.
Ha. Perhaps I should have consulted a map. After walking along the Potomac for 30 minutes, dodging fishermen, wrinkling our noses at the smell, trying not to make eye contact with teenage thugs, I insisted we sit down in the shade. I mean, good God! We debated turning back, since we’d already gone over a mile and found no giant. But then we figured, “We’ve already gone over a mile; how much further could it possible be?”
Apparently another mile.
By the time we found the damn statue I had drank all my water, had to pee, was sweaty and smelly, and I was thoroghly irate at the realization that we could have driven! But the statue was awesome, and pretty worthwhile. My pictures aren’t very good because I couldn’t see a damn thing on my digital camera, but they get the point across.
When we got home, dirty and tired, we checked online and realized that it was, obviously, not the quarter mile jaunt I’d imagined, but more a little over 2 miles from parking lot to statue. Oops. The last thing I intended to do was a 4+ mile sojourn in 95 degree heat and strappy sandals. If you would like to check that out on Google maps, we walked from the Tidal Basic to ACROSS FROM NATIONAL AIRPORT. When I saw the airport, I honestly just about shit my pants.
However, if you have the good sense to drive, I totally recommend checking out “The Awakening” on a nice day in DC.
Seriously? Why make the parking lot so far away? Very un-friendly towards tourists and the like.
I think we were supposed to see this on my class’s 8th grade trip. Instead we got taken to a park to watch the planes land. I’m now realizing that perhaps my chaperones were just too lazy to herd a bus full of 13 year olds 4 miles round trip.
Further remembering the miscreants we were, I don’t think I can blame them.
Oh, no! There is a parking lot there. There is one about one mile from where I parked the car, and there is one right at the statue. There is even a BUS that runs between the two! I did not gather all the information I should have before embarking on our journey…
i sooo would have loved this if i had known about it. guess i’ll have to come back sometime soon.