Lunchtime Stroll

Photo by HPEB, 7/26/17

It was too nice a day to just sit at my desk and eat my lunch while I work, which is my usual routine. Initially, I thought to walk over to L’Enfant Plaza to the 5 Guys there and grab a burger and fries, then walk back and eat it at my desk while I worked. However, my feet had different ideas, so I just followed them through a lovely DC lunchtime stroll. See, DC isn’t all bad, all politics, all the time. It has its lovelier moments — when you take the time to notice them. This was all in about a half-hour stroll.

Photo by HPEB, 7/26/17

Right out the front door of my building is the mall, with the Capital in one direction….

Photo by HPEB, 7/26/17

…and the Washington Monument in the other. As you can see, it was a lovely day in July in the District.

Photo by HPEB, 7/26/17

I was drawn towards the Smithsonian Castle, where there are lovely gardens on either side.

Photo by HPEB, 7/26/17
Photo by HPEB, 7/26/17
Photo by HPEB, 7/26/17

As I walked I mused on how I could easily have missed all this, had I stuck to my original plan of fast-walking to the burger place and back, and sitting at my desk eating, even though I do have a decent view of it all from there, out my window.

View from my window — that’s the Freer Art Gallery of the Smithsonian directly across the street, with the Smithsonian Castle, the Capital, and the Smithsonidan’s Arts & Industries Building rising above the Freer.

It’s so much better to, every now and again, just get out and into the view, instead of just sitting and watching it as I work. Not that I sit there gazing out my window all day, but the occasional glance is always nice to do.

Photo by HPEB, 7/26/17 — the Haupt Garden — one of my favorites
Photo by HPEB, 7/26/17
Photo by HPEB, 7/26/17 — Interesting effect when I tried using my panoramic view

So, instead of a burger and fries, I wound up grabbing a lamb gyro from a lunch truck, which was fabulous, as I ate it back at my desk, and got on with the business of the day — feeling much less burdened by the decisions and the tasks I had left to accomplish for the day. A walk on the mall, and through the Smithsonian’s gardens, had lightened my mood, considerably.

I’ll have to try to do that more often!

Photo by HPEB, 7/26/17

The Story Hall

A gathering place for stories to be told, read and appreciated.

Hawkeye Pete Egan B.

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Connecting the dots. Storytelling helps me to make sense of this world, and of my life. I love writing and reading. Writing is like breathing, for me.

The Story Hall

A gathering place for stories to be told, read and appreciated.

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