Wetlands excursion

D.C. is pretty awesome.

In the midst of this sprawling metropolis area with highways and cars zooming every which way, helicopters and airplanes always buzzing up ahead, and some 5.5 million people clamoring about, there are little pockets of oasis' like this....

Yesterday me and Holly took the girls to the Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria and it was a nice little escape from the chaos of where we live. I think we passed maybe seven other people on the trails while we were here. That is unheard of here! It was glorious!

The girls started off by going on a scavenger hunt and finding all sorts of goodies.

And then we got busy discovering all the cool stuff that hangs out in a wetlands/foresty area.

We found a snake and some frogs which the girls just went ga-ga over.

And then we hit up the boardwalk through the wetlands.

All those poor nature photographers out there trying to stealthly photograph the wildlife without disturbing them....and here comes our six girls, barreling down the boardwalk..."WHAAA!!!! A bird! A bird!" And off it flies. It was great. I love kids and their enthusiasm. :~) They had the best time watching the cranes and turtles and ducks doing their thing.

We had a picnic in the woods and were careful not to touch any plants, seen as how I am not a plant person at all and I can't tell the difference between poison oak and a venus flytrap...I find it better if we touch nothing.

Ahhh...it was great to be out in nature for an afternoon. The girls ran for nearly the whole two miles we walked. (and didn't complain about being tired one time! Wha what?!) They are already asking to go back so I think we may have found a new little favorite spot here.

 Fun day. Just what we needed. Can't wait to go back!