As much as I'm eager to move away from DC, you have to appreciate a city where you can walk out your back door, hike for hours and stop for lunch along the way. We left the apartment thinking we would go for a short walk. Venturing down into Rock Creek Park, we split off from the bike path and onto one of the hiking trails that parallels the creek. Then we took a right at a fork in the path and suddenly found ourselves at Dumbarton Oaks Park. We wandered down the wooded, overgrown trails, a wilderness in the middle of the city, and emerged on a side street by the Danish Ambassador's Residence and an unusually large private home—even for DC—with a Bentley parked out front, the kind of car with curtains in the back seat. We walked toward Mass Avenue and passed the Center for Hellenic Studies, the Brazilian Embassy, and one of my favorite buildings—the stunning Italian Embassy.
Rather than walk on busy Mass Ave, we were able to immediately hop back onto one of the trails lacing the city and walk back down into the park. This time emerging by the Dumbarton Oaks Estate. From there it was an easy walk to Glover Park where we swung through the Georgetown Flea Market and admired a stunning mid-century modern couch, retro fruit crate labels, and antique postcards from around the country. Then, growing parched we walked up the hill to the Surfside, a taco restaurant I've been dying to try. My friend described it "DCs interpretation of a California taco stand." Read: Nicer and more expensive than anything on the beach in So Cal. I ordered the Maui (fish tacos with corn salsa) and B ordered the Cabo San Lucas (steak tacos). Plus two margaritas on the rocks with salt. Bonus? Even though it started to rain, the full belly and refreshing drink made the hike back home enjoyable.
All in all, quite the adventure walk for what was meant to be short stroll. I guess DCs not all that bad. (Map courtesy of NPS.gov).
