On Monday , Bill and I were scheduled to fly to Washington, DC to begin our Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Towpath bike trip from Pittsburgh back to Washington, DC. We chose to fly Alaska Airlines non-stop from LAX to Dulles. Since we had an early flight out of LA, we drove to LA on Sunday morning and had brunch with Bill’s brother, Bob and celebrated his birthday.
Monday’s flight to Dulles was uneventful and we arrived at our Airbnb studio near Logan Circle near 5 PM. We have really enjoy the architecture of the grand old houses in the neighborhood.
The house on the left was Senator John Logan’s home. logan was a Union General during the Civil War and later a US Representative and US Senator from Illinois. When he built it, the area was called Iowa Circle. It was renamed in honor of Logan in 1930 and a fountain in the middle of the circle was replaced by an equestrian statue of Senator Logan. The white brick house was built as an investment duplex by Ulysses S Grant, Jr. Son of the 18th President. The home was later owned by Henry Lechter, a decorated Tuskegee Airman and 1st cousin to Duke Ellington, who was a frequent visitor.
On last building that I will mention, is the Old Korean Legation Museum. The buillding was built in 1877 and from 1889 to 1905 it was the Legation Building for the Joseon Dynasty, and after 1897, the Korean Empire. In 1905, Japan annexed Korea, and subsequently sold the building. It was not until 2012, that the Korean (South) government was able to reacquire the property. The building was restored and is now a museum.
Also important to Bill and me, is the building at 1515 Vermont Ave, NW, right off Logan Circle.
Our home for the last few days. It is a very nice ground floor studio, perfect for our short stay here. We would definitely come again. On Tuesday, we went to Big Wheel Bikes, in Georgetown, to pick up the bikes that we will take with us on Amtrak to Pittsburgh and then use to ride the 330 miles back to DC. While waiting for the bikes to be set up, we walked down to the water front. On the way, we passed over the last bit of the C&O Towpath Trail. I thought a picture was in order.
On Wednesday, we planned a circle trip using the Rock Creek, Bethesda Trolley and Capital Crescent Trails . Well, what was planned and what we rode weren’t exactly a match. Construction on the last couple of miles of Rock Creek Trail, without particularly useful detour signs left us hanging. But, we made it, with a few more hills than planned and using trails we didn’t even know existed and we never found the Bethesda Trolley Trail. But, if you look at the ride map from Strava, it looks like a perfect executed ride.
in the end, we felt like we had ridden much farther than the 25+ logged miles.
Today, we used our bikes, but not for a trail ride. We participated in a Bike Tour of the Washington Mall Memorials. We were a small group of 7 and most of us knew how to ride a bike. It was a fun 3 hours stopping at the Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR and MLK Memorials, as well at the Korean, Vietnam and WWII war Memorials.
So, tonight, we are going out for Ethiopian Food, having a quiet evening in and packing for Pittsburgh and the bike trip. We have enjoyed our quick stay in Washington. We realize, it had been 20+ years since we visited DC.
I hope to post small daily blog entries on the bike trip, subject, of course, to having some kind of internet service.
John and William- On the Road Again 