Cherry Blossoms in Washington D.C.

The cherry trees were almost
in full bloom

Today, as it is spring break, my mom, Eli, Micah, Abahagoy, and I visited Washington D.C.'s famous cherry blossoms. We rode the metro downtown. The trees, which bloom every year during the first half of April, were not yet in full bloom, but they were still amazing. As a gift from the Japanese, they were planted around the tidal basin over one hundred years ago. Today, tourists from all over attend the cherry blossom festival, which begins in late March and runs to mid-April. Though today was a cloudy day with temperatures only in the 50s, the trees were still just as beautiful as they would've been on a warmer, sunnier day. We walked halfway around the basin, and visited the Thomas Jefferson memorial, where we experienced stunning views of the trees lining the shore. It was a wonderful experience, and we can't wait to see them next year!                                           

The tidal basin with
the trees and the
monument in the
background, as seen
from the memorial

Inside the Jefferson
Memorial

A close-up view of a
tree

Si Trip to Liberty

My mom and Micah on
the beginner slope

Today, after a snow dusting in Maryland, we decided to drive up to Liberty Mountain Resort in southern Pennsylvania. Since we had decided not to go on a trip to Wisp Resort in western Maryland last weekend, we decided to go to this resort, which was much closer, on our snow day. On a regular weekend it would've been crowded, but today there was almost nobody. Plus, we got a first-time-skiing package, which was much cheaper today than it would've been on a weekend. It seemed as if they had also had a dusting, because the surrounding mountains were covered in snow. It took just an hour to drive there, and it took even longer to get the passes and put on our ski gear. We had to wait half an hour at the base of the beginner slope for the lesson to start, but it did start. They divided us into groups, and my mom ended up in a different one. It was a bummer, because her teacher taught much quicker, while ours went through every detail quite slowly. While he was taking us down the slope, he declared that i was "perfectly capable to go down by myself." It was probably because I had been skiing before. We met up with our mom, did that slope a couple of times, and then ate our bagged lunch. Mom and Micah spent a bit of time using the "carpet," which was a conveyor belt that carried skiers up a segment of the slope. When we all had the hang of it, we all skied down the slope, and limited our falls to almost zero. We took videos and pictures, and then drove home. Good thing Eli and I are going skiing at a nearby resort from March 6-8 with our youth group!

Only one inch of snow
cancelled school in
Montgomery County

Eli and I on the lift

Us after we got our
skis on

Snowstorm in D.C.

Mom is outside, about to go
for a walk

Micah on the field in the
"Down Park"

It started around mid-morning, and then got heavy. See, there was already a good two inches on the ground from Tuesday's snow, but, so far, it has snowed four or five inches on top of that. In most places, the snow is almost eight inches. My brothers and I played a football game in the snow, bringing back memories from December 2013, when Grandma was here for Thanksgiving, and when her flight back to Oregon was cancelled. We went sledding next, and took great videos, even from on the sled. After that was jumping off the swings into the soft, powdery snow that covered the wood chips. We had an opportunity to go skiing at Deep Creek Lake in western Maryland, but passed, because they were to get a foot of snow. Getting snowed in without being able to drive back would've been a terrible experience. Right now, the snow is still coming down very hard, dumping much more than expected. We can enjoy this weather while we have it, because predictions say that March will be warmer than average in the northeast, so this will probably be our last snowstorm. We are exited about spring, though, especially after seeing the pictures of Oregon. Mom and Dad are on a walk to wherever, and our street hasn't been plowed. Dad says it's because Washington D.C. doesn't handle snow very well, so spring should welcome us!

- Daniel

Footsteps from the football
game cover the backyard

The backyard as seen from my
parents' bedroom

January Winter Wonderland

The creek in the woods by the
"down park"

Today we got two inches of snow in Silver Spring, the snow coming down from about 11:15 AM to 3 PM. Micah and I walked through the woods by what we call the "down park," until we got to the creek. These woods in the middle of the suburbs are just like an oasis in the middle of the desert: you could think you're in West Virginia walking through them. There we took these pictures (note the silver tree branches) and then walked back up to the park, where a few younger kids were trying to sled, although I don't think that there was enough snow to sled. But, some of them had made a snowman that was 3 feet tall! I guess two inches of snow is enough to play around. Although we still haven't gotten a blizzard, wed probably will in February. We are the only Woodwards experiencing winter, so we'd better enjoy it!

Another shot of the creek, facing
upstream this time

Snow Coating in Maryland

The snow measured three
inches on the porch railing

Today we woke up in Silver Spring with two inches of snow, and to a message from MCPS saying that school will be cancelled. It's not enough snow for sledding, but the snow is still falling and is predicted to stop at noon. Even though the snow short outside, the temperature is around twenty degrees outside, and it will be like that for the rest of the week. We hope for a major blizzard this year.

Harper's Ferry

The streets of town with
Maryland Heights in the
background

Today was an amazing trip to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. After an hour-long drive from Silver Spring, we arrived at the national park's visitor center. From there, we took a shuttle bus to the town. The town, which dates back to the late 1700's, has 200 year old shops and reveals the history of the civil war. Virginia and Maryland, both slave states, were the two states that were home to the town, but during the civil war, MD refused to leave the union after Virginia left. West Virginia left Virginia, and the war broke out. We crossed the Potomac River on foot to get back to MD, and walked along the C and O Canal towpath to the beginning of our trail. We hiked up an area of high ground known as "Maryland Heights," where we hiked steeply up to 1449 ft. At the top of the mountain was a stone fort, formerly a part of a mountaintop union camp. We hiked up the steep trail thinking about how hard it must have been for the union soldiers to drag cannons and supplies up to the top. According to a book, Abraham Lincoln gave up before reaching the camp. We ate our picnic lunch and enjoyed the view east of the river and mountains. We then hiked down to 661 ft., where we enjoyed views of the town and the river from a cliff overlook. This was followed by hiking back to WV and the town. We learned the story of John Brown, who attacked the town in 1859 with hope to inspire slave revolts. His fort still stands there today, although he was hanged after the war. We also explored the shops and streets of town before riding the bus back to our car and driving home.

The town as seen from the
cliff in Maryland

The view east of Maryland and
Virginia from the fort

The Potomac River divides MD
and WV/VA

Snow in Silver Spring

The snow in our backyard and on the
rooftops

Our first snowfall in Silver Spring occurred today.Beginning at around 10:30 AM, it began to stick at around 11:15 AM. We had a half-day at school today, and up ahead we have a four-day weekend. Even though the snow was less than an inch on the ground, snow is still snow, and we got our very first snowfall of the year.We hope that we will get significant amounts of snow this winter, but not as much snow as last year. We are prepared for whatever this winter brings!