DC in December, Round 2

For the second Tuesday in a row, I hit the road early with the District as my destination. Craft and Karhu is sponsoring the City Sports DC Run Club for the month of December, which simply means that I am in attendance at each of their Tuesday night runs with wear test products, giveaways and of course lots of enthusiasm. Last Tuesday was the first run of the month and it was a rousing success. It was also painfully, take-your-breath-away cold and windy, and I remember avowing right then and there (as soon as my mouth thawed enough for me to enunciate properly) that there was no possible way it could be colder the following week.

It was.

This Tuesday night run was quite literally numbingly cold, and for the second week in a row I was amazed that over a dozen intrepid souls turned up of their own volition to go for a run. I respect that. Plus, have I mentioned that running down the Mall amongst the historic monuments and memorials still fills me with wonder every time? Not a bad place to take an evening jog if you ask me.

I'd planned the rest of the trip to be nearly identical to the week before: shacking up at my friend Dave's place in Georgetown/Glover Park, running along the canal, visiting some Pacers stores and then heading back home on Thursday. All went according to plan until the first great snowstorm of winter 2010 struck Thursday mid-morning. I was actually driving to Pacers in Logan Circle when the first flurries began to fall, and by the time poor Mini slipped and slid her way to the Arlington location it seemed as though the prospect of driving home was a bit dubious. Poor Dave. Just when he thought he'd successfully gotten rid of me, here I was inviting myself over for another night. (Little does he know that Jordan and I will also be requesting his couch and Snuggie next Tuesday. I didn't have the heart to mention it to him just yet.)

Fortunately by this morning the streets had been sufficiently plowed and the bridges adequately sanded and the idiot drivers calmed enough to allow me to return to the Carolinas. I'm not exaggerating at all when I say it was almost worth staying the extra day to witness this morning's exquisite sunrise. As I drove toward the Arlington Memorial Bridge, the Lincoln Memorial directly in front of me and the Washington Monument just off to the left, my breath was literally taken away by the intense hues of purple and pink that flooded the lightening sky. I tried to snap a photo with my phone while driving, which as you can imagine proved unsuccessful, but fortunately I found this shot online that almost perfectly captures the morning palette. What a way to start the day.