I only had to ride about 2 miles on the highway today; near Mount Vernon I picked up a bike trail that parallels the Potomac River all the way into town.  I stopped at a place called Gravelly Point for a first view of the Washington skyline, and I wound up watching a mother trying in vain to get her son as interested in the airplanes at Reagan National Airport as she was.

I had dreamed about bicycling on the National Mall... what I hadn't bargained on was weekend tourists.  I had to slow down to their walking speed and just go with the flow.  But it is really incredible to be here on a bicycle!

I found Marisa's dorm at Gallaudet University without much trouble and found myself immersed in Deaf culture.  I feel like a muggle visiting Hogwarts!  I'm just glad I have Hermione -- er, Marisa -- to help me make sense of it.

She treated me to dinner in the dining hall, and then we went to a play called "The Color of the Wind" about being a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults).

28.2 mi