Tag Archives: national

Point Reyes

wpid5862-AU0E8721.jpgA trip across the hills from Napa and we made our way to Point Reyes. This is a place we have visited before and I find it very appealing. The shoreline is quite rugged and the sea pounded the cliffs or rolling in on the beaches is very nice. The lighthouse on the headland is a great place to visit. What we didn’t realize when heading over is that we were arriving when the visitor numbers are high. Apparently, gray whales migrate north at this time and, since the parking lot at the lighthouse normally only has to cope with less than 20 cars and can’t handle many more, they close off access and run a shuttle up. This upset our timings a little but we went with the flow.

wpid5867-AU0E8761.jpgOur expectations of seeing the whales was limited. We have not always had good luck seeing whales. However, low expectations seem to help as we saw several making their way around the headland. We also got to enjoy the rest of the scenery. Getting a photo of the whales is tricky. I didn’t have a very long lens but the first sign is when they spout upon surfacing before they dive back under. The spouting is the shot that you really need to make it clear what is happening and you can’t usually get the camera on them until they have already blown. However, this wasn’t the reason for the visit so I took the whale sightings as a happy bonus.

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National Tropical Botanic Garden

The climate on Kauai varies depending on which part of the island you are on.  It can be tropical or almost desert like.  Some places are drenched with rain almost continuously.  The tropical area makes a great place for a tropical botanic garden so that is exactly what is there.  The garden is located inland from the entrance so you need to take a shuttle to get into it.  Once there, you are free to wander around.

There are some really interesting plant types and the landscaping of the place is very attractive.  There were a few other visitors when we were there but it certainly wasn’t busy and we could be pretty much alone as we wandered around.  It did rain a little while we were there.  This is supposed to be the drier side of the island but I guess we brought the rain with us from the north side of the island.  However, the showers were only occasional and we had borrowed umbrellas from the office so we were fine.

Not only were there great trees and plants to check out but we also got to feel what it was like to be surrounded by a plant.  Check out this battle between nature and the road!

Albert Einstein

Just across from the Lincoln Memorial is the National Academy of Sciences.  On the grounds in the front of the building is a sculpture of Albert Einstein.  It is a great sculpture since it is quite sizable and impressive yet is in a style that is very relaxed.  It gets a few visitors at a time but isn’t very busy so is a nice distraction from the business of the rest of the Mall.  It is also just the right size to encourage you to sit in his lap.  I include a picture of Chris doing just that so you can gauge the scale.