Walking Walrus - Walking Washington DC Union Station Volksmarch

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Walking

Walking with the Walrus

UNION STATION DC USA 10 KM VOLKSMARCH
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1997

by Kevin Shaw

The Virginia Volkssport Association put together this great walk in downtown DC on this Saturday before Christmas, their fourth annual Christmas walk . The start point emanated from the big DC railway station, Union Station, located just off the U.S. Capitol and easily accessible to many walkers by Metro Subway and Amtrak besides the usual automobile routes. I came by car since I wanted to get my pooches some exercise. India, Peaches and I met up with my friends Dan and Marty, and after registering were off on the trail a bit after 10 am on this sunny, mild day. We had a map and written directions, but with Marty and I quite knowledgeable about the routes in downtown DC we had a very easy time navigating the trail today.
The route went out of Union Station and followed Louisiana Avenue to Constitution and then onto Pennsylvania Avenue in the downtown DC mall area. At one point we had to stop for a minute or so while a big motorcade thundered through; we believe it was President Clinton and his big entourage. Lots of walkers out on this mild day, and the first really notable place for me on the trail today was on the Ellipse across from the White House. The National Christmas Tree was twinkling in the sunlight. The trail took us around the smaller trees for each state in the Union, decorated with artifacts from children of each state. A question about the tree lighting was our first checkpoint. We saw the Yule Log burning as part of ancient good luck tradition. This was quite a sight! The White House was across from the Ellipse, and the President must have just arrived, as we spotted several secret service on the roof of the White House doing their duty to look for anything out of the ordinary. All in a day's walk in Washington DC!
The trail passed out of the Ellipse and crossed Constitution and past a lake which the pooches cooled their feet off briefly. Also many squirrels were out and about today, and Peaches and India had their squirrel radar turned on very well. My friend Marty remarked how brave these squirrels were; the pooches would get right up in their face and not back down. Not sure what my pooches would actually do if they got a hold of one; they appear to love the sport of the chase itself actually. We passed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, then onto the Lincoln Memorial and the reflecting pool. Our second checkpoint dealt with the construction of the reflecting pool. We walked along the entire length of the Reflecting Pool, with the Washington Monument looming next after crossing 17th Street. Soon the Washington Monument will begin a facelift, and will be partially covered up very soon during the reconstruction time.
We walked in "The Mall" area, passing the various Smithsonian Buildings as we continued to talk away and keep the pooches at bay with all the squirrels around. At 3rd Street we turned right and followed another Reflecting Pool around to Union Square in front of the U. S. Capitol building. We cut in front of this imposing National Shrine, and onto Delaware Avenue for a few short blocks to Union Station. We got our books stamped, picked up a few new brochures out, and thanked the volunteers working at the start/finish for a great opportunity to see our Nation's Capital in all its holiday splendor. There was also a 5 km option and also a 10 km guided night walk available, but we gathered at the Capital City Brewery across the street in the Postal Museum building for some holiday cheer and lunch. I believe there was a count of close to 500 walkers for this event at the time we finished, and I am sure they had many more for the night guided walk. Thank you Virginia Volkssport Association for an excellent walking event, just what I needed after all the holiday parties going on that has been causing a slight increase in my waistline! I look forward to walking this trail once again next year.