Washington, DC (USA)

Mollie told me she needed some service hours for National Honor Society and wanted to take advantage of the forecasted pleasant weather. We got lucky that the Notre Dame Alumni Club has coordinated with the Belle Haven unit of George Washington Memorial Parkway to do a river cleanup. We’d visited this park and the adjacent Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve so it was nice to be able to help beautify it. I woke Mollie up at 0810 and made breakfast (cinnamon toast crunch churro cereal, cinnamon rolls, bacon). At 1000, we got ready (packing, permission form, etc.) to go (Mollie grudgingly wore the Walmart shoes I bought her). We drove to Belle Haven Park on the Potomac and met up with members of the Notre Dame Alumni Club at 1100 AM. It was a bright sunny day with a steady breeze coming off the Potomac. After meeting all the other Domers and their families, we walked north with the NPS Ranger along the Mount Vernon bike trail until we reached the pickup area. We had to cross the busy Parkway to reach a small creek on the edge of a nearby golf course. When we first arrived, the tide was at its lowest point and the muddy, marshy flats were revealed to be covered in visible trash. When we last did one of these cleanups, I was surprised by the amount of garbage on the little creek in the residential area. This was far worse - it was on the edge of the City of Alexandria and the scene of garbage (mostly plastic bottles) was almost like what one might encounter on a Third World beach. I commented to Mollie that the volume was so great we’d be unable to even make a dent in the mess. But everyone got started and worked steadily for two hours. By the end (1300), our little group had filled 68 large bags! Mollie and I agreed that we actually made an impact in cleaning that small area - that felt good. But the realization that there are many more such places near our home was quite overwhelming. Need to keep reminding ourselves about the Power of One... We drove home (arrived at 1345) and ate lunch. Mollie spent the entire afternoon studying in her room. At 1700, we left my apartment and drove to Capital One Arena in DC to attend the Washington Wizards versus Memphis Grizzlies game (we had tickets from my company). We arrived (free parking) at 1800 and immediately got inside the arena. We went to the VIP Etihad Lounge and ate our dinner (LOTS of food from the buffet). The game started at 1900 and we sat in our floor seats for just over three quarters, really enjoying the game and the festivities associated with the mascot’s (G-Wiz) birthday celebration. I also got to visit with my work friend (Daniel) and his wife (they had bought tickets themselves and let us know where they were). Mollie and I headed home at around 2100. After we arrived at my apartment, Mollie got cleaned up and did more laundry (!). I went for a walk and Mollie relaxed a bit more before we went to bed very late.