Breakfast at Roosevelt Island

On Roosevelt Island

Does six feet make a difference? I have written ad nauseum about paddling on the urban section of the Potomac up and around Roosevelt Island. How is it that a walk on that self same island – a few feet onto land rather than a few feet out into the water – feels at first like less of a noteworthy adventure? But an adventure it was – or at least an outing worth writing about.

It was a warm, sunny Saturday morning. On Saturdays our usual destination is the Falls Church Farmer’s Market, however this week we knew we wouldn’t be eating many meals at home so we decided to forego the usual acquisition of fruits and veggies in favor of a trip to the river. We grabbed some food and folding chairs (and of course a mug of coffee for me) and headed for Roosevelt Island.

First we ate breakfast along the shore, watching the myriad watercraft go by – kayaks, SUPs, outrigger canoes, shells, and powerboats. Then we headed across the foot bridge and walked the circumferential path around the island. The river side of the path is a boardwalk through some marshy areas, the prettiest part of the island, in my opinion. It had been a long time since we had taken this walk and as we strolled along we reminisced about earlier trips with the boys when they were little – plopping down on the deck of the marsh overlook to look at the cattails, Teddy mimicking the pose of the Teddy Roosevelt statue for a photo …

By the time we got back to the car the day was getting hotter. We had a deadline to be back in Falls Church by noon and so we hopped into the car and off we went – otherwise I could have lingered by the river for the rest of the day.

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