it has been an emotional week. i don't have any words to add to all that has already been said about the events in boston. i just keep flashing back to marathon mondays/patriots day at BC and reflecting on the city, the day, the moments. as this article discusses, many college students may leave boston, and are not necessarily "from boston", but the city touches you in a very powerful way and leaves us "of boston". i am heartbroken and so very, very sad by what happened and so very, very happy that they caught the two men who did this. i spent much of the week glued to the washington post, the boston globe, and twitter. and on the phone with family and checking in on friends. thank you so much to all the first responders and emergency personnel in boston for their efforts and dedication and work this past week.
at moments like this, it helps me to get outside, to see the water and forest, and to reflect. so iván and i wandered down to calvert cliffs state park on the coast of the chesapeake bay (not quite ocean, but it will do). it helps to get out of the city.
the walk down to the bay and cliffs is an almost two mile wander through coastal hills and forest along a creek and through some swamps. it is beautiful.
[trail]
[searching for frogs, turtles, eagles]
[turtle]
the trail ends at a tiny little beach. we poked around for a while, sat and watched the waves, looked for clams and shells. such a lovely spring day.
on the way back i almost stepped on a snake! and was on serious edge for the rest of the hike. and then almost stepped on this little guy:
turtles, snakes, frogs, and birds. a good wildlife hike. a good time to reflect and leave the city.
thoughts and prayers and love to all of boston.