I have always gotten a little kick out of the word “serendipity” but been hard pressed to use it or recall many truly serendipitous moments in my life. Saturday I believe, gave me a little taste for its real meaning. I awoke at about 5:50 and, not wanting to wake Ryan, got up and had coffee, scanned the newspaper and left the hotel for the usual morning walk up to the University. Normally, I am with my husband who likes to recount his own days in college while walking around the campus and not boring our son with his stories of fun in, what Ryan would call, the olden days.
Yesterday I was alone, it was a gorgeous cool and crisp morning, more reminiscent of Cape Cod than D.C. in May, and the streets were quiet except for the joggers heading down to the Potomac. Walking in Georgetown is extremely pleasant before the hustle and bustle and jammed traffic start in just an hour or two. Had I arrived a day earlier, my idea had been to do some garden tours, particularly at Dumbarton Oaks, but I didn’t get to leave NJ until Friday morning and when I arrived there was no time.
So I headed up M Street toward the campus, sat on a bench and enjoyed the view, imagined the graduation a week in the future, walked around a bit and scanned my phone for mail, etc. I googled Dumbarton Oaks just to get the exact location. It wasn’t far at all so I set out to take a look. Granted it was about 7:40 and I knew it would not be open, but I just wanted to wander a bit and see what I could see. I strolled down and crossed over Wisconsin Ave and headed in the direction of 31st Street and R. Once crossing over Wisconsin the neighborhood takes on a distinctly more genteel feel. There are many extremely beautiful homes and the campus-extension personality evaporates. It is fun to wonder who lives there and what their lives are like. Memories of reading about Jackie Kennedy in her Georgetown townhouse came flooding back – I remember stories of the parties she held while she lived there. It was the perfect morning for walking, some bleary-eyed people were out with their dogs and as every block unfolded, I enjoyed this little snippet of time more.
As I walked along 31st Street in the direction of R St. NW, I passed Tudor Place, a home built in 1816, which was the residence of Martha Washington’s grandaughter, housed 6 generations of the Peter family, has tours of the home and garden and made me wish I could stay for an extra day. They were having an event that morning and lots of people were already making deliveries. I continued my walk along and was surprised by the gardens shown in the pictures in this post. It was truly a serendipitous find and I enjoyed every moment. I was amazed at the plant selection, presentations and the loving care obviously taken in these beautiful private yards. This was like finding the secret life of Georgetown.
I cursed myself for not having brought my camera and took these on my phone. I figured, what the heck, let’s see what I get. Not bad, do you think? I thought I’d share them with you. I hope you can get an appreciation for what I saw – truly charming!
When I got to R Street I crossed over and read the plaque on the gates of Dumbarton Oaks. Their tours are Tuesday through Sunday beginning at 2pm. I furrowed my brow and made a mental note that when I come next May to pick up Ryan, I will most assuredly retrace my steps and make the time to do these two garden tours. Every time I visit Washington, I realize two things – what a great city it would be to live in and how little I really know about it.
Well, I returned to the hotel and embarked on the intended purpose of the day – Ryan had to finish packing up his room and we would head back to NJ. But, not without a new impression of life in Georgetown.
