late lunch with Rachel @ la Madeleine

After running 7 miles and walked 5 miles in Reston, I had lunch at la Madeleine French Bakery & Café with Rachel who just came back from Asia and kindly shared delicious desserts from Asia.

2-bear sighting

I hiked with 30 other people on Pass Mountain - Mary Rocks – Buck Hollow for only 11 miles (18 kms) 2600 ft (800 meters) gain, but saw two black bears and enjoyed nice weather after a busy week.

NOVA REAL ESTATE PRODUCERS Magazine PARTY

I was in McLean this evening for a NOVA REAL ESTATE PRODUCERS Magazine PARTY with a live band, top real estate agent recognition, raffles, food and beverages in a giant 15,200 Sq. Ft. house for sale at 7.5 millions.

2018 Celebration Invention

I went in DC to attend the 2018 Celebration Invention event Sponsored by The Lemelson Foundation, and listened to the inspiring invention journeys of eight AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassadors. Among the eight, Ms. Rachel Walker touched my heart most. Her work as a Peace Corp. Volunteer in Africa inspired her to become a Nerse, and now an Assistant Professor at UMass Amherst College of Nursing leading teams working on creative and cost effective medical equipments.

2nd Logan Festival at First Stage Tysons Corner

I was emotionally exhausted after watching three theatric plays at First Stage Tysons Corner today. I thought the first play "The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey" was the best 1-person play ever, which was about the murder of a warm and true-to-self gay teenager. The last play "Where Did We Sit On The Bus?" of a 2nd generation Latino immigrant was so creative and touching to bring me laughters & tears. “A theatrical mixtape of [Quijada’s] life, a mashup of looped rhythms, raps, songs, poems and spoken-word pieces that attempt to find the connecting threads of a life lived liminally” (The Chicago Tribune). You just need to see them yourself (else where since the festival was close today).

Misty Staunton River Trail and Bear Church Rock

While the city had pouring rain, I enjoyed a dry fall-like hiking day along Staunton River Trail and Bear Church Rock for 16 miles (26 kms) and 3600 feet (1100 meters) elevation gain. We were in the mist of clouds a few times, and there was not as open views as usual at the Bear Church Rock. I wore the poncho to stay warm as the temperature once dropped to 60 f (15c). Pretty lucky comparing with the 5-week ago wet hike on the same trail. There were different kinds of flowers blooming now, but not as many eatable wild mushrooms, yet I managed to collect enough for dinner after the hike. For people never cooked chicken mushrooms, it is better to divide the body into the soft/edge group and the tough/center group, and cook the tough group first for 10 mins then add in the soft group for another 10 mins.

congressional receptions in DC

The weather was pleasant to walk around D.C. for some congressional receptions. I walked by the Library of Congress many times but finally asked another pedestrian to take my photo today.