The Christmas Lights

(The Union Station tree.)  Every year I venture to the District to perambulate about to see the beautiful Christmas Trees there. I used to sometimes do it at night, running, sometimes leading a group of runners from the Ellipse ( the National Christmas Tree) to Capitol Hill (the Congressional Tree) and many of the points in between. Indoors, outdoors, most are beautiful. Those years when I was injured I used a Capital Bikeshare bike to get about to see whatever trees I could find, as I did this year in two trips to the District earlier this month.  (My tree.)

The Great Pandemic made it hard these last two years, many of the indoor venues were closed up tight, especially last year, and many outdoor sites were scaled back.  But I continued the tradition and here are some of the pictures from this year.  (The Peace Officers Tree.  Each ornament represents a local fallen police officer over the years.)

The most beautiful tree was the tree inside the Willard Hotel.  I really wanted to see the Library of Congress tree, which I saw in 2019 and considered then to be the most beautiful tree I had ever seen in the District, but it was closed on the Monday when I went this year and I was denied entry on the Wednesday when I went when it was supposed to be open.  I was told on that day it was "Reservations Only" although there was absolutely no line and they hadn't made that qualification apparent on the Monday when I had talked to them about when I could come back.  Too bad!  (The inside Willard Hotel tree.)

A great tree every year is on the outdoor plaza at the Canadian Embassy where it overlooks Pennsylvania Avenue towards the Capitol.  It's across the street from the FTC, where I worked for a quarter century.  (O Canada!)

The Congressional Tree on the lawn on the west side of the Capitol is always a great tree.  The Capitol backdropping it had a fresh coat of whitewash around its lower level, due to the murderous Maggot Mob that desecrated the People's House earlier this year as they tried to usurp our government as they pushed the Big Lie to invalidate a majority of the presidential votes cast last year.  (A wreath-like holiday decoration on the facing of the Smithsonian Textile Museum.)

There was a creche on the Ellipse, along with the National Tree and a small tree for each state or territory, and not much else. No Menorah or Santa's Shop or electric train running around the National Tree.  It used to be so much better.  (Meh.)

There were indoor trees at Union Station (no Norwegian mountain village this year), the Navy Memorial, the Hotel Monaco, the Smithsonian Castle and nice holly decorations around the enclosed central courtyard of the National Portrait Gallery.  New this year was a wreath-like decoration fronting one of the Smithsonian museums.  (The Smithsonian Castle Tree.)

There were stacks of coal heaped outside the Trump International Hotel where a sign warned away anyone entering who wasn't a guest or a gust of a guest.  This hotel inside the Postal Pavillon is leased from the federal government and is in effect public property and in years past has had a pretty tree, just as it probably has this year.  (The Congressional Tree.)

Meanwhile, I can't wait for this year to end.  The Boulder County wildfire spawned by 100 MPH winds even as I write this is burning up the very area where my rental investment property is.  I'll have to wait and see how that comes out.  One last kick in the ass by 2021 as it goes out?  (The interior courtyard space at the National Portrait Gallery.)