This is actually a retroactive Tourist at Home post because I visited the National Arboretum with my friend Casey a few years ago and I just realized I never posted the photos! Bad blogger. I have some free time now to show some photos and tell you a little about our visit.
In July 2011 when Casey was visiting from out of town, she and I spent part of an afternoon seeing the Arboretum since neither of us had been before. I remember it being a very (very very) hot and humid day, but it was so fun to see something new. Plus admission is free and free is always great! Parking was super easy and it was just a short walk to the entrance. We both brought our cameras to get some photography practice in, and the Arboretum doesn’t disappoint with plenty of interesting subjects to shoot – a koi pond, fountains, lots of flowers and foliage, and of course the famous National Capitol Columns that were originally part of the East Portico of the Capitol building in the 1800s.
You could easily spend several hours here exploring if you enjoy botany and horticulture. We didn’t even venture into all of the various gardens and areas of the 446-acres just due to time (and the fact that I was almost literally melting). The Arboretum offers a tram tour, or you can pick up a map at the Visitor Center and work your way through the grounds on a self-guided tour. There’s also a designated picnic area if you want to enjoy an alfresco lunch – I’ll definitely go back sometime on a nice day to do just that. We opted to just wander around with our cameras and see what we could find to photograph. Here are a few of my favorite images from the day, including one of us before I did melt.
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