C & O Canal National Historic Park

Last year, on Memorial Day weekend, we Lusters were super-adventurous. We took on one of the steepest and rockiest trails on Sugarloaf Mountain, 1-month-old Julia riding in the front-body carrier. It was quite an experience. One that we have yet to do again, it was so harrowing.

This time around, Julia's nap schedule and the weather cooperated so we could go on another Memorial Day picnic and hiking adventure. However, today we decided to try something new - Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park. The Great Falls, Maryland site was only a 40-minute drive from our house, and Evelyn got a stamp in her National Parks passport book for visiting the park.

We found a picnic table next to the canal for our lunch. As you can see in the pictures, everyone enjoyed their fine dining experience in their own special way.

After lunch, we strapped Julia into the baby carrier, and off we went. We hiked a trail that took us onto Olmsted Island. There were several bridges along the way that provided amazing views of the waterfalls in the Potomac River.

I mean, can you believe this is the Potomac River? I never thought it would look like this. (Click on the picture to enlarge it to get the full effect.)

Our initial goal was to hike two different trails, but the sun and humidity really got to Julia, so we were only able to walk the island trail. The next time we visit this park, we plan to hike the Overlook Trail, which is just under one mile round-trip.