The latest fall foliage report showed that Frederick County was at peak. So, we went to Catoctin Mountain Park to take a look. Peak is probably not how we’d have described what we saw! After spending some time hiking, we drove over to Frederick to have lunch and to take a walk through the small city’s downtown area.
Continue reading “Fall Foliage at Catoctin Mountain Park”C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) at Shenandoah National Park
We visited Shenandoah National Park this evening to try and see a comet, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). The weather forecast was favorable and things looked good on our way in with clear skies. Unfortunately, it was quite hazy and some clouds rolled in to the west before sunset and our viewing turned out to be only partially successful.
Continue reading “C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) at Shenandoah National Park”Another Meadowlark Morning
We decided to head out to the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens again today, just like last Saturday! There was quite a bit new as many displays were setup for the annual Winter Walk of Lights. Some plants have been removed to make room, though there was still plenty to see. But, unlike last week, we didn’t see a single Eastern Bluebird! We did find a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker though, something we haven’t seen very often!
Continue reading “Another Meadowlark Morning”Tokyo Imperial Palace East Gardens
After waking up at the Hyatt Place Kyoto one last time, we returned to Tokyo via Shinkansen. We had some time before our flight from Haneda so we visited the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, near Tokyo Station. After a nice lunch nearby and some more snacking at the ANA Lounge at Haneda, we end our fantastic 11 night trip to Japan!
Continue reading “Tokyo Imperial Palace East Gardens”Enko-ji, Shisen-do, and the Shimogamo-jinja
Our last full day in Kyoto! After waking up at the Hyatt Place Kyoto, we headed out to visit Enko-ji and Shisen-do nearby. We also made a late lunch reservation for Kani Doraku‘s nearby location. Afterwards, we ended the day with a visit to the Shinto Shimogamo-jinja.
Continue reading “Enko-ji, Shisen-do, and the Shimogamo-jinja”