D.C. Area

Washington D.C.

The area I grew up in before I moved to the northwest. Luckily I was far enough outside of DC in Prince William County that I had access to a lot of woods that I played in non-stop growing up. From dirt biking, mountain biking, playing in the creek, building forts, you name it, I spent most of my time in the woods behind my house during all the seasons while growing up. Now DC itself has actually a lot of very accessible nature spots within the city and just outside. I venture back there a lot and get to explore. You can bike all the way to the Potomac River and find some amazing spots to hang in nature. Go up far enough and you can reach the Great Falls on the Potomac. Connected to the North part of the city is Rock Creek Park. There is some amazing biking through that park plus plenty of areas to grill out and enjoy a picnic. There are also so many trails going through all the monuments, it is really a beautiful city to ride a bike through or run. Just outside the city, there is the Chesapeake Bay, Potomac River, Shenandoah mountains, and much more.

Dewey Beach

Being out in the northwest there is one thing I do miss from the east coast and that is the beaches. Don’t get me wrong, there are some stunning beaches out in the Pacific Northwest but they are more hiking beaches. Out east, during the summer, it’s those beaches you can just hang out without a shirt on into the night. All the way from Dewey Beach to Assateague Island National Seashore there are some beautiful beaches that you can post up all day at. There are also some beach towns/cities where you can get rowdy too. I would say the beach weather usually goes from May to around October, with summertime being the best time. September is an incredible time too but just pending hurricanes.

Shenandoah

The beautiful Shenandoah and Blue Ridge mountains. There really is a beauty to this area of Virginia. Growing up here I got to experience a lot of it fortunately. Now being at west I have come to appreciate both. When you first go out west to Colorado or somewhere similar, you are blown away by the sheer scale and size. It makes the Blue Ridge mountains look small and insufficient. Living out west now and seeing these incredible mountains all the time, when I come back I am floored and have a whole new appreciation of the beauty of this area. The mountains out west have this aggressive beauty to them, like look at these snow capped peaks, massive canyons, and just the size of the mountains. Out east, there is this very settled beauty of the Appalachian Mountains. It has these rolling green hills, beautiful farmland, and just very soothing atmosphere. Makes you want to sit on your front porch on a warm day, drinking some lemonade looking out and just be at peace. Both have become equal in my book, they’re just a different kind of beauty.