The Walking Wait
I thought I had prepared well for yesterday. I would be waiting most of the day in a surgical center, so I packed a light jacket, took plenty of books and settled in for the duration.
The surgical center had other ideas. I wasn’t allowed to stay there, due to Covid restrictions. I would be on my own all day in Bethesda, but of course wouldn’t want to be sitting inside anywhere.
It was on the way back to the parking garage to figure out a new plan that I saw the sign: Capital Crescent Trail. This rails-to-trails path runs from Chevy Chase through Bethesda down to Georgetown. It is shady most of the way, with a great vaulting canopy of mixed hardwoods to cool and refresh the walkers and bikers that use it.
I couldn’t believe my luck. This time, the wait wouldn’t be sitting in a sterile waiting room. It would be outside under the sky and clouds. I started off slowly, having already taken a fast walk earlier in the say. But with hours to kill before returning I could wander as far down the path as I chose.
I didn’t turn around till Georgetown, almost to the C&O Canal towpath. I passed the Bethesda Pool, the Loughborough Mill and the dim spooky confines of the Delacarlia Tunnel (more on that in a separate post). It was a discovery-filled morning, a long, stretch-the-legs walk … and the perfect way to pass the time and still be close by. My prescription for waiting: whenever possible, take a walk.
