bladensburg waterfront part 7.11&12.06

they have a free pontoon boat ride at
bladensburg waterfront park
not too far from where i live in NE DC.
apparently it’s well known
cause we weren’t able to get on the boat the first time.
we were able to get PSDs — as they call the life jackets –
but not a seat on the boat.

i had an option to wait an hour for another boat,
but i had to pass.
sanaa was whiney but willing to wait (can you believe that?)

– “it’s not going to take a long time, mommy!” –
but we’d been waiting 45 minutes to an hour already,
it was hot, and i was hungry.

so we came back a second time.
i forgot the pontoon only ran on tues., thurs., and sat.
so we rented a row boat.

– note to self:
the boats (canoes, kayaks and paddle boats are also available) are by reservation.
they tried to charge us $20 instead of $7 cause we didn’t have a reservation,
but a little “what’s up” with the manager took care of that extra $13 –

it was shakey at first, but we got it together.

it had been hot on land,
but wonderfully breezy on the water.
maybe we’ll get to that pontoon one day.

before we got the rowboat
we went down the pier where two men were fishing.
as we were returning to the boathouse
one of the lines of the men started pulling.
we got to see him catch one of the potomac river’s finest: a catfish.
he reeled it in with a little drama for the little ones
and put a homemade leash on it to keep it fresh until he was ready to leave.
he looped some string with metal attached to the ends
through the fish’s mouth and gills,
stuck one end in the peir and through the fish back in the water.

he told us that the only thing about leaving it like that
is that when you’re ready to go
you’ll have have a fish
cause the turtle will come and get a snack.
i didn’t know turtle ate fish.
i thought they were vegetarian!

sanaa and rahmah play on a B&O Railroad caboose while waiting for daddy to get his money back.