Paul Barrios Photography

What an amazing week this has been. I have gotten most of my projects completed ahead of schedule thanks to being on a "mini vacation" from my "regular" job.

To reward myself I decided to go on a solo hike out at Great Falls. For those of you who do not know me, I love to stay active so hikes, marathons, biking, and rock climbing are things I love to do for fun. I also decided to leave the Nikon D90 at home and relied on my trusty Nikon S600 point and shoot camera and my iPhone 3Gs to capture the shots. I must admit, those two pieces of technology sure do the job. My Gorilla Pod tripod was great to have since I didn't have anyone to snap pictures of me, for me.

I love coming out to this park and am freshly reminded of how much there is to explore right in my backyard. On this trip I was the only one out on the trails and it was awesome. Great Falls served as my own little sanctuary away from the fast paced life of the Washington, D.C. area. I got some good "thinking" time in and found it to be the perfect way to recharge my "life battery". Half way through the hike I stopped at this one point overlooking the Potomac River (pics below) and couldn't help but shout for joy at how free I felt from the stresses of life. A line from my Lululemon bag struck me at that very moment. It reads, "That which matters the most should never give way to that which matters the least." I then began to meditate upon all of the blessings I have in life and gave thanks to the Almighty for them all: friends, family, health, etc.

On the 27th of September there will be a special on PBS entitled, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" shot by Ken Burns that will feature Great Falls. I plan on watching it... will you?

At the end of my little adventure I headed over to the Georgetown Bagelry to have some good food and see my friend Mary who owns and runs the place. I don't get down to River Road often but every time I visit the Bagelry I leave happy making my trip well worth the drive. There is a reason they were voted "Best Bagels" in the Washington, D.C. City Paper. Please make sure you visit this place. You will not be disappointed.... oh yeah... make sure to vote for them in the latest Bethesda Magazine poll!