Xmas Trees

Before I was forced to involuntarily retire due to pernicious ageism discrimination at my agency fostered by the new breed of managers there, ambitious, callow persons all a full generation younger than me who only saw their own advancement as paramount, I used to lead an annual Christmas tree run around the Mall that took in as many holiday decorations as we could run by and that stopped briefly at some to admire them. Because of the current cultural wars climate, where the true description of what you're doing can't be hurtful to somebody somewhere, we called it the holiday lights run.  (Union Station tree.)

The organized noontime running club at my division within the agency has fallen into disuse since I left last year via forced retirement, so no more happy, fit workers returning to their desks in the afternoon ready to put in a full closing flourish to their workday. But I went into the District this week to go by my personal favorite spots to view Christmas trees for my own gratification. (Canadian Embassy tree.)

I didn't see all my favorite spots but I did the best I could in the limited time I had downtown before new toll-road considerations, based upon expansive and expensive rush-hour electronically monitored charging via a windshield transponder, kicked in to make my transport prohibitively costly, basically surge pricing called dynamic flow that allows for only a few free hours of use midday of the main traffic artery into DC, which severely restricted my ambulation downtown. I saw old and new favorite examples of Christmas trees like the National tree, the Capitol tree, and trees at the Willard Hotel, the Trump Hotel, Union Station, the Peace Officer Memorial, the Navy Memorial and the Canadian Embassy. (Willard Hotel tree.)

I didn't get to the Botanical Garden tree or other pretty trees that I know of but my circuit, for as rushed as it was, was pretty comprehensive.  I'm so currently out of shape due to lingering injuries that it was an exhausting, but fulfilling, journey largely by Capital Bike Share. (The National tree.)