Anacostia River Walks, Vegan Burgers & Fries

View of the Anacostia River from the Sousa Bridge

This week I’m on spring break, so my sister Carla suggested that, for exercise, we walk the Anacostia River every day that I’m off.  So after I dropped off my daughters at school on Monday and ran a few errands, she and I did just that.  We descended the hill from the house, made our way to Anacostia Park, walked over the revitalized Frederick Douglass Bridge, passed the new Nationals Baseball Park, took photos behind the newly built Department of Transportation where we saw The Foundry Lofts, plans for new housing and restaurants, and inviting, outdoor spaces along the river.  We crossed Virginia Avenue, ventured over to Barrack’s Row, journeyed cross Pennsylvania Avenue to the Sousa Bridge, back down through Anacostia Park along the river to Good Hope Road, across Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, and eventually up the steep hill back to the house.

Carla made it to the house before me. . .okay, way before me.  In addition to her being a really fast walker, I kind of lost sight of the fact that the walk was for exercise and early on started photographing anything that caught my eye, especially things that captured revitalization, gentrification, and displacement of residents in our neighborhood, ward, and quadrant.

After almost two hours of walking, I wandered into We Act Radio, a progressive, community-based, talk-radio station that occupies the space that was Mama Cole’s Cafe.  I met the station manager and had a brief but engaging conversation about the station’s mission, format and possible opportunities to talk food on air.  We parted with plans to talk more in the days to come.

vegan burger and seasoned fries

I made my way past crews working on Martin Luther King Avenue and eventually up the steep hill to my house.  Carla and I didn’t have breakfast before we left so a delicious home cooked lunch was in order–french fries seasoned with onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne and sea salt; Boca brand vegan burgers on a toasted bun with the works–Nayonaise, mustard, ketchup, tomato, lettuce, onions, and pickles all the way from Vienna, Austria that a friend surprised me with just days ago.

strawberry smoothie garnished with fresh mint

For dessert, we sipped on smoothies made with strawberries, fresh lemon juice, agave nectar, dashes of cardamom, cayenne, and salt, and garnished with fresh mint from the herb garden.

A yummy reward for an invigorating morning walk!

For photos of the Anacostia River, Navy Yard, Capitol Hill and more, click here.

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