Summer-y weekends are here, and I spent Sunday after church mostly outdoors: skating to Da Hua for siomai and rice crackers, and going for a run down the National Mall. I have neither gone running nor been in hot weather since last summer, so my embarassingly less-than-optimal condition manifested itself in an ever-slowing pace — though I at least managed to sustain a jog-like pace from the Capitol to Lincoln Memorial. Um, not counting traffic lights.

The National World War II Memorial is almost complete, and with the former Rainbow Pool properly dammed and paved, the NPS has seen fit to refill the Reflecting Pool with fresh water. I caught it at a good time; the water was clean and clear (unlike in previous years where it has been either muddy and mossy or else completely absent) and tourists eagerly waded in to cool off. There is nothing quite like finishing off a hot afternoon run with a cool foot soak between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. And inquisitive ducks coming up to you to see if you have tourist crumbs to offer.

Ouch. Now my thighs ache.