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My Favorite Things To Do in Washington D.C.

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I spent a significant amount of time in 2023 living in Washington D.C. While a lot of the year was spent on managing a steep learning curve at work, traveling to conferences and shuttling between Atlanta and DC, I managed to explore DC a little. I had visited DC a few times before, but living here gave me an opportunity to explore it in more depth. I absolutely loved taking the Metro everywhere. It reminded me of living in Mumbai and I felt comfortable and absolutely safe. I took the Metro at all odd hours, even taking the last one at midnight a few times and never felt unsafe. There are several advantages to using the Metro in DC. It connects different neighborhoods in DC very well. The few times that I took an Uber/Lyft, I was stuck in traffic for long enough to regret my decision. On the weekends the charge is a flat $2 each way, no matter how far or close you are traveling. So, it seemed like a no-brainer to use the Metro.  Safety tip:  When traveling by myself, I generally tried t

Hiking in the Canadian Rockies

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Herd of Bighorn Sheep on the Trail I finally checked off an item from my bucket list - hiking in Banff and Jasper National parks! The Canadian Rockies are full of beautiful lakes, mountains and wildlife, and they had been on my list for a really long time. So, I was happy to check them off this summer. We went on a 9 day trip in the Alberta area and loved every minute of it. While we hiked quite a bit and saw tons of lakes, I will share some of the highlights in this post, that I think are not to be missed. Check out my post on hiking in the Colorado Rockies to read about appropriate gear and altitude adjustment. All of that applies here too.  Banff National Park : On day 1 in Banff National Park, we headed to Johnston Canyon and hiked the Inkpots trail . The canyon itself is beautiful and most people hike to the lower and upper falls. To get away from the crowds though, continue hiking further on the Inkpots trail. This leads to five cool springs where the water percolates from the