For an amazing contrast of natural and urban beauty I haven't seen anything like the Potomac River. Beginning at a noisy boat ramp at the end of the runway at Reagan National Airport the planes pass overhead so close that you can see passanger's faces. Obviously, its not peace and quiet but it is a spectacle worth seeing. Heading up river you'll pass under several bridges, Key Bridge at Georgetown being the most beautiful with several high arches and two well kept boat houses at its base. But my mind is usually on smallmouth bass and striped bass several mi away at Chain Bridge. The scenery quickly turns to steep rocky gorge-like cliffs on the Virginia side with occasional water falls if you can see thru the trees and it hasn't been too dry. There are many blue herons, hawks, geese,and an occasional bald eagle. The water here, near the tidal break will run swift at low tide and very gently at high tide. I like to fish until dark and take a leisurely ride back. The darkness gives way to the lights of Georgetown, then the Kennedy Center right on the River and finally the brightly lit up Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial with the Capitol and Jefferson Memorial in the background. Once I looked toward the lit up Nationals Stadium and fireworks were going off.
