Within reach

If you love airplanes and you live anywhere in the near Washington, D.C., you've probably already been to Gravelly Point, and you don't need me to tell you about it.

For everyone else's sake, allow me to explain just how stinking cool this park is.

Located at the northern end of one of Reagan National Airport's runways is a small strip of land bordered by the Potomac and open to the public. And that's where we planted ourselves Sunday night to wave goodbye to Nana's airplane and watch Caleb's eyes light up every time a plane took off right over his head.

At this particular spot the airplanes are so close, in fact, that every time one would lift off our little guy would dash toward it yelling "zoom," convinced, I think, that if he were a few feet closer he could probably touch it. We had to constantly chase him and pull him back to where we were sitting to keep him from trying to cross the Potomac and get on the tarmac.

We only lasted about an hour before the sandwiches ran out and the heat started to get to us, but it was an hour well spent. It looks like this is a field trip worth repeating.