Why it is important to explore your surroundings

Doug Keating
3 min readFeb 12, 2017

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The White House is worth visiting no matter who lives there.

We live near a historic city — Washington DC

We have the privilege of living near the nation’s capital, Washington DC. It is a unique city. The political capital of our country, and perhaps the world.

I grew up in the area, and we did not venture into the city very often.

Not sure why. I guess my parents did not see much value in going there, except to watch the Washington Redskins play football

Nowadays I really enjoy visiting the city

Every time I go to Washington DC I have a good time and learn something new. It is important to experience your surroundings, which for us includes the nation’s capital since it is less than an hour from my house.

This year I have already been to DC multiple times. Each trip was great.

I tried out several places to eat during the restaurant week, watched a play at the Folger Shakespeare Theater, and walked around the US Capital area.

DC is not a big city, but it does have world-class sites and plenty of really good places to eat. It is well worth visiting. Just ask all the tourists.

Photo from our tour of the White House during the holiday season.

Get out there and explore your surroundings

When I lived in Europe I made it a point to get out and about as much as possible on a regular basis. I saw a lot, and have the pictures to prove it.

It is too easy to get lazy and lull yourself into boredom these days. Between television and the Internet, we now have the ability to entertain ourselves at the touch of a button, a few clicks of the mouse, or the flick of a switch.

But, it is far more fulfilling to get out there and see the world, especially the one in your own backyard. We will start to get more proactive and hit the road for an adventure on a more regular basis to include trips into the city.

Who knows what great adventures lie in wait for us this year.

Jordan, Gavin, and Riley in the State Dining Room of the White House

“I pray heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all who shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.” John Adams quote in the White House State Dining Room.

Where to read more

I write a blog for my sons called Doug Keating Letter to Sons. I am sharing relevant content from my blog here. I hope you enjoyed it. All feedback is welcome. Thanks for reading it.

Originally published at www.lettertosons.com on February 12, 2017.

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Doug Keating

Leader and learner. husband and father. Novice blogger, www.lettertosons.com, Founder of All The Way Leadership! http://www.allthewayleadership.com/