DC Days

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

This is the wrap up. The last few days were a whirlwind, then a long drive home, unpacking, seeing off Brad and Ruth to Canada, and then back to work. So, I haven't had time to finish this up. So here goes!

Final tallies:
21 Smithsonian Institutions: 2 are in NYC, 1 is closed for renovations, we went to 14 of the other 18. 48 bars/restaurants/food trucks.

Day 27, Thursday

After work we headed back to the Smithsonian American Art Museum since we missed a big chunck of it after the Portrait Gallery a couple weeks ago. There were plenty of interesting works here. A whole section was dedicated to artists not formally trained. Upstairs, there was a storage area that laid out for viewing, but with few explanations of the works themselves. Just lots of paintings and sculptures and the occasional stack of boxes in the corner. You never think about where they keep all the stuff that's not currently on display. There was a great exhibit called Champions, paintings of athletes, a lot of them Time magazine covers. They included stories about the athletes as well as the artists. Some really interesting people in there. I really enjoyed this section.

We had a little over an hour to kill before our dinner reservation which was only a couple blocks away. We followed some music down an alleyway and found ourselves at Dirty Habit. Cool outside bar with couches and fireplaces. We got a round of beers and enjoyed the music. We probably would have stayed here a while but it started to rain a bit, and we decided to move on. Good thing too. $15 draft beers! Good grief.
So we moved on down the road. We saw Harry's up ahead. We had noticed this dive bar the other day and were happy to stop in this time. It's absolutely a dive bar, and, turns out, a cop bar as well. Still smells like smoke inside, cheap beer, and good people watching. Love it! After some fun discussions about the patrons at the bar, we headed towards Cranes, a Spanish tapas and Japanese Omakase fusion restaurant. Dinner was obviously delicious. Ten course omakase, meaning chef's choice. Thanks, Chef!
It was nearly 11 when we got a car home.

Day 28, Friday

I went straight to bed but barely slept. Last night jitters maybe. Back up early for my last row, and even as tired as I was, I was finally making progress. I said goodbye to my new team and headed home to get some work done. Mike did some packing and then headed towards the Mall back to the Natural History Museum. We stayed the extra day, in part, so we could go to Renwick Gallery. Well worth it! I was extremely tired but there were so many beautiful pieces here. They had closed to turn over the exhibits. There was a chandelier by Leo Villareal on the top floor. It was a whole lot of long steel strips of metal with led lights attached vertically. I mean a lot. This thing was probably ten by fifteen feet. The lights are programed to develop a pattern and never repeat it. It is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. I stood there and watched it for minutes on end. Truly amazing.

We left the Renwick and still had some time before heading to dinner with friends. I was basically sleepwalking at this point. The museum is half a block from the White House. I told Mike we should go sit in Lafayette Park and let me take a fifteen minute nap in the grass. This nap was glorious. Mostly just twilight, not real sleep, but there was a brass band playing nearby and some birds chirping near my head. I sat up, feeling much better and sat on a bench next to Mike gazing at the White House gates.
While we were watching people walking around, looking at the building, we see the gates are open for a car passing through. Then we see a guy try to run through the gates. Wow! That was bold. The Uniformed Secret Service officers (yep, there are different factions of the Secret Service), didn't touch him but just walked him back calmly. It was really impressive. They immediately closed the road, moved everyone into the park. The officers talked to him for a while, made him empty his backpack, and frisked him. There was a long period of time where they just talked to him. And then a truck came out through the gates. The guy made a run for the gate, again. He didn't make it. Five cops ran him down and tackled him. They were not brutal, but no where near as nice as they were the first time. It's obvious the guy is crazy.
What a fortuitous nap that was! That's it. We have seen everything in this town now. We walked to the CaBi rack and got some electric bikes for our trek across town. We were headed to have dinner with Melanie and James before heading to the Marine Parade. Melanie had suggested Taco City on 8th. They make their own corn tortillas, and I'm in love with homemade corn tortillas. Mike and I arrived first and accidntally got us a table at the Mexican restaurant right next door, Las Placitas. Mel and James said both places were good, so we have a seat here, let's eat! It was wonderful to hang out with folks on our last night. Beers and tacos and friends. After good food and conversations, we said goodbye and walked the block to Marine Barracks. We were greeted by many well-dressed Marines in dress uniform and escorted to bleachers at the far end. There were lots of people there, Senators and Abassadors in attendance as well. The parade was essentially a Marine halftime show. The Drum and Bugle Core as well as the Navy Band played, and they were just as amazing as promised. Also, a batallion of the best marching Marines. They moved completely in unison. There was one sound. It was magnificent. John Phillips Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture (with real canons!) were my favorites. Huge thanks to Melanie for this suggestion. This really was amazing.
After the parade, we walked back to Boxcar Tavern, where we went on our first night here. We had a drink and a snack to wrap up the evening. We walked back home and were welcomed by the kittehs.

Day 29, Saturday

We slept in a bit then got up and packed the car. Melanie told us to hit Pretzel Bakery for breakfast sliders on our way out of town. Mel had a lot of great ideas for our time in DC, and she wasn't wrong about this place. Good coffee and bacon, egg, and cheese sliders on pretzel buns, fast. Establishment #48 in the books. Mike drove the whole way home. Thank you for that. After a month of not driving, an 11 hour jaunt is not what I needed to get started. I made sure the cats were okay.
We got home about 8pm. The house felt a little weird. Things didn't look right. Not that anything happened to them, I just felt a little off. I woke up a couple times that night and didn't know where I was or where I expected to be. That was a new feeling. We're settling back in, going to work and the gym. Doing the normal things we do here. I will miss DC, the small city feel, the ease of moving around without a car. I'll be back next month. I'm doing a one day sculling camp at Capital in June. So don't miss me too much, DC. I'll see you soon.

Thursday, May 12, 2022

Day 26, Wednesday

Still working on catch placement in the boat yesterday morning. Once a week, Bob wraps a bungee cord around the hull to slow the boat down and make you really feel the catch. I was finally starting to correct some long time errors in my stroke style. It's striking how many enormous logs come down this river. Tree sized logs in some cases, six plus feet of 8-10 inch limbs in others. The thing about catch placement is that you really need to put the oar in the water. I put my right oar down on something immovable on one stroke and flipped. It was under the water as no one else saw it either. The water is still plenty cold here. Happily it's been slightly warmer mornings this week. Big thanks to Bob for coming over in the launch and helping me back in the shell. I was tired, and this was a hell of jolt first thing.

After work last night we rode up north of the White House for a segway tour! I had never been on one before; and while it takes a minute to stop trying to balance yourself, it's a really fun way to see the city. Our guide Jill was wonderful. She studied history at George Washington University and still lives in town. We had a small group which made things go much faster, so we were able to cover a whole lot of ground in just a couple hours. We went to all the places Mike and I have been seeing for the last month: from the White House down the Mall to Lincoln and back up all the way to the Capital. Normally, I think it's better to get the tour early in your vacay, and that's proabably true for a short one. But I was really happy that we had found out so much on our own and were now just getting the extra info. Jill knew so much about each place; I would not have retained as much had we done it earlier on. We finally got the view from the back side of Lincoln. And Jill informed us that the huge marble handrails on the side are fun to slide down and that's not frowned upon. She was totally correct about it being a blast! We hit the Capital and the Library of Congress at golden hour. The Capital actually looked pink in the waining sunlight. Jill seemed genuinely excited to get to go that far and see the buildings in that light. The emotion was contageous.

After two hours of nerding out with Jill, we were starving. Mike asked the doorman at the Hay Adams for a steak restaurant recommendation. He suggested Rare, just a short walk away. We have had no bad food in this town, so you know it was incredible. There was a remarkable cut called a rib cap on the specials list. Apparently it's the top of the ribeye that is as tender as a filet but as juicy as a ribeye and only is available on certain large size cows. Mike ordered that and I had scallops with blue grits. Both were phenomenal, but that steak was stunning. I've never had any cut like it. Will remember to get that if I ever see it again.

We walked for a bit and then got a CaBi bikeshare to get home. We have both mentioned how beautiful it is riding the Mall towards the Capital after dark. I don't think we would ever get tired of it.

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Day 25, Tuesday

We're working on catch placement this week at the rowing club. I have a lot of work to do in this area. But career work is going well and our adventure for this evening is a DC United soccer game. We got tickets in the first row of the bottom-most section above the suites. We figured we'd be somewhat close, having been to ATL United games at home. So CaBi bikeshare down through Capital Hill, Navy Yards and towards the Wharf where the soccer and baseball stadiums sit over the water. This area feels like a city within the city, like Atlantic Station does. And with both stadiums holding games tonight, the area is packed. We got the last two spots at the bike rack and headed in to take a tour. I love to see other towns' stadiums. And this being a dedicated soccer stadium, it's somewhat small and there are tons of seats/walking areas/bars on level with the pitch. We watched warmups with players not more than 10 feet away over a very low barricade. It's an access that is not permitted in our dual use football/soccer stadium at home.
In our tour of the stadium we met a friendly guy named Chad in a bar/eating area. Turns out he owns the Valor Brew Pub we checked out last Friday. Small world! Small city more like it, but great to meet friendly locals with tips for our last few days. Our seats were a one small section up but still close enough that folks around us were talking to the refs and players. We were also near enough to the United crew section to actually understand the chants. It apparently hasn't been a great season for the team, and this game was no different. So a chant of "We want the ball!" set to Pop Goes the World turned into "We fucking suck!" after a terribly fast goal by the NY Red Bulls. Also, anytime there was a penalty against DC for banging into someone, the chant turned to "Hit 'em again! Harder! Harder!" Good stuff. I also had some delicious arepas from the concession stand. Meat and cheese stuffed into a cross between cornbread and a corn tortilla. Tasty! Tonight after work we're headed for a segway tour downtown.

Day 24, Monday

We tried to make a plan for our last few days here. Sorted out most of the week by end of the workday, but we didn't have a plan for Monday night. We hadn't been down to the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial since they filled the water back in. So we grabbed some CaBi bikeshares and rode down. All the water is back after the cleaning: the Capital Reflecting Pool, the World War II Memorial, and the Lincoln Reflecting Pool. They all look like the pictures you've always seen of the Mall. Beautiful. And, true to form, the Lincoln Reflecting Pool is MASSIVE. It took minutes to ride down the length of it. Over 2000 feet long.
After admiring the view and the warm afternoon for a bit, we parked our bikes and walked to the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. This one always gets me. The names keep going on and on. So many people lost. I had not seen the Vietnam Women's Memorial before. Wow. That is a powerful sculpture. There are notes from the sculptor about how she chose each figure's stance and what it means. Amazing.

From there we walked north towards the Albert Einstein Memorial at the National Academy of Sciences. I wish we had been able to get into this building at some point, but it's still closed for Covid. Einstein is great, though. He's sitting in an almost childlike poisition though he's twelve feet tall. He sits above a star map embedded with metal studs that represent celestial objects accurately positioned as of noon on the day the statue was unveiled. Now that's planning.
We said goodbye to Albert and picked up some bikes heading towards Federal Triangle for dinner. Not having been on the north side of the Mall yet, we saw plenty of grand federal buildings along the way. The Federal Reserve and the Organization of American States were beautiful. And then we found the first unkempt building we have seen in a month: grass unmowed, building dirty. I think it says something about the state of healthcare in our country that this was the U.S. Public Health building. On we went, passing the White House in the setting sun and into the Federal Triangle to Elephant & Castle, a British-style pub with good beers and good British food. After some sausage rolls with curry ketchup (amazing), we headed back towards the house. I was glad to get another chance to see the Mall at night. The Monument and the Capital all lit up are just impressive. And now the pools are full to reflect the lights as well.

Sunday, May 8, 2022

Day 22, Saturday

Saturday, Mike got up early and headed back to the Library of Congress to check out Frank Zappa's sheet music and listen to the song at the same time. Cool idea, and impressive collection that the LOC holds cultural icons along with so much other information. I took it easy for a bit and then headed to Ambar for brunch with Tim, Cathreine, and Emily. We've been trying to get to Balkan brunch at this place since our first weekend. I was super excited that it worked out to finally get to eat there and enjoy it with the McCanns. Brunch here is all you can eat tapas and all you can drink breakfast cocktails. So today is off to a great start. It had been a long while since we saw Emily and it was wonderful to chat with her about her senior year and college plans.
After brunch, we all took a much needed walk down to the wharf. The food was delicious but we were all bursting at the seems. Even in the rain, the walk was beautiful. When we reached the Frederick Douglass Bridge, we got an Uber up to Embassy Row. Melanie had sent some indoor activity options since the weekend weather forecast was not cooperative. One of those ideas was the Around the World Embassy Tour. Several embassies open their doors and offer food, music, and cultural info about their countries. We were able to visit Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Cameroon, South Africa, and Nepal. A world tour in just a couple miles. Bolivia and Cameroon both had live music. South Africa had a wine tasting, which was fantastic. Nepal had art for sale, we got a beautiful, hand drawn Nepalese good luck symbol. There was a party atmosphere all the way down Embassy Row. Next weekend is the European Union.

Tim and Cath had to get back to their hotel to rest up before their dinner with Emily, Grace, and Grace's rowing friends. Mike and I walked south and stopped at P.J.Clarke's. This is a hundred and fourty year old restaurant from New York that opened in DC in 2010. This is what you expect from a restaurant that old: solidly good food and drinks and great service. We both settled on a Manhattan and burgers. I couldn't decide and got the trio of mini burgers. Really really good. We continued on and met back up with Tim and Cath back at Off the Record in the basement of the Hay Adams. This place feels so DC that we had to be here again and it was great to share the experience with Tim and Cath. You know you can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning. I may have been a bit in my cups by this point. Thanks for understanding, fam. But we did have a fabulous time and enjoying the charcatures of political figures.

Day 23, Sunday

So I slept in this morning. I may not have felt my best. Tim, Cath, and Emily came to the house to check it out. Then we walked down to Tune Inn for a late breakfast. I was happy to spend more time with the McCanns. After breakfast, they were off for Mother's Day time with the girls before heading back to New York. Mike and I made our way back home. We called our own mothers and we've been pretty chill the rest of the day. We ordered dinner from District Taco, watched a couple movies, and are now back to the West Wing. I will be back in bed soon enough. Early row in the morning, and it's our last week here. Enjoying the rest up today so we can pack in as much as possible this week.

Day 21, Friday

The Air and Space museum on the Mall is closed so we went out to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles airport. It's a huge airplane hangar filled with the full history of flight. Everything from hanggliders and planes to helicopters and balloon baskets, commercial, military, and experimental. The Space Shuttle Discovery is here and it is way bigger than I had ever imagined. Really amazing to stand underneath it and see each heat shield, see how much writing is on each piece, and know that this thing went into space! A Concorde is here. A Gemini, which is much smaller than anything you would want to spend two weeks in with another person. We also did the simulator and found out that I am terrible at flying a plane.
I can't even count how many things are in here. The map of the museum looks nuts. Everywhere you look there's things on the ground, hanging from the ceiling, and hiding under other items. They were nice enough to put chairs in the do not cross line so you can take a rest now and then. Even I had to sit down at one point. We watched an Imax movie and checked out the overlook tower as well.

We drove back home, and I took a quick nap. We headed out towards the Marine Barracks for the Friday Evening Parade. Unfortunately, it had been raining most of the day already. Melanie advised that "the Marines are hardy!"" and will continue with the Parade if there is a window without rain. So we bought a couple panchos and hoped for the best. We went to Valor Brew Pub and had a beer and a snack, some fried chicken thighs in mambo sauce. This is apparently the hip, new sweet and sour sauce in DC according to Griffin the bartender. Pretty tasty. We stopped into Crazy Aunt Helen's and serendipitously it was jazz night for first Friday. So we saw a great band and had some fantastic drinks. We ended up chatting with a woman at the bar who's husband is in the Marine Band. She told us that it had indeed been canceled at that point; it was a full downpour outside. But she was a wealth of info about the band. Her husband is a percussionist; she is a flutist. He had not been a Marine but this prestigious band allows some participants to try out and once they are in the band, they become Marines. She said this band is as prestigious as some of the best orchestras. It was a big deal that he made it and they had just moved here from LA in the last few months.
From here we went to Bombay Street Food and got some butter chicken and then had a nightcap back at Betsy.

Friday, May 6, 2022

Happy Friday!

I just got home from the river. It's drizzling and it was a wet ride back, but I'm enjoying a well earned cup of coffee. This morning we went in doubles down river, through the Frederick Douglas bridge and down to Hains Point where the Anacostia meets the Potomac. Going through the Frederick Douglas Bridge was beautiful but seeing Reagan airport, the DC skyline, and the Washington monument was epic. Big thanks to Spike for bowing and to Bob for taking us that far downstream. Great way to start the morning.

Day 20, Thursday

Day 19, Wednesday

Since we didn't make it to the Library of Congress Tuesday night, we went back this evening. We went to the Main Reading Room, the large, gorgeous space we could see from the general Library tour a couple weeks ago. We spoke with a librarian on the way in and tried to order books. Several things weren't available and the ones I could order would take a long time to arrive. We went into the MRR and, wow, it's even better from this level. The librarian inside (they are all wonderful and surprisingly chatty) gave me a paper with how books were organized in all the alcoves around the circular room. There are stairs at each alcove and you can go up a floor and look over the whole place. Photos are not allowed in the MRR, and with good reason: no one would get any work done because people would just be taking photos the whole time. It's so beautiful. Round room, huge domed ceiling, statues three stories up all round the circle.

The smell of old books permeates the air. The space gives me that feeling I had as a kid when mom would take me to the big library in Decatur. That feeling you had the first time you realized how vast the internet was. The feeling that there is so much knowledge out there, but it's right here for you to grab hold of.

I grabbed a couple food books I found: Food Cultures of the World by Ken Albala, a four volumn set of every country with recipes, what home kitchens and restaurants are like, and the health and diet of the people there. I found a bunch of great recipes including this one from El Salvador. Maybe we'll have world food dinner parties when we get back to Atlanta. I also picked up Food in History by Reay Tannahill. There was a ton of interesting info about eating and etiquette from all of history but I especially enjoyed the Middle Ages.

There are quotes on the walls all around overhead. There's some good images here.
"As one lamp lights another nor grows less, so nobleness enkindleth nobleness."
"We tast the spices of Arablayet never feel the scortching sun which brings them forth."
"One God one Law one Element and one Faroff divine event to which the whold creation moves."
Impressive stuff. Wandering around, I found a huge dicitonary. Never pass up the chance to do a random word of the day. My word was Protest, verb: to make a solmen declaration or affirmation of; to be a witness; to declare publicly. Fitting for this week.

After the library we headed to Mr. Henry's for the Wednesday night jazz jam session. This is put on each week by the Capital Hill Jazz Foundation. There are a few guys who lead the session and keep the flow going, but new players are brought up constantly and it was beautiful to watch. We saw a couple old guys walk in at one point in suits and we were commenting how great it was to see locals at the bar (they were well known by the staff). A minute later they called up to the stage Herbert "The Hawk" Hawkins and one of them walked up to the stage. He had a crazy skat style of singing that was awesome. For his second song, they did Ray Charles' Georgia. I have lived in Georgia my whole life. I've heard this song hundreds and probably thousands of times. This is one of the top two versions I've ever heard. The Hawk's singing style made for an interpretation of this classic that was nothing like I'd ever heard before. I hope I get to see him again.

Wednesday, May 4, 2022

May the Fourth Be with You

Day 18, Tuesday

Yesterday we intended to go to the Library of Congress Main Reading Room after work. The LOC is next door to the Supreme Court and as we walked up we could hear a crowd outside. Turns out there was a protest in front of the Court over the leaked abortion decision.
No matter how you feel on this issue, I'm always happy to see people engaged and taking advantage of their right to assemble. Also, 18 year old me is super happy to stumble into a protest. This is the third rally we've been to in DC and the second one we've just stumbled into, but this was indeed a big protest. Hot button issue got a whole lot of folks out last night. Elizabeth Warren and a councilwoman from DC spoke while we were there. We spent a couple hours walking around, checking out the protest signs, and listening to the speakers and chants.
We came home after for dinner. I made spaghetti, and we watched State of Play, still keeping the DC movie theme going.

There was a huge storm last night. The thunder woke me slightly a couple of times but a clap at 1am levitated me out of the bed. It sounded like someone drove into the house. There were an amazing amount of logs and sticks in the river to avoid this morning. We are working on catch placement this week. I'm still getting my ass kicked every day. This is definitely the best coaching I've ever recieved. To that end though, I am thoroughly concentrating on getting better in the boat, which is good, but also means I don't notice the beauty of the river around me as much as I do at home. Melanie sent me this article she wrote a while back. She paddle boards all around town and has a really great perspective on seeing the city from the water. I will certainly try to pay more attention to the view around me in the time I have left on this water. You know, while trying to avoid a forest of debris and several bridges.

We'll try again to get to the LOC tonight. Need to get some use out of our Reader cards. I found some vintage cookbooks I want to check out. Hopefully this summer I'll finally start the vintage cooking project I've been thinking about for a while. We are also planning on getting to the open mic jazz night at Mr. Henry's tonight.

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

We've been keeping a tally of all the bars, restaurants, museums, and landmarks we've been to here. By my count right now, we're at 27 bars/restaurants, 21 museums/institutions, and 11 of the 16 available Smithsonian institutions (2 are in NY and 2 are closed currently). We still have 10 days to go.

Day 17, Monday

Monday after work we went to the National Archives. We have no pictures of anything inside because there is no photography allowed in the entire building. So you'll have to go yourself. But I can tell you it's absolutely worth it. I knew there were the big ticket items here: the Declaration of Independence (Nick Cage did not steal it), the Constiution, the Bill of Rights, and the Magna Carta (whoa!!). But there is a superb museum of items from the Archives here as well. There's a an early goverenment form filled out by Almanzo Wilder to claim homestead to the land he had improved in South Dakota, before he married future author of Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls. There were census books and immigration forms and the Emancipation Proclamation. We learned a lot in there. Did you know that the census is kept secret for 72 years for privacy reasons? They just released the 1950 census on April 1st.
Afterwards, an old friend who Mike worked with for years drove down from Maryland to visit. I hadn't seen Brett in eight years or more. I appreciate him driving down to see us. It was a pleasure to catch up and hear about his life in Baltimore and his family. We all walked over to Tune Inn, as it's our home bar now.

Day 16, Sunday

Sunday we got up and headed on a long bike ride towards Georgetown. We had a timed entry for the Phillips Collection. As we arrived a little early, we went searching for coffee. Instead we found a large farmers' market selling everything from fresh veggies to breakfast to booze. Yep, we stumbled into the booth of a local distillery, One Eight Distilling. Mike picked up a bottle of bourbon. I was really itching for some fresh bloody mary mix or some of the artisean cheeses we saw, but with no great way to carry them for the day, we headed back to the museum.

While the Phillips is not a free museum, it had been on the Lonely Planet list of great art collections in town. Right now they are featuring Picasso's Blue Period. I had seen one or two of these before, but there were several here, plus some early self portraits. Though I much prefer the more established cubism works, it is really cool to see paintings from his young, developing years.
There is quite a variety in the permanent collection here, and the museum itself was the home of the Phillips family. It's great to see art in rooms. Hey, look, there's a Van Gogh over the mantel in that room. Pretty nifty.

Feeling peckish after seeing great art, we headed for a burger at zBurger. Looks a lot like a Five Guys, but homemade veggie burger was great and some delicious, fresh onion rings. Then we were off again. We had tickets for the newly revived Canal Boat Tour in Georgetown. Who knew there was a 185 mile, 200+ year old canal system here? The tour takes you through a canal lock and gives a cool history of the C&O Canal system. This system is labor intensive and inefficient to be sure, but cool to hear some history and get a little tour of the towpaths and the impressive residences that now line the canal. Happily the canal boat is covered as it started raining right when we arrived.

James Marlow had told us of several bars and restaurants to visit in Georgetown. It was still raining and luckily Clyde's was just a couple blocks away. This is a beautiful, old school bar, with Tiffany lamps, sporting statues, and stained glass. Really well done and fantastic cocktails. It's a sister restaurant to Old Ebbit's Grill so I'm certain the food is just as good. But we were just here for drinks. James had told us about a rowing bar on the edge of the Georgetown University campus. Turns out it's right next to the house and steps that were part of the filming for The Exorcist, and the rain had stopped.

The stairs are scary. Old, steep, dark, and then the movie stuff. But at the top we found some Transformers and the Tombs (also a sister bar to Clydes). If I was a student here, I would live in this bar. Oars and trophies adorn the walls. Good drinks, great staff, and good food, check out the deep fried mac and cheese bites! Made in house with roasted peppers and a spicy sauce. I could have stayed here, but we were off to get an Uber back to southeast. Our friends Melanie and James invited us to a game night at their place.

This is the difference between a regular vacation and living here for weeks: we've made friends. And now our friends are introducing us to other friends (some of whom are possibly moving to southwest Atlanta later this year!) Melanie and James introduced us to Janelle, Liz and Chet to play Codenames which, aptly, is a spy board game. We had a truckload of fun playing the game, drinking some of Mike's wine that we brought, and talking. Chet and Liz may move to Atlanta later this year. They have family there; Chet went to GaTech. But there was one thing he said that I found very interesting: that DC is such a transient town that he's had multiple best friends move away. They don't feel that they can really put roots down here. I've always thought of Atalnta as a transient town, but I realized that it's mostly one way: people move to Atlanta. And then they stay there. Always intriguing to get others' points of view.
We called it a night and walked home to some West Wing.

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Saturday, April 30, 2022

Day 15, Saturday, Just Home for the Day

I have a feeling I won't make it through this post. I'll proabably fall asleep on the couch. I'm 17,500+ steps into this day. We just got back from Tune Inn which is apparently our new home bar. Pennsylvania between 3rd and 4th SE. Just a few blocks away and it's everything we want in a bar. Good beer on tap, great food made in house, good bartenders, great people at the bar.

We started today by getting our reader cards at the Library of Congress. Now we can go into the big, beautiful reading room we saw a couple weeks ago. Plan is to go Tuesday after work. I just need to figure out what book/video/microfilm I want to look at while we're there. Let me know if you have an idea.

From there we made our way to the Enid A. Haupt Garden outside the Smithsonian Castle, the original home of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, now the museum of museums. There's a bit of each and every Smithsonian there, even the ones that aren't open right now. It's the Smithsonian visitor's center now. That's how big the Smithsonian is. It has it's own visitor's center that's a castle. And the garden is nothing to sneeze at either. I realized today that this is a thing we don't have in Atlanta: public gardens. We have parks and green spaces, but not floral designs in their own space.

Next we moved to the Freer | Sackler National Museum of Asian Art. There was a sign that mentioned a Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room inside. We spent the next three hours looking through an amazing display of Asian art trying to find that room. There was a point when I didn't believe it existed. The museum looked on the map to only be one floor. The truth though, is there is one main floor and then a maze of other amazing works. It really gets better the farther along you are. This was also the most quiet museum I have been in thus far. Absolute silence.

At the end of this maze is, surprisingly enough, another museum. There is a door to the National Museum of African Art just behind a wall in the Japanese Prints from the Moskowitz Collection. My head was spinning at this point. I had no idea where I was but the only way out I could see was another museum. We did finally find the end of the Freer museum through exhibits on Korea, Thailand, and Cambodia. And we did exit through African Art museum. It is impressive. We only saw a bit of it, but there is some super cool sculptures in there including a snake made of gas cans.

After a much needed coffee back at the Castle, we headed to the National Gallery of Art by way of their Sculpture Garden. We only had a couple hours before close, but Mike was there the other day so we had some institutional knowledge already. There is a really cool app for the museum. It's an interactive map that shows where you are in the floor plan and what art is around you. Some pieces have audio that you can play right from there. The app has all the big name pieces listed as highlights and all but draws a route of how to get from where you are to that piece. There are Goyas in here. A Da Vinci. Monets. Botticellis. El Grecos. I was standing in a room with four Van Gogh's, three Degas's, and multiple Gauguin's. In one room. I'll leave this one here. It's beyond impressive. You should come to DC just for this.
We've done twelve of the eighteen Smithsonians so far, and eighteen museums/institutions total. A couple are closed and a couple are booked for tomorrow or next week.

Day 14, Friday

It's our two week anniversary! And it's a great time for a day trip. We're headed out to George Washington's Mount Vernon. The restored house and rolling plantation formerly owned by the first President was more impressive than I thought it would be. There were some really crazy touches: the main buildings were all made of wood, but the front sides had the boards cut to look likes stone and painted with paint mixed with sand. The effect is something resembling stucco bricks. It's only on the front fascade of each building, but it's really something.
Restored and maintained by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union, the place is returned to it's 1799 state with docents on site to speak about how things were at the time. We spoke with a woman about how flax is processed into linen and thread spun to make clothing. The process was exhausting to think about and I can't believe people ever made clothing this way.

Since we drove the fourty-five minutes out of town to get here, we took the opportunity to visit Arlington Cemetery on the way back home. As every institution rolls up the sidewalks at 5pm, we did not have a lot of time here. We did visit the Kennedy's and were lucky and honored to see the changing of the guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

We made our way back home and out for dinner. We stopped in at the Hawk 'n' Dove, a recommendation from Mike's mentor James Marlow who lived in town some years back. This is the hip politcal bar you think of congressional staffers going out to in DC. There are all the political channels on tv instead of sports and political cocktails on the menu.
We also found our new favorite bar the Tune Inn just south of the house. They make their own cheese sticks, and they are incredible. After, we went to check out the H Street corridor. We had some fabulous drinks and snacks at Bar Elena and a nightcap at Chupacabra.

Day 13, Thursday

We took today off. I slept in this morning. Rowing was canceled anyway since it was 33 degrees with a 12mph wind. I didn't feel 100% this morning anyway. And after a full day of work, we were both done. So a pizza delivery and both National Treasure movies made for a pretty good night.

Day 12, Wednesday

After work, we met up with Tim at Old Ebbit Grill. Now this is an old school DC place. Another recommendation from James Marlow. Apparently this is the cocktail bar for lobbyists. Old wood, career servers, and great seafood. We had the best crab cake ever and a fantastic Manhattan. It was awesome to see Tim and afterwards we walked up to meet Grace at her dorm. Then off to Rasika for Indian dinner. Grace seems to be thriving at university, and it's wonderful to see her flourishing in this new part of her life.

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Day 10, Sunday

While I was being lazy here at the house for a bit, Mike got us tickets for Yayoi Kusama exhibit at the Hirshhorn. He went over to the National Gallery of Art and then we met up at the Arts + Industries Building for the Futures exhibit. He's got some great pics from the National Gallery. Apparently the modern side is closed but he said the other side is so vast it's worth going back to. So I'll try to get there sometime this week.
The Futures exhibit is pretty cool. Think of those 1950's exhibits of the future, but from our perspective. There was a people mover that could get from Atlanta to Miami in an hour. These things will never happen, but really cool to think about.

I was able to see Yoyoi Kusama at the High in Atlanta in 2019; Mike wasn't able to. I'm really glad he was able to see it now. There are these small rooms with mirrors on all sides and shapes in the middle. You get to go in for less than a minute. It's mezmerizing. It's also pretty fast, so from there we headed to the American Museum of History. This museum is extensive and holds the Star Spangled Banner and Abe Lincoln's hat! My favorite exhibit here, however, was the First Ladies. There were some gorgeous dresses and really cool quotes and stories about every First Lady (a few of whom were not the wife of the President but a niece or multiple daughter-in-laws).

The bulk of the exhibit was about clothing. There was a dress from every First Lady. But there was insight through the clothing into those women. My favorite was a quote from Julia Dent Grant. It said "She chose American-made clothes that were, '...becoming to my person and the condition of my purse.'" I got totally lost in this exhibit. There were several sections of the museum that were closed, but what was open was dense. Sadly, no pics of the Star Spangled Banner. Not allowed. You should go see it. IT IS HUGE. I know I've said that a bunch of times, but seriously. I can't imagine this thing hanging up on something two hundred years ago.

Worn out and hungry after four floors of history, we found some electric bikeshare bikes and trekked back to Mr. Henry's for wings and chips. We called it a night and went home.
We've been watching DC tv and movies since we arrived. Last week was all West Wing. Tonight was the Pelican Brief. Hadn't seen Julia Roberts or a young Denzel in a long time.

Day Eleven, Monday

There's a "Dont Mess with Texas" magnet on the refridgerator in the kitchen. There are no other magnets. It just dawned on me what a good idea that is. Take a magnet to every Airbnb/VRBO you stay in that's from your town. Leave a bit of you there.

Great row this morning. Well great coaching. I'm still getting my butt handed to me every day. This is good for me. I'll be better when I leave. After work, we had tickets for the International Spy Museum. This is not a free federal museum. You have to buy tickets, and it's totally worth it. There's an interactive element along the way: you are a spy on a mission. All throughout the exhibits there are kiosks where you test your spy abilities. It's a complete story that ends in a cool way. There are so many artifacts from hundreds of years of espionage. Lockpicks and cameras, codes and cyphers, and stories of some of the most infamous spies of all time. This was super cool!
In keeping with our DC movies, we watched No Way Out tonight. DC views, intrigue, espionage, and Kevin Costner. If you haven't seen it in a while, go watch it again.

Day Twelve, Tuesday

Today we are taking the day off. I rowed this morning. We worked our normal day. I went to the gym. And now we're making dinner and watching bad tv. It's home. Back at it tomorrow: dinner with Tim and Grace!!

Sunday, April 24, 2022

Day 8, Friday

I was thrilled to see my very good friend Trina Friday morning. A beautiful Navy veteran, I'm glad to have her on the list of strong women I know. We got bikes and rode to the Washington Monument and took the 77 second elevator to the top. I didn't even know you could go inside of it. It's the tallest structure (by law) in DC, so of course the views are fantastic. Inside the top section there are just a few windows that look out in four directions. Below each window is a picture of what the view looked like at some other time. It's really interesting to see that there were goverenment buildings where now there is a giant park. The deliberate planning of this city makes these cardinal lines of sight just gorgeous.

After the monument we got some food truck tacos and rode over to the National Postal Museum. Beyond the exhibits inside, this museum is housed inside of the old Post Office. It's vast and ornate. There's the very first postage stamp and all the famous stamps of course, but I found the innovations of the post office the most interesting. The zip code. The sorting machine. The computerized handwriting readers. There's an interactive game where you have to key in the first 3 digits of the zip code on the old machine they used to help sort the mail. You see pictures of letters with handwritten and typed addresses, and it moves faster and faster. I would like to apologize for all the times I wrote the address in an "artsy" way in an effort to be cool.

Across the street from the museum is a classic Irish pub called The Dubliner. We had a well earned Irish coffee that was one of the best I'd ever had. We headed back towards the National Mall intending to ride over to the Jefferson Memorial as Trina has never seen it. We passed Lafayette Park and found a rally for Ukraine there. We were watching for a bit and realized we were in front of the Hay Adams, a famous and very classy hotel. We went inside and downstairs to Off the Record, their basement bar. The drinks, dessert, and the people watching here were superb. There are political cartoons everywhere ensuring that even when feeling luxurious, no one takes themselves too seriously. We never made it to the Jefferson, however. Sorry, Trina. Next time.

After Trina departed to get back home, Mike and I started to make the trek back to the east side of town. By now the sun had set and we had an amazing ride across the Mall with the Monument and the Capital all lit up. We made our way to Tunnicliff's for a drink and a snack and then I crashed back at the house.

Day 9, Saturday

Mike's cousin Grace is on a rowing scholarship at George Washington University. Saturday morning I got to do a ride along with head coach Marci Robles for their morning practice. This was really amazing to finally get to see Grace row, get a tour of the Potomac, and see a collegiate program in action. The interactions between coach and athletes were stellar and I was honored to get to view it from this close angle. Thanks, Grace!!

Afterwards, I met up with Mike at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Smithsonian's Museum of Modern Art. I had not previously heard of Laurie Anderson, but this multi-media installation is astonishing. We checked out the sculpture garden after, and we're going back later today for the Yayoi Kusama exhibit. I saw this installation in Atlanta a few years ago. I'm excited to see it again and stoked that Mike finally gets to experience it as well.

We then rode up to Lafayette Park for the Fight for Our Future rally in front of the White House. Friday was Earth Day, and it was great to take part in something truly Washingtonian: a political rally. Bonus points that the subject matter is close to our solar family's heart. We heard a speaker from the Council on Environmental Quality and from Congrasswoman Kathy Castor of Florida.

We tried to keep our art theme going, but the Renwick Gallery is closed until the day we leave town. We grabbed some scooters and headed down the Mall. We stopped at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. Dinosaur bones and the Hope Diamond were enough to draw me in, but I literally got lost in here. I was less than impressed with the Hope Diamond actually. It's not nearly as big as I was lead to believe, but I'm more of a ruby girl anyway. The interactive exhibits on gems, stones, volcanoes, and how rocks and continents are formed and broken apart were entrancing. The museum flows like a maze. This was the most people I'd been around inside a building in a couple of years and Mike and I got separated at some point. When he text me to see where I was, I realized that I was in a completely different part of the building. We missed the entire marine exhibit and I definitely want to go back to see more.

We walked up to Chinatown feeling peckish and found Kura, a revolving sushi bar.I love these places. I'm a sucker for a conveyor belt and more so one that brings me sushi. And these places have the mechanical waiter that brings drinks to the table. We also stopped into Flight Wine Bar and had a quick drink while waiting for our sushi spot.We noticed a rooftop bar on top of the hotel across the street, so after sushi we made a stop up there as well. Though no view is going to top the one from the Washington Monument, Crimson View does have a view of the Monument itself. Nice bar with great Basil Hayden Manhattan and a beautiful sunset.

We rounded out our eating tour with a trip to Carmine's, which had we known it was family style with huge portions, we may not have stopped for sushi. We got to our table and the couple next to us remarked how delicious and large the food here was. Ketra and Yuleh turned out to be former process servers and retired detectives who have lived south of Atlanta for several years. Everyone here has some relation to home. They are locals to DC now and gave several recommendations for places to see while we're here. They weren't wrong about the food. It was delightful, and we won't have to cook dinner tomorrow night. Carmine's is also a big draw for prom night, so we go to see lots of girls in fancy dresses and boys in suits. There was even a quinciñera going on in the private dining room.

We happily took a car home after dinner and slept in this morning. Mike is already out. He got us tickets for the Yayoi Kusama exhibition this afternoon. I'm moving a little slower today. Going to take it easy and enjoy the day. It's back to 4am wake up calls tomorrow.

Friday, April 22, 2022

Day 7, Thursday

A big thanks to Melanie and James for inviting us out last night. We got a snack at Sweetgreen and walked over to the park overlooking the Frederick Douglass Bridge. Mike and I brought a couple bottles of wine. It was nice to meet new folks and just hang out for a while. Melanie said they moved to Boulder for a month once and they loved that we were doing something similar. We watched the rowing teams come down the river and a pack of sailboats go by.

Without any plan, we headed back after leaving our new friends. We ended up at Lola's, a specialty cocktail bar. I can tell you the Hill Rickey is fantastic. It's definitely a new bar trying to look like it's been there for decades but great atmosphere.

We made our way for home. On the way we saw a sign that said BETSY with a chicken drawing and an arrow pointing towards the alley. There were chicken footprints painted on the walkway. One must follow the chicken feet. I already told you I was drinking cocktails. This place was super cute. The modern speakeasy. Tucked away and great drinks.

I didn't row this morning. It was very nice to sleep in some. Did get up and go to the gym. Trina will be here in a few. Off to the top of Washington Monument!

Thursday, April 21, 2022

Mid-week Check In

Day 6, Wednesday

We made it to The National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum because they are, in fact, the same place. Apparently the Portrait Gallery is part of the this Smithsonian. So, good deal for us. The Portrait Gallery includes an exhibition of American Presidents. A portrait of every one. Some of the cool ones included info about the painting itself, not just the man. There were a few portraits of First Ladies as well.

There was also a great exhibition of portraits of everyone involved in the Watergate scandal. You definitely imagine a real-life, oil painting when you hear the word "portrait". And there were plenty of these. But there's some great art in many medias here. Once you get through the Portrait Gallery, there's still a whole art museum. I saw an amazing painting of the Northern Lights. Super cool. We should definitely go back. We saw a lot and there was still so much more. There was a closed in courtyard that has an orchids and women exhibit that we only noticed trying to find the door out at closing.

After the museum we stopped into China Chilcano, a Chinese/Japanese/Peruvian fusion restaurant by José Andrés. This place is a work of art on its own.

We were both pretty tired last night and decided to take the evening off. Got some provisions and some rest and both of us seem to be much better today.

Day Seven, Thursday

This morning we rowed the sweep section of the Anacostia instead of going to Narnia. I kept getting lost because it's as big as a lake. Totally worth it to row up to this monstrosity all lit up in the pre-dawn sky. I'm taking the 4am shift off tomorrow morning. Planning on getting some rest and going to the gym. Rowing and moving boats up and down ladders at 5am has been a workout for sure, but I'm ready to throw a barbell around. Melanie, who sold us the bike Sunday, invited us to picnic at Yards Park with her and her partner James after work today. So we'll head down there and see what we get into. Trina is coming down tomorrow!! We have tickets to go to the top of the Washington Monument and then we'll visit the Postal Museum.

See y'all soon!

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Tuesday, Settling In

Day 3, Sunday

We had a lovely Sunday! We went back down towards Marine Barracks for brunch since the bike I found on CraigsList was nearby. Italian brunch at Lavagna was delish! Great Italian coffee as well. You know I love a good coffee.

Just a couple minute walk away we met Melanie. Super nice lady who was happy to see her old favorite bike go to a good home. It's a beater now but everything I need for the next few weeks. We took off from there to ride the river trail west.

With only a couple turn offs, we rode the trail all the way through Navy Yards, around the baseball and soccer stadiums, and all the way up to the Jefferson Memorial. Again, everything here is huge, including Jefferson. Jefferson's memorial looks out over the White House. Cool view over the Tidal Basin.

This started our monuments tour of the afternoon. The Martin Luther King Jr. Franklin D. Roosevelt. Lincoln. Korean War. Washington Monument. As we came around the west side of the National Mall, we could see the reflecting pool was drained for cleaning. With no one working Easter Sunday, everyone was walking in the pool. The mall really is something to see. Grand vistas and huge monuments in all directions.

We still haven't made it to the White House. We could see it down the hill from Washington Monument, but my bike needed an adjustment that involved going to the hardware store. So we trekked back to Capital Hill and with adjustments made, stopped in to Mr. Henry's and called it a day.

Day 4, Monday

Monday was pretty chill. I rode my new bike out to the boathouse and got to row in a double with Stephanie Acerra, the captain of the Competitive Sculling Team here at Capital. The water here is much calmer than I expected after seeing it Saturday. Since they row pre-dawn, there are not only lights on the boats but each rower wears a headlamp and a tail light on their heads. It's really cool to see everyone all lit up. The red sunrise on the way back was beautiful as well.

The rest of the day was pretty normal. Worked from home. A big (and really cold) rainstorm came in during the afternoon. Most of the museums were closed by the time we were done, so we booked plans for the rest of the week. Still not having made it to the grocery we did have to venture out for dinner. Just like Atlanta, everywhere we wanted to go was closed on Monday. So Mr. Henry's is definitely our local spot. And Monday is half price burger night.

Day 5, Tuesday

I got to row in a single this morning. Happily it was not as cold and windy as predicted last night. I had to order more clothes from amazon last night as my last minute packing went awry. It's colder than I expected this week and riding a bike early without gloves, hat, jacket is less fun than you expect. Back to rowing.
You have to go under a really low railroad bridge early in the row. They call this the Bridge to Narnia. It's a beautiful row with just as many sandbars, logs, and obstacles as home. The team's focus this week is on balance and stability. I have good timing. This is exactly what I need to work on first. Thanks for anticipating my needs!

Finally got to the grocery this morning. I will not run out of cream for my coffee. Thank you to the house host who left enough coffee mate to get me this far. The National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum are right next to each other and both are open until 7pm. Plan is to hit one tonight and tomorrow. Off to work now. Have a fabulous day!

Sunday, April 17, 2022

We've Landed! Day 1, Friday

Happy Easter!

It's been a whirlwind of a weekend already. I love how time feels extended when you're somewhere new. We arrived about 36 hours ago yet it feels much longer already.

Eleven hours in the car and only about an hour of cats yelling. Not too bad in my opinion. Analog spent most of the ride looking out the windows; Digital never left the crate. Rolls quickly reversed upon arrival. Annie wouldn't come out from under the bed while Digital roamed his new digs. They are settling in nicely now.

Friday night we did a tour of the local bars in Capital Hill. We'd like to be locals at a place. We checked out Mr. Henry's, Barrel, The Eastern, and Boxcar. More research may be needed this evening.

Day Two Saturday

Yesterday morning I got a ride along with Capital Rowing Club. I will be training with their competitive sculling team while we're in town. They row on the Anacostia River. Their sculling area of the river includes six bridges. I'll be in a double on my first day and singles from then on. This should be the best training I've ever done. I am extremely excited and mildly frightened.

We took a walk when I got back, had Mexican brunch at Café Paraíso, and started down Pennsylvania Avenue. There were lots of stalls out at Eastern Market on a beautiful spring Saturday. While we may have missed the cherry blossoms, the tulips are in full bloom everywhere you turn.

We made our way to the Capital. I can't explain how BIG it is. I was awestruck and a bit incoherent for a time. The complex is beyond impressive. Library of Congress. Supreme Court. The Capital itself. It's all huge. We don't build anything like this anymore. As Mike said, this is what Roman ruins looked like when they were new.

We booked a time slot at the Library of Congress and spent an hour seeing the Capital building from both sides. The front and back are both so impressive it's hard to know which is which.

The Library of Congress has been more of an idea in my head than an actual place. I didn't really know what to expect. So walking up the stairs to the Great Hall made me gasp. Marble, mosaics, and stained glass. They were definitely trying to invoke the European feel. There are some amazing exhibits of course. Rosa Parks, Thomas Jefferson's Libary, Not an Ostrich (a really cool exhibition of photography from its inception).

We had dinner reservations at Jont. So back to the house to change and an Uber to Georgetown. We noticed our neighborhood was pretty quiet as we left. Georgetown was hopping. We arrived a little early to get a drink at Le Diplomate as was recommended by a friend of Mike's. Le Dip was packed and so were the next 10 bars in a row. We finally found a seat at Ted's Bulletin. This place has an old school diner vibe and great drinks. And then, off to Jont.

Apparently DC has more Michelin star restaurants than any other city save New York. Jont has two Michelin stars and did not disappoint. It's a small space with all the seating around the kitchen. The staff was amazing and the chef doesn't take himself too seriously. Some of the most delicious food I've ever had but not stuffy or pretentious. A fantastic seleciton of hip hop playing all night kept my Shazam busy.

Spotify playlist of Jont music selection here.

So it's Easter Sunday morning. The plan is to get brunch at a Balkan style restaurant and find a museum to check out. Need to get some basic livings stuff as well. I think I found a bike on CraigsList. Need to hit the grocery. We can't eat like royalty at every meal. I'll let you know what we get into.