Back Home in Atlanta
We've been home a couple weeks now. Somehow it's easy enough to pack up, drive to DC, and hit the ground running. It is not quite as simple in reverse. We came home the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. I did (half) Murph with Missy. After groceries, visiting my parents, and getting some sleep, it was days later. There was racing that weekend in Oak Ridge, TN. (Three gold medals for me, including in my single, yay!) This schedule is getting out of hand. I'm wrapping up the last week in DC, though it will probably take a few more posts to get there.
Sunday, May 21
Trina is coming to visit today! Trina is one of the beautiful, accomplished, and powerful women I'm proud to be friends with. I am stoked she's trekking down from Maryland to come see us. I didn't plan a lot for the day, just took note of a few ideas to see where the day would take us.
The National Botanic Garden is having a plant sale today. Trina was excited at the sound of anything to do with plants. She told us that she has 75 houseplants. We are all nerds about the things we nerd out on, but I don't know anyone else who has a headcount of all of their plants. Good on you, Trina! We also had a bit of a discussion about the difference between a botanic and botanical garden. You'll be happy to know that I've already searched this up for you. There is no difference. Botanic was used in the 19th century and has faded from use save for those institutions created at that time.
Thank you, grammarist.com. You are my new favorite website. - Love, a grammar nerd.
The botanic garden was super cool. There are rooms that are humid and hot and look like a dinosaur is coming around a corner at any moment. Of course beautiful plants and flowers are everywhere. I loved the cactus section, and we all smiled at the plants native to Georgia, ones we had home, and the ones we always wanted. After perusing the collection for a while, we headed outside to the sale. There were some great finds but nothing I wanted to risk driving back to Atlanta. Trina bought a couple new vines for her office though.
Plant looking will build up an appetite. We headed towards a bike station and found Bartholdi Fountain just across the street from the gardens. The thirty foot tall water feature was cast by the same artist who made the Statue of Liberty. Super cool and worth the walk. We grabbed some bikes and headed towards Eastern Market.
We were all in dire need of brunch and a drink and Ophelia's Fish House had a patio calling to us. While it wasn't the best brunch I've ever had, the drinks were good and we toasted to Trina's recent grad school graduation. From there we walked the market. Mike found a watercolor of the Capitol and I found an old map of the city before some of the land was reclaimed. We both love maps. Our home office is filled with maps.
We made our way back to Betsy the gin garden we stumbled into last spring. Trina loves gin even more than I do, and we were excited until we found it closing for the afternoon. Some patrons leaving told us to check out Beuchert's Saloon for spectacular drinks. Never turn down a good recommendation on a Sunday afternoon. We headed over that way to find a cute restaurant in a very old building with a huge old-wood bar. The bartender was friendly and the drinks terrific as advertised. We sat on the patio by the street and waxed poetic about the state of the world. I'm always happy to watch Mike and Trina go through all the politics of life and work.
As the sun is moving behind the buildings, we leave our patio setting and head to Tune Inn just a few blocks away. We share the giant, handmade mozarella sticks and Trina orders us fried okra. Good call. We're always happy to share our favorite bar with friends. As the evening progresses we all agree that it's a school night and we should head out. Trina needs to drive back to Maryland, and I have a crazy early alarm set.
Monday, May 22
Monday is technical work in singles again. This is the most difficult for me. I have lots of power, oh, but the finesse. Still working on it.
Today at 3pm was the only entry time available for Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture for the last two weeks we are in town. So we're cutting out of work early today to go see it. We only have a couple of Smitsonian's left on the list. Several people have told me how well done this museum is. Trina told us last night to start at the bottom and work our way up.
The museum experience is carefully curated from the bottom floors. We stand in line to get into the first exhibit. The maps are confusing. I can't tell where we are or how to get to the next section. The line moves forward and we enter a room from the center hall. Once in the room, we are kind of packed in for a few minutes. The group before us is let in. Finally us. The first exhibit is on the beginnings of African enslavement. The bottom floor has been built to emulate a slave ship. The ceilings are low, the walls plank wood, and there are so many people in such a small area.
Catherine explained this to me last week. As you move through the bottom floor, people move at different speeds. When you get out of the slave ship, moving into the New World, the ceilings get higher and people start to spread out more. It's a very unique way to experience a museum. The amount of paperwork that goes along with such a wretched part of history is shocking. There is so much information and history, you would need many hours to get through the entire museum. Trina mentioned that when she visits now, she starts on the main floor and goes up. In two and a half hours, we never made it back to the main floor. This is one you should definitely put on your list.
We walked down the mall after the museum closed. Everything is closing up and the government workers are headed back to the burbs. As we walked through the park, we spotted something white in the grass dancing around. An Albino Squirrel!! What?!! I've seen plenty of grey squirrels here and some very adorable black squirrels. Never in my life have I seen an albino anything in person. They really are tree rats. Just sayin.
Feeling snacky and looking at the map, we decided to go to Ben's Chili Bowl. This is a DC staple, and I realized, the DC version of the Varsity. Ben's Chili Bowl has been a DC institution since 1958, purveyors of the DC Half Smoke. We passed by here a few weeks ago, but tonight is a great night for a greasy spoon. It doesn't hurt that it's a good thirty minute ride from the Mall, and I can earn those calories. This place did not disappoint. We each got the original chili half-smoke Ben's way, with mustard and onions on a steamed bun. Amazing. We also both agreed that this could not be dinner, only a snack. We aren't teenagers. Too much of a greasy spoon will take its toll.
So back on bikes, we go southeast back towards Capitol Hill and home. Right before we left last year, Mike found an Italian restaurant, Nostra Cucina just a few blocks away from the house, nearish Cafe Berlin. They weren't quite open so we never got to try it. Tonight is the night though. It's close to home and Italian is Mike's favorite cuisine. It's an adorable restaurant in the bottom floor of a townhouse. Small and cozy inside, but a lovely night, we sit out on the patio, which is three parking places commandeered from the street with planters and string lights. We discuss the culinary and olfactory benefits of the apartments upstairs and the adjoining townhomes. The food is fantastic, though the staff is a bit overwhelmed. The extra time gives us pause to discuss our last week in town. Every day but Saturday has bookings on the calendar. Go big or go home. Maybe go big, then go home. More soon.