Our trip to DC (& NYC) has now come and gone, and I'm not sure I could ever put into words how great it was (in so many ways), though of course I'll give it a shot. Below is the rundown of our trip. Probably more than any of you want to know. :)
We flew into Baltimore around 1am on Thursday morning of last week and were thankful to have Bryan come pick us up (it's about a 45 min drive to the city at that hour). We headed to his place and were amazed at all the changes he's made at his home - he had started doing small projects on it before we left, but eventually had it almost completely redone. The place looked outstanding, and you'd never have known that we painted the kitchen green or the dining room brown one weekend when he was out of town. ;) We stayed in his newly created guestroom in the basement and were just so thankful to be back in DC.
Thursday morning we took the metro over to Capitol Hill because I wanted to see the new Capitol Visitors Center - this may sound like a silly thing to do for two people that used to live only blocks from the capitol, but it had opened only days before we left back in December of '08. Thankfully, because my boss had a big hand in getting it finished, I had gotten a tour with my office before it was totally done and open, but Matt had never seen it. If you're ever in DC, I definitely recommend it! There are a lot of great things to look at if you're waiting for a tour of the Capitol, and it provides a great snapshot of not only the Capitol, but the work that has been done by our House and Senate over the years. I have to say that walking around the exhibits (especially the wall that documents what major events have happened in the Senate), I definitely got teary eyed and missed the days that I got to be a part of such a unique and powerful institution. I loved my time there and am so thankful to have had that opportunity, and I guess I can't help but wonder if I left at the right time. Working in the Senate certainly changed me in many ways, and though I often complained about it just as we all do about most jobs, I think back on it with extreme gratitude and fondness.
This is the Library of Congress, where Matt and I had one of our first dates going to a Ken Burns event:
We headed next to Good Stuff on the House side for one of Chef Spike's gourmet burgers. I got the turkey/avocado burger of course, and loved it as usual. It was just great to be back on the Hill, checking out the new places and occasionally seeing the faces of people that worked in my building or lived in the neighborhood. We sat outside watching the people pass by and almost felt as though we had never left. We walked from there over to the Senate side and caught up with some old colleagues of mine. I couldn't help but miss the old place (especially with all the upgrades since I've left - what we wouldn't have given to have better food at the caf, or have Cups take credit cards!). I had so many great times in the Dirksen Building and in the Capitol, and I hope I never forget them. This is my old building (my office was in that corner on the 5th floor actually!) Metro escalator at Dupont:
We eventually all met up at
James Hoban's on the south side of Dupont Circle and got to catch up with some terrific people. The ease and comfort of it all really made it feel like only a week had gone by since we'd done it last, and not the actual 21 months it had been since we drove away with all our belongings packed in our cars! Wow. 21 months since we moved. That's pretty crazy. As I'll say later on, I feel so blessed that we made so many great friends there and are still able to get together like nothing's changed.
Friday Matt and I headed downtown to have lunch at
Old Ebbitt, the restaurant where we had dinner right before Matt proposed to me near the Tidal Basin. It's a terrific old restaurant near the White House with a rich history in the city (it was originally established in 1856!), and because of that, is often swamped with both locals and tourists alike. We stopped in twice to get lunch, and each time it was packed. In lieu of waiting for a table, we decided to just take a seat at one of the bars to grab lunch. As we're looking over the menu, we look up, and who should we see but Steve - an old bartender/friend from our favorite former hangout, Finn MacCools! It was pretty amazing, I must say. Not only was it great to see him, but he ended up giving us our lunch/drinks for free! Talk about a small world. Just one more thing to make us feel like DC really was a home to us.
After stopping by the White House for a photo to send to a friend of mine (it was her birthday and she used to work there but is now in Denver), we walked down to the
American History Museum. It had been closed for awhile for renovations, so we hadn't seen it since reopening. We enjoyed perusing the exhibits (the new Star Spangled Banner exhibit is great!) - it's probably my favorite museum out there!
After the museum, we headed back to Bryan's place to get ready for the evening. The three of us went to Georgetown to meet up with my two dear friends who now live up in Lancaster, PA. They drove all the way down to meet for dinner (SO nice of them!), so what better place for us to catch dinner than at a cute Indian place and then walk along the waterfront to catch the views and see the new park. It was a gorgeous night! After Stephanie and Andrew left, the three of us headed to U Street and met up with a few friends at a bar there. It was great to again see familiar faces and just catch up!
After moving over to Carly's new condo in Eastern Market/Capitol Hill (a gorgeous new place she bought this summer), we woke up Saturday morning and went to Anacostia for some flag football with our old team. It was just like old days! Unfortunately, the first game was forfeited because the other team couldn't get everyone there, but that meant some scrimmaging before the next game. It was great to see so many new CU Buff alum on the team, and we (of course) won! :)
(Matt even got to play QB during the scrimmage for a bit)
Bryan running for a first down:
We hurriedly got ready for Bryan's bbq after the game and spent the rest of the afternoon/evening at his place eating and catching up with old friends. It was an amazing turn out! After the "crowds" left, about 8 of us stayed late to hang out and chat in Bryan's backyard, and it was one of the best nights of the summer just talking and laughing for hours. :) Only in DC can you go from talking about random things like reality TV and sports to fully debating the cause of the Civil War and modern politics. Gotta love that.
Sunday morning, we woke up late and walked over to Eastern Market with Carly and Karen. The old Eastern Market building had burned right before I moved to Eastern Market, so Matt and I hadn't seen the "new" building since our departure. We always enjoyed walking down there on weekend mornings for brunch and perusing of all the fun art/jewelry. Thankfully, we had perfect weather and enjoyed walking around such a memorable place. Sadly, I had to take Matt to the Dulles after lunch as he had to head back for work on Monday morning. On the way back to the city, I stopped to see Karen's beautiful condo in Arlington, and then we headed back to Carly's for a Mexican dinner with Bryan. The night was a perfect end to my time in DC - laughing with three of my most favorite people over wine and tacos in Carly's home. I love them, and I love the city, that's for sure.
Someone randomly was using CU bookstore bags for their produce!?!
Matt's old apartment:
Carly's new condo:
Monday morning I took the BoltBus up to Manhattan ($19!!) to visit my cousins Nathaniel and Kim and their daughter Penny. I spent the next few days wandering the city, literally walking through most of the lower half of Manhattan! I visitied the World Trade Center area, Battery Park City, TriBeCa, the Village, SoHo, and much more. I even went up and finally went to a Today Show taping, something I've always wanted to do since I pretty much have it on every morning! (Sadly, I do not think I made it on TV) I got to catch up with an old grade school friend who is getting his PhD at NYU over coffee in the Village, and spend the evenings with my cousins and their daughter. It was a great time in a great city. There's literally no place like it - I think I walked for at least 6 hours on one of the days, and I never came across a block without at least a dozen people on it as well. It was nice to not have too much planned and just explore/relax/hang out.
There's Lenny!
Well, my trip home was crazy to say the least... my flight was delayed (while we were sitting on the runway of course) for almost 3 hours, and we ended up having to fly through storms most of the way home. Needless to say, my extreme fear of flying took over and I practically counted the minutes (in between gasps and frequent checks out the window) until we landed. As a stroke of luck, or sheer great planning on God's part, an old friend from high school happened to be one of the last passengers on the plane and just so happened to be sitting directly in front of me. I was very thankful to grip his shoulder throughout the turbulence, that's for sure! :)
Once back in Denver, I was not only thankful to be off the plane, but thankful to see my wonderful husband and dog waiting to pick me up at the airport. Though we had a tremendous time out east, I do believe that we have a wonderful life here in Denver which we're grateful for. As cheesy as it is, we probably could be happy together in most places, but being in DC helped us see that though we miss it terribly, we also have a new home with new friendships and new memories in a great new place. It may not be the same, but it has its own "luxuries" that DC certainly doesn't have. We're thankful for where God has taken us, and where he continues to take us, but we are extremely thankful for where we've been. I'm not sure what I'd do without the amazing people out in DC, just as I know now how blessed we are here in Denver with the terrific people we've met.
