Washington, DC!

In between the Cincinnati and Baltimore trips, Chad and I decided it would be fun to spend the 3-day weekend in DC. Turns out, we were right.

There were many fun things about the weekend in DC. Let me itemize them for you.

Fun Thing #1: The Hotel

Oh, dear. I think I may be becoming spoiled by nice hotel rooms. This particular hotel, however, was so unbelievably cool that as soon as I walked into my room I knew I was in danger of never wanting to come out again. We stayed at the Topaz Hotel in Dupont Circle, which provides amenities...such as a really good stereo system and a collection of mix CDs. I was really excited about this because I sometimes partake in an activity I refer to as "Annie is Having a Dance Party in her Room Tonight". However, being on the road as much as I am, it makes it difficult to do this on a regular basis. (Believe me, I've tried. But it turns out that having pretend dance parties to music coming from a laptop speaker is....well..., it's kind of awkward, to tell the truth). Other cool things about this hotel included: Aveda shampoo and conditioner, a rock in a pretty tulle bag left on my pillow, a horoscope tied in purple ribbon, Cooking Light magazines, amazing tea bags (the bags were made of silk!), a TV channel dedicated solely to showing people doing yoga by the ocean, and giraffe and leopard print bathrobes.

I refused to wear anything but my leopard print bathrobe while staying at the Topaz Hotel.

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Fun Thing # 2: Jennifer McFadden (Hi, Jen!)

While in DC I was so happy to have the opportunity to visit with Jennifer (who is a fellow Colorado College alum, and also a former co-worker). Although Jennifer and I had managed to lose touch for the past year(plus), I have always referred to her as my "Renaissance Woman Friend". The girl can cook, knit, speak I don't know how many languages, and refinish furniture like nobody's business. And she's incredibly smart. For example, I remember going to her thesis defense in college. Her thesis was a narrative fiction account of an ancient Greek sculptor(forigive me, I forget his name). While discussing the intricasies of her Greek-themed thesis, Jen and her professors lapsed into a discussion held entirely in German. And I found myslef nodding along. Like I knew what the heck was going on! Ich spreche Deutsch nicht, people! The memory still makes me smile.

Anyway, it was great to see Jen and catch up. And she even surprised me with the news that in the year since we last talked, she married Ben (also a fellow CC alum). I am absolutely delighted...if there was ever a match for Jen, Ben is it! Congratulations again, you two!

Fun Thing # 3: My Walk to the White House

On Sunday morning, I decided to take a walk to the White House and The Mall. I spent a semester in DC during college, so I've seen it before. However, I never really get tired of this particular area of DC. The monuments, the history, the buildings in which so many important decisions have been made....it's all right there in front of you; right there for you to wonder why things have happened the way they have in our history, and ponder one's hopes for the future. I love it.

Upon arrival at the front of the White House, I saw two things: (1) A bunch of guys playing street hockey, and (2) A young man walking up and down the sidewalk with a HUMUNGOUS color cut-out of our president's face strapped to his head, carrying a fluorescent pink picket sign reading "I (heart) Fascism". He was accompanied by a really old lady (she had to be at least 90 years old) carrying a fluorescent orange sign reading "George W. Sucks". I love this country. I really, really do.

Fun Thing # 4: The Seahawks/Redskins Game

The weekend in DC just happened to coincide with the Seahawks/Redskins game, which ultimately resulted in the Seahawks going to the Superbowl. Even though I'm not necessarily what one would call a football enthusiast, I agreed to meet Chad and Carlos at sports bar in Dupont Circle to watch the game. I thought it would be funny for a group of three people from Seattle to antagonize a group of hard-core Redskins fans during the game.

On my way to the sports bar, I spotted a guy from afar wearing a Seahawks jersey and a ridiculous foam Seahawks hat. My immediate thought was, "That guy has some serious balls". My second thought was, "I will call that guy 'Crazy Seahawks Guy' from now on". Crazy Seahawks Guy ended up going to the same sports bar as me.

Anyways, I don't really have too much to say about the game, other than I am glad the Seahawks won, and that my initial assumption was right - it was fun to antagonize the Redskins fans! And the Redskins fans were, in return, quite hospitable. In fact, one guy kept coming up to our booth to welcome us. He would jump up and down, and yell "Welcome to DC! Welcome to DC, BA-by! Welcome to DC!" over and over again. I thought that was quite nice of him.

From left to right: Me, Chad, Carlos and Crazy Seahawks Guy.

I don't think the guy who took this picture understood that the sole reason we wanted the picture in the first place was to have a documented history of socializing with crazy guys who wear crazy hats. This picture certainly does not do the hat justice. Oh, well.

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The picture below provides a slightly better view of the hat. Please also note the guy in the white jersey (just below Crazy Seahawks Guy). He's the guy who welcomed us to DC.