Short but Sweet

I had a fantastic time in Texas, but after 10 days it was time to move on to my next destination: Washington, DC. I was so excited to see everyone--especially Dan! You already heard how sweet that reunion was, but the rest of my trip was equally great.

U.S. Capitol Building

We got to catch up with our friends Brandon, Kim, their little one and their two boxers. The dogs could not get enough of Dan. 

I also got to see my good friends Katie in Chinatown, Erin in the National Sculpture Garden, and Tamara in Farragut North. It was a complete culinary tour of the city.

Me and Katie in Chinatown

Me and Erin in the National Sculpture Garden

My friend Dani and I snuck in a sushi lunch at a hidden gem of a restaurant. We were too busy stuffing our faces to get a picture.

My evenings were fully booked too. I had a really fun happy hour with my former co-workers; a boozy dinner with my neighbors; and delicious schwarma with old friends.

Crazy co-workers

Post-schwarma drinks at the Royal Mile

One of the best parts of my short trip to DC was that I got to play the tourist. Even though I lived there for more than seven years, I had never been in the Portrait Gallery or the National Archives. Even though they're free! Can you believe that?

I really loved the free tour I got from the Portrait Gallery docent. He had some really interesting things to say about people I've heard about my whole life. For example, what do you know about Alexander Hamilton? Probably that he was a founding father of the United States and was killed in a duel by Aaron Burr (thanks to this amazing commercial). But did you know that he grew up in the Caribbean and attended Hebrew day school?? Some scholars thought that he might have been Jewish, but he wasn't. So interesting though!

Alexander Hamilton: Not Jewish
image from here