Three Days in D.C.

On Thursday I flew to Washington for a three-day weekend with our favorite oldest son. It was a treat to spend so much time with Peter. Since he only works Tuesday through Thursday at his summer teaching job, he was free for my entire visit, and we did our best to make the most of it!

On Friday we went to Old Town Alexandria. Peter's been there before but I hadn't, so it was nice to see a new place. This is how it looked on a side street - very old, very colonial. One block over is a very long shopping street that looks similar to this and ends at the Potomac River. We had a relaxing day strolling the streets, doing some shopping, and having lunch.

Afterwards we took a bus to Port City Brewing in Alexandria and tried some local D.C. beer. Both of us approved!

While I was visiting, Peter was housesitting in a neighborhood in Washington that's not accessible by public transportation. So to get in and our of that neighborhood, we either took a cab or we used the fantastic Car2Go car sharing service, which uses SmartCars. This is how they all look. I was always amazed at how little space it takes to parallel park a Car2Go. They are truly tiny.

Our niece Lauren (my sister Kathy's oldest) is working this summer at NASA Goddard, then in the fall she'll start grad school at George Washington University (in D.C.). We were glad to get to see her this weekend. On Friday night she and a colleague joined us for dinner, as did Peter's good friend Mike. We went to a favorite Belgian style bar called St. Arnold's that has amazing mussels.

On Saturday morning the three of us went on an excursion to Mount Vernon. It was the first time any of us had been there, so you can imagine how thrilled we were that George Washington himself greeted us upon our arrival.

Mount Vernon is in a very pretty setting. Behind us is the Potomac River, which was George and Martha's backyard. They had a great view!

I'm sure you recognize this house. The visit to Mount Vernon includes a tour of the house which is, as you might imagine, historical and interesting. But photos aren't allowed to be taken inside so this is all I've got in that category.

We took public transportation all weekend long, but in order to get to and from our public transportation we continued to rely on Car2Go. As you might know, a SmartCar only has two seats so Lauren was a super trooper to squeeze in the back when she was with us.

Another of our nieces, Emily (my sister Kelle's oldest) also lives in D.C., and as luck would have it her family came to visit while I was there. So on Saturday night we had a big shindig at a bar/restaurant called Smoke and Barrel in the Adams Morgan neighborhood, which is where Emily lives and works. My iPhone photos don't do it justice; it was quite a party. This is Kelle with Lauren and Peter.

This is Erin (Kelle and Bob's second oldest) along with her godmother, whom she looked out for all night long - thanks Erin!

Jack (Kelle and Bob's son), Sarah (their daughter), and Peter.

Sisters.

Erin and Bob.

The evening's activities included arm wrestling. (What else did you expect?)

Aunt Kelle acting like her usual self.

Sarah and Peter.

The whole group! Erin, Peter, Lauren, Sarah, Jack, Kelle, me, Molly (Emily's friend), Emily, Bob, and Logan (Emily's friend and chef/host extraordinaire). The following morning we met for brunch and then I headed home to St. Louis. Meanwhile, the rest of the group gathered to watch the World Cup, had a barbecue at Emily's house, and finished their very late evening with some night viewing of the monuments at the Mall. Sounds like a great end to a great weekend!