I've been itchin' to travel since my last trip, which was to London in March. I had so many plans for this year - Charleston, Outer Banks, and wherever else we could go. However, when news that I was pregnant came in February all that went out the window. The London trip only happened because a friend of mine and I had already booked our tickets and it was a deal we just couldn't pass up.
I hit 25 weeks (or 6 months) as of today and traveling long distances is just not something that sounds appealing. My husband mentioned taking a weekend to go to Northern Virginia/DC to see a baseball game, visit family, and do some sightseeing. While it could have been just another trip to that area we made the most of it and got to have a mini summer vacation before all goes crazy.
We stayed about a mile from Old Town Alexandria and after checking into our hotel we walked to King Street in Old Town to grab some lunch at Hard Times Cafe. It was small, country-themed restaurant with great food and friendly service. Considering this was a completely random meal choice we could not have been happier. That evening we took the metro into DC to watch the Nationals play the Orioles in the first of three games in the Battle of the Beltways. We splurged a bit on club level seats and it was definitely worth it. The weather was a bit iffy and there were several showers that came through, delaying the game by an hour. Thanks to our awesome seats though we were able to step inside whenever it did rain.
The next day I let Brian sleep in and met up with a friend of mine from college and her son, who is 9 months old now. It was quick catch-up over some coffee (decaf for me) and a walk around Old Town's weekly Farmer's Market. It was great to finally meet her son - he is such a cutie - and to chat face to face instead of Instant Messenger or Facebook messages. After being dropped back off at my hotel, we headed out to Annandale to visit Brian's Aunt & Uncle, two of the most interesting people I have ever met and always look forward to seeing when we're in the area. We always feel bad dropping in on them with last minute notice but it's always great to catch up and gives us plenty to talk about afterward. We enjoyed lunch at a nearby Thai restaurant and spent sometime back at their place chatting and checking out all of Uncle Mark's collections (telescopes, rocks, etc).
Once we left Brian's family it was time for our date night to begin. A week before Brian and I were watching a movie and he asked if he could take me on a date the following weekend. He had decided we'd do a relaxed dinner in the city and go sightseeing at the monuments that I have never seen up close. We started with a walk over to the Jefferson Memorial - about a mile or so each way - and then took the metro over to Ben's Chili Bowl. Ben's is a local favorite frequented by many celebrities, as well as President Obama, in fact, their signature dish is a favorite of Bill Cosby. We took a seat at the counter and order our chili half-smokes. The service here was excellent- everyone was friendly and more than willing to help us with whatever we needed, not too mention they were all enjoying their jobs and serving the multitude of people coming through the door. There were pictures covering the walls and I was excited that Paula Dean was one of the many folks who had visited. As we left a jazz band played out front of the restaurant adding to an already excellent evening. We then headed back to the Mall on the metro and made another long trek over to the Lincoln Memorial. On the way we passed the Washington Monument, the White House, the World War II Memorial, and the area where the reflecting pool once sat. After a quick visit with Mr. Lincoln we headed over to the Korean War Veterans Memorial, which is a bit eerie due to the life-size statues that fill the site. At this point we were absolutely exhausted and sore from all the walking we did throughout the afternoon so we headed back for one last metro ride back to our hotel. Along the walk we witnessed many lightning bugs dancing in the early evening and everyone, kids and adults included, were excited by the visitors. We spent the rest of our evening relaxing in our room watching tv, which was a perfect end to a wonderful trip.
It was nice to get away but it's always nice to be home again. Sitting on my couch, surrounded by my animals, I couldn't have asked for a better getaway.
