East Coast Tour {part one}

DAYS ONE & TWO

First of all, check out my mad packing skills. I fit 8 days worth of clothes in a carry-on, and it was no small feat. That left me with no room to bring anything else back but memories, which actually turned out be a great blessing on my wallet.

My travel schedule there was a little crazy...Austin>Denver>Milwaukee>DC. It made for a long day but I kept myself sane with journaling, hot tea, a good book, and fresh-baked cookies on the plane. Any airlines (Frontier) that gives out warm cookies for free is a winner in my book.

Washington National Airport.

I got there Friday evening, was collected by Allison from the airport, and we headed into the city for dinner at Matchbox in Chinatown. Delicious!

The next, it was pretty rainy (which I was not prepared for), but Al and I headed to the museum district in the morning.

We went to the Newseum, a museum about the history of news. It's safe to say I was geeking out hardcore.

(clockwise) piece of the Berlin wall; signage from Berlin; great picture of
Presidents Clinton and Obama; and a picture that still gives me chills

Then we headed to meet some of my former college roommates and friends collected along the way for a proper reunion. We ate at Sticky Rice on H Street. The journey to get there was harrowing to say the least, and my shoes were totally soaked through, but we made it! It had been a couple years since I had seen any of these girls, and how crazy that we were all in DC at the same time. What a blessing!

Top Row: Emily, Jane, Allison, Kara
Bottom Row: Katherine, Krista, Annie, and yours truly

After lunch and drive-by of the Capitol for a group picture, Allison and I headed back to Virginny to rest up. And then it snowed...no lie. I wish I had snapped a picture, because it was coming down hard. Alas.

After hanging out for the afternoon, we headed back to H street to grab dinner and then go to a live show. We ate at Taylor Gourmet, and it was seriously delicious. I had a pork sandwich with peppers and onions, and shared some risotto balls and a cookie. Yum.

The band we saw is called Fanfarlo. You should check 'em out! They were great live and the lead singer is just precious. 

DAY THREE

After sleeping in Allison and I headed back into the city (are you sensing the pattern?), and went back to the Newseum to finish taking it all in. It's one of the museums in DC that costs, so we wanted to get our money's worth. Definitely worth the second trip.

(clockwise) Newspaper from 1920; radio antenna that sat atop one of the World Trade Towers;
map about status of freedom of the press around the world;
newspapers from around the world published after 9/11 attacks

Then we walked by the Capitol and to the Eastern Market neighborhood. We had some hilarious conversations, but this walk was probably my favorite. We've been friends for 10 years and know each other well, so our true silly selves tend to come out when we get together.

Eastern Market is for sure my fave DC neighborhood. So much character! I'm sure it's crazy expensive, but that's where I'd want to live if I lived in DC.

After walking around the flea market and some surrounding shops, we stopped for a snack in Ted's Bulletin. It felt like walking straight into the 1950's. I absolutely loved it. Homemade poptarts, tea, and wine...winning combination.

That's it for the first couple days in DC! That Sunday night we went back to Virginia, ate soup for dinner, and watched Little Rascals. It was good to rest after a couple long days.

I'm having fun reliving this trip. Last two days in DC coming up tomorrow!