Labor Day Weekend Adventures

I can't decide if I'm tired from the weekend or from the depressing weather outside. I'm looking forward to the day (Monday, to be exact) when I will have a window to look out of while I am at work. Days like today are no loss, however, as I can only imagine the dreariness that a window would show.

The walk in today was a long one (despite Mal driving and dropping me off halfway). The rain was slamming down and my umbrella was fighting as best it could. My pants were drenched from my ankle to my calf and remained in a damp state until after lunch. Fabulous. Only four more business days of walking over a block. Might as well get a subtle reminder before it happens, eh?

The weekend was too short and I'm thankful that I had an extra day tacked onto its end. Friday night, as Ernesto howled and made his presence known, Mike braved the storm and arrived shortly before midnight. After introducing him to Drew (Mal and Mark were both in NC this weekend), the three of us talked a little bit before calling it a night.

Saturday morning was spent in the apartment and from there our busy weekend began. Since he's into gardening and we both share a love for plants, I took Mike to the Botanical Gardens. I'd been there briefly a few months ago on my lunch break, but was unable to cover the extensive grounds during that visit. So, I was happy to return and share the gardens with him. After our garden visit, we met Drew back at the apartment and I dragged Mike grocery shopping (which he later confessed to enjoying due to his love of cooking). That evening, Mike cooked the three of us a delicious meal of ginger & lemon baked salmon, scallop potatoes with a garlic roux sauce, and fresh green beans seasoned with soy sauce and a hint of cayenne papper. Mmm. Oh, and I made a salad. How's that for helping in the kitchen? ;)

The evening wrapped as we watched Rushmore. It's one of Mike's favorite movies. While Drew loved it (and later rented another movie written and directed by Wes Anderson), I failed to appreciate the dry humor as much as the guys. After hearing Mike say that he didn't like it the first time he saw it, I'm willing to watch it again in the future. Maybe the far future.

On Sunday, Mike, Drew, and I went to church and then Mike and I went to lunch at one of my favorite Thai places. It's nestled in Eastern Market, so after we ate we went for a walk through the market that hosts booths, with all kinds of treasures, on Saturdays and Sundays. Shortly after we began walking home, I received a phone call from my second cousin who was visiting (with his wife) for the evening. We met them at the apartment. The two of them, Mike, Drew, and I sat for a little while and talked before we went to dinner (minus Drew) at our Ethiopian restaurant in Adams Morgan.

My cousins had never tried Ethiopian cuisine. I think it was the first time they'd ever eaten food of that consistency without silverware either. As always, the experience was fun, even though I'm not sure that they'll jump at the chance to eat it again.

We walked, metro'd, and then drove the rest of the way home. That evening, the five of us (Drew was back in the picture) watched Hoodwinked. It is an animated movie that plays off the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Very cute and funny. Then, my family went to bed and the three of us night owls watched The Royal Tenenbaums. This is another Wes Anderson movie and one that Drew was inspired to rent for us after watching Rushmore. As for my brief comment on it- it was better than Rushmore.

Monday was unplanned (much like the rest of the weekend). Since it was only Mike's second trip to DC (in his life), we went to see the Lincoln Memorial. This is one of my favorite ones to visit. Arguably, it may be my favorite. It's simple, but majestic. Lincoln's second inaugural speech is chiseled on the north wall and the Gettysburg Address is on the south's. Lincoln sits tall as a 19 foot marble statue of him is centered just past the 36 columns (that represent the states of the Union at the time of Lincoln's death). It's a breathtaking memorial.

From there, we walked beside the Reflecting Pool and made our way to the WW II Memorial. After snapping some pictures there, we walked to the Washington Monument. Finally, we strolled to the Old Post Office and rode the elevator up to the bell tower. The view, from the bell tower, is of the entire DC area. It was one that our DC Ducks guide (from Mike's last DC trip) suggested that everyone see. The guide was right. We took turns pointing out familiar sites in the city and did quite a bit of glancing at my map to learn about places that we were uncertain of.

After walking all day, we gladly metro'd back. He stayed until almost seven before driving back south. In the evening, Drew and I dabbled in some art work before Mal came home shortly before midnight. The evening closed as we shared our weekends with one another.