Row and Brie in DC!

Last weekend I took advantage of having Monday off* to head to D.C. to visit a friend of mine I hadn't seen since moving back to the East Coast.  We met in college and overlapped in DC for a couple of years - even lived together for one of those years before she moved back out to Seattle.  I would see her pretty often while I was living in Alaska since I would take advantage of long layovers in Seattle to sneak in a visit but I hadn't seen her since moving to Upstate New York in 2010. 

She is back in DC for at least a year and it was so easy to get down there for the weekend.  I left after work on Friday and came back Monday afternoon.  So much easier/cheaper than getting to the West Coast!

It was really great to see her and it was also fun to be back in DC together -- we relived our glory days. Glory days should probably be in quotes since it was a tough time for both of us, I think.  For me because I was in a job I disliked and not quite sure what I wanted to do with my life.  For her because she was in a long distance relationship and working very long hours for very little pay. 

But being back again for a visit was great.  I was amazed at the area that she lived in - Lincoln Park - since that was not a nice area while I lived in DC.  I remember visiting a boyfriend who lived out there and I needed to take a cab back and forth since it was definitely not safe to be out on my own, even just walking to the Metro.  Now it is full of toddlers and dogs!

We went to the American History museum - the First Lady's dresses exhibit was by far my favorite.  Yes, I'm a feminist who is still a sucker for pretty dresses.  I took a picture of Obama's:

but actually my favorite was Nancy Regan's! 

Source

We also went to see Bao Bao, the new panda cub at the National Zoo.  We waited in line for over an hour for about 2 minutes of viewing time but it was well worth it. 

We went to some of our old favorite restaurants (Old Ebbit Grill, Pizza Paradiso) and even did a selfie in front of our old apartment building!

What is a two person selfie called?  A bilfie?

We also got one four mile run in around the Capitol.  We estimated that day totaled 10 miles between our run and how much walking around we did.  I was tired the next day!

As much fun as I had I was happy to come back home and see Kevin and the dogs.  The dogs are always extra excited to see me when I've been gone for a few days and I love the extra wiggles I get. Well, mostly from Roxy.  Kinsey wiggles every time I leave and come back (even if it is for 5 minutes) so the noticeable difference is how excited Roxy is to see me. Melts my heart.



*I am positive MLK Jr would approve.