Fun in the (DC) sun …
Posted by Sarah - 01/08/07 at 07:08:20 pm
In case you are thinking that it is all work and no play at Casa Scully, I submit for your approval a report on our recent trip to Washington, DC, and New York, NY.
Our trip began with a 12-hour train ride from Vermont to DC, as we decided to save some money and the hassles of airport security. With prior proper planning, not to mention knitting, reading material, snacks, and a laptop for watching movies, we managed the trip fairly well. When we pulled into Union Station it was just a quick 4-block walk to Josh and Lori’s Capitol Hill townhouse.
On Friday we grabbed breakfast at our favorite bagel/croissant shop on the Hill before heading into town for a meeting and lunch date. Later, we met up with our dear friends Chris and Nicole and got to meet their new daughter, Emma, for the first time. Emma is a cutie pie who has her father’s coloring. After some quality time, the five of us headed down to Atomic Billiards for a recreation of what at one time was our weekly Happy Friday ritual. Soon we were joined by other friends for tasty beverages, games of pool, and lots of catching up. We missed seeing Fil, Homer, and the other folks who were up at Otakon in Baltimore, but are glad they were out having a good time too. It was great to see our favorite bar tender, Rich, again after a long stint away. (There is nothing quite like being a regular at an awesome bar where the bar tender remembers your name and your drink.)
Saturday we awoke and made a bee line for a greasy spoon favored by our hosts, after which Sam and Michael were kind enough to meet us at a metro station and drive out to Rick Jones piano warehouse so that I could look at some of their pianos. (I’ve been on their mailing list for some time but wanted to check the place out for myself, so thanks to Sam, Michael and Rick for indulging me!) Afterward, we piled in the car and headed out to Wheaton, MD for the main event and the reason we chose this particular weekend to visit DC: a huge party that an old buddy of Ricks’ throws every year, a combination of lots of people from all over, live music, great food and drink, and general good time being had by everyone. The weather was incredible, clear and mild with low humidity, which made for a brilliant afternoon. We chatted, took silly pictures, drank tasty beer, ate delicious food, met new people and re-connected with old friends. Rick even got to sing a song with the band. Happy and exhausted, we made our way back into the city and decided there was one more thing we couldn’t pass up while we were in town: the chance to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at the historic (and hugely-screened) Uptown Theater. We enjoyed the film, though of course some of the more subtle plot points and character development had to be left out due to time.
On Sunday morning I packed while Rick procured baked goods and coffee, then we headed back to Union Station for our train to New York. The three and a half hour journey was a snap compared to the grueling ride we’d taken on Thursday, and before I knew it we were pulling in to Penn Station. It was an easy walk to our hotel before meeting up with Kevin Murphy of Ghost in the Machine for coffee. Rick has known Kevin casually for years and introduced me to GitM a couple of years ago. I’ve been a regular reader ever since, and so it was a pleasure for me to get the chance to meet Kevin in person. We talked about politics, pop culture, and growing up in South Carolina before Kevin had to catch a train and head to a friend’s wedding. (Here’s hoping he was able to dance with a couple of bridesmaids!)
Rick and I then made our way to Brooklyn to meet up with some friends from MetaFilter as well as my cousin, Esther Bell. We started with drinks at Iona before heading to Aurora for some awesome upscale Italian cuisine. After a very long evening of chatting and several bottles of wine shared at the table it was time to head back to our comfy hotel room at the Colonial House Inn in Chelsea (a very comfortable and reasonably priced hotel for the gay and gay-friendly traveler).
Waking to torrential rain on Monday, there was nothing to do but catch a cab back to Penn Station and take our train to Vermont. For some reason, the ride seemed longer, even though we had a shorter distance than the straight-shot from Vermont to DC on Thursday. The crowding and the delays might have made the journey feel longer and more exhausting. We were very glad to pull into Randolph and make our way to our cozy house. Many thanks to everyone who took time to host us and help us plan and organize our trip. We had an awesome time and look forward to another annual pilgrimage next summer!
P.S. Now it’s your turn to come visit us in Vermont!
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© 2009 Terrapin Gardens
But I already visited you
Comment by Yuriko — August 2, 2007 #
Yeah, it was great seeing you guys…Glad your trip to NY went well.
Peace.
Comment by samthegirl — August 20, 2007 #