Days like these make for difficult travel blog writing since most of the time was spent doing that work thing. At least for one of us. Frank being the “retired” man of leisure had slightly different activities for the bulk of this week.
We managed to arrive in DC without incident: passengers and bags! We got to check in to our hotel downtown early and freshen up a bit before San headed out to work. Frank spent the afternoon wandering around downtown DC and visiting some of our old haunts from when we were first married. After a few hours getting things sorted, it was time for dinner and we met a friend and headed to one of my former favourite spots: Founding Farmers. I got the bacon wrapped dates and the bacon lollies that we used to love to snack on with a bottle of malbec. Alas, the experience did not give the warm fuzzies that I had hoped for – in fact, the restaurant wasn’t quite as good as I remembered. And then there was the “Wellness Charge” – apparently DC restaurants have decided to charge 3.5 -5% of the bill in a charge to help them cover their Covid related losses and other expense increases. WTF? A surcharge? Honestly, I even though I’m a macro type, I understand the menu cost pricing model but this was ridiculous! Grrrrrr…..
But I was saved from such outrage for the next few days as I was busy helping to host a conference for data folks here. That meant long days in a windowless conference centre with conference centre food…. Yum…. But that was the reason for the visit so I did my 7am-9pm shifts (with the occasional glass of wine!) and hoped Frank was having a good time.
Apparently while I work, he… shops? In between visits with friends and the massive pile of laundry that I tasked him with washing, he was hitting the shops to pick up things that we either can’t get at home or are WAY cheaper in the US. We had packed relatively lightly and even with the wine and sundries from Chile, we should be good for weight going home. (One hopes?)
After 3 long days, it was time for some time together. We checked out of the downtown hotel and headed for the burbs – our old haunts and good friends were waiting! First stop, Manassas where some Fairport friends had relocated. After a quick Walmart run (I needed stuff too!) we met for lunch and a drink or 3. Oh and a lot of laughs! Then our next stop was more old friends who had been kind enough to offer us a place to stay for the night. Dinner at Mike’s American Grill was just the ticket and we had a wonderful visit.
And then the final day in DC dawned. It happens to be our 34th anniversary – yay us! We did a few more driveby visits before it was time to head to the airport. A pretty smooth process all around and even a slightly delayed departure didn’t get in the way of making our connection. However, we can’t say the same for the bags. You guessed it – luggage delayed AGAIN!!!! {sigh}
Hopefully they’ll deliver it soon as we only have 42 hours before we do it all over again – next stop: South Africa! Stay tuned.
Data for this week:
- Hours San spent in a windowless room with other data geeks: 29
- Miles Frank put on the rental car (mostly without her): 200? (Avis statement isn’t ready yet)
- Number of gluten free meals that were also vegan even though San isn’t: 6
- Number of hugs from old friends and new: Dozens 💕
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