The Weekend in Review: Memorial Day Weekend in DC

This weekend I headed to DC to visit my dear friend Loren for the holiday weekend. I have never been to the city before, so it was a real treat to spend some quality time with a good friend from college and take in some of the sights in our Nation's capital. It was extremely special to be there on Memorial Day weekend, to see the way our veterans were celebrated and embraced for all they have done for our country.

I arrived late Friday night after a 5+ hour flight and we headed out to get some sustinance and a couple beers and some of Loren's favorite local joints. I got the chance to meet a few of her friends (mostly people she teaches with) and see her adorable neighborhood near Capitol Hill.

The next morning we started our day off pretty early with an iced coffee and an egg and cheese bagel from a local shop (so happy that Loren finally decided to like coffee) and walked through Eastern Market. I could do some serious damage at the market. Between the fresh food and the fabulous jewelry finds - living nearby could prove to be dangerous for my wallet! We then headed out on our sightseeing adventure. Loren was a great sport and wanted to show me as much as possible in my 3 day trip. We ventured over to the Capitol building, down the mall and passed all of the incredible monuments and memorials. We also popped in the Air & Space Museum and the Natural Science Museum. After watching National Treasure (one of my favs) on the ipod on the way over, I made sure to let Loren know that I wanted to check out the National Archives. We walked from the Lincoln Memorial over to the Georgetown area and the waterfront. I loved the quaint streets, lined with flowers, and small, unique bars, restaurants and shops. The waterfront was a perfect people watching spot and I indulged on the best crab cake I have ever had. At this point we had probably walked at least 7 miles (we later mapped it out) so we cabbed to China Town to visit the National Portrait Gallery and grab some fro-yo. I loved the gallery. It has such a diverse grouping of portraits and housed the presidential portraits as well.

After we cleaned up after an 8+ mile trek around the city we headed out for dinner in Dupont and then met up with some friends of Loren's for a night on the town. Quite a packed day!

The next morning began back in Eastern Market where we met a friend of ours that lives in the city for brunch. I dined on some amazing crab eggs Benedict. So yummy! I couldn't get enough of the crab there! We all caught up a bit after not having seen each other for quite a long time and then walked through the market again. I bought a really unique necklace made of blue glass from Loren's favorite merchant. I think it might be the summer staple around my neck.

Next we hoofed it over to Union Station. Unfortunately, the station was closed due to a suspected leak of sorts and we weren't able to check out the inside. Instead, we took the metro to Georgetown and met up with some of Loren's pals for a ride on their boat on the river. Loren and I laughed at how no one swims or wake boards like they do in Texas, but just cruises up the river in the sun with drinks in hand. After spending the afternoon on the boat, we cleaned up and grabbed a dinner (we were absolutely famished!) at Old Ebbit Grill, the oldest restaurant in DC. We also walked over the the White House - which was beautiful all lit up at night - and then headed over to the W Hotel for amazing views and excellent dessert and drinks to unwind at the end of our day.

My trip went so fast, but it was so great to spend some time with Loren one on one and see her life on the East Coast. I loved the chance to have deep converstaion and be able to reconnect after living so far away for so long! Thanks Lo for all you did to make it a fabulous weekend and show me all of DC in such a short time! Love you friend!