May 6, 2013

Where The Boat Leaves From [And The Best Day of Hugh's Life]

Friday night, as we walked across the bridge to Georgetown to see Iron-Man 3 (which was awesome), Hugh and I decided that we’d rather sit near the water in the sunshine, fishing and/or reading, than stay at home and do chores. So the next morning we hopped in the car and off we went to where the boat leaves from.

We took the boat out to test a fishing contraption my cousin had fashioned. The boys did all the work, I just enjoyed the ride and occasionally got in the way.

Hugh even got to steer us through a crab pot mine field.

Back on the dock, I braved the chilly breeze through a couple beers while watching a snorkel operation to scrape some barnacles off the boat and Hugh began to tackle his new tackle box.

Then yesterday — the day he now calls the best day of his life — Hugh set up shop on the dock and put all his new fishing knowledge into hours of casting, baiting, tying, re-tying, and trying every lure in his box…

…until finally

Hugh caught a striper off the dock, which has never been done before. Yes it was too small to keep, but next year that fish is going to be tast-y.

After the excitement, I went back to my post — reading in the boat where the breeze couldn’t get me.

And admiring my surroundings.

Posted in Adventures, Family
Tagged adventures, arlington, boating, boats, chesapeake bay, dc, family, fishing, home, life, outdoors, photos, rivah, summer, vacation
4 Comments

April 23, 2013

Photodump: An Hour on Foot in Rosslyn

On Sunday we had exactly one free hour before our weekend with Hugh’s sister (visiting from New Orleans) was over, so we meandered through our neighborhood, marveled at the intricate yarnbombs, popped into the Artisphere and soaked up the [chilly] spring sunshine.

We also wandered into the super creepy parking garage where Bob Woodward met with Watergate informant Deep Throat. Hugh and I have walked past this garage a million times, but I’ve never gone in because as I said — it’s creepy. And the specific parking spot where they met is on the furthest underground level in the creepiest, darkest corner.

Posted in Adventures
Tagged arlington, art, artisphere, dc, family, home, outdoors, photography, photos, public art, rosslyn, virginia, watergate, yarn bomb
2 Comments

April 15, 2013

National Grilled Cheese Day and Two Anniversaries

I never need an excuse to make one of my favorite foods, but I decided to honor National Grilled Cheese Day Friday night with some turkey+pepper jack+honey mustard grilled cheeses. Because we’re classy and we were kicking off our lavish anniversary weekend, we also had champagne (a wedding gift) in our toasting flutes with dinner while we caught up on Mad Men.

Saturday night we had a celebratory dinner at 1789, which is in an old federal house in Georgetown. Dinner was delicious, our server was super sweet, and the weather was so nice that we walked the mile+ home afterward.

For our actual anniversary, we got up late, made a big Sunday breakfast, did some chores, packed a picnic, went to the batting cages and closed out the evening at Hugh’s baseball game.

And I gifted us two Rick Steves books — Germany and Italy — and now I’m in full-blown trip-planning mode.

On a more serious note
We knew when we picked our wedding date that it would forever be followed two days later by an anniversary which, in six years, hasn’t gotten any easier. I wrote about April 16th here, two years ago.

Last year our wedding (and this year our anniversary) brought some light to a week — and a day — that has normally been pretty rough. Both anniversaries in such close proximity serve, and will always serve, as a reminder to acknowledge and be grateful for who and what we have in life.

We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly
We are brave enough to bend to cry
and we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again.

-Nikki Giovanni – April 17, 2007

Posted in Celebrations, Wedded Bliss
Tagged adventures, anniversary, arlington, baseball, batting cages, dc, first anniversary, food, grilled cheese day, hokies, marriage, newlyweds, restaurants, travel, virginia tech, wedding anniversary
2 Comments

April 13, 2013

Photodump: Recent Touristing in DC

Since I won’t do anything else with them, I’m photodumping some pictures I’ve taken around DC recently.

First: A freezing cold Sunday afternoon in February, Hugh and I visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial since neither of us had paid it a solid visit since its opening.

A few weeks ago, I went on a work-sanctioned morale-boosting photo tour of the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms. Unfortunately, they hadn’t quite blossomed yet so I took pictures of other things.