Although we didn’t get the snow we expected, and frankly it was totally underwhelming, we still had the entire day off! What better way to shelter in place than spending our day tucked away in our penthouse, sipping tea and enjoying a marathon of Downton Abbey? 
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a national treasure, bringing art and culture to the masses. Last night I was one of the masses that attended the National Ballet of Canada’s performance of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Our adventure began when Ethan and I met up at our office to carpool into the city. We drove to Georgetown, parked in a very reasonably priced lot and hoofed it up the hill to meet the rest of our party at Bandolero for some fancy Mexican tapas before the show.
We arrived early and headed to the bar only to discover our new friend Liz had beaten us there! Thankfully she recognized me from my Facebook pictures (it pays to overpost, people!) We ordered a few drinks and soon Angel, Jason and Ned arrived and we headed over to our table.
The waiter explained that the dishes were served as small plates and recommended that we each order two and share. Nobody really wanted to share their food, but we still wanted to order two. I ordered the house specialty, a blood orange margarita, suckling pig tacos (two thumbs up), and the Mahi Mahi tacos. Generally I’m a purist and only like my fish tacos when I’m somewhere near the beach in sunny southern California, but the Mahi Mahi crispy fish tacos at Bandolero might have been even better and the suckling pig was just as delicious as one might imagine when one hears the words “suckling pig”.
After dinner, we headed over to the Kennedy Center to see the show. The house seemed full and we got there just in time to grab our seats before the first act began.
Ethan was unfamiliar with the story Alice in Wonderland, and sadly we didn’t have time to read the cliffs notes in the playbill before it began, so he had to rely on my faulty memory to fill him in on what they were doing. This was hard because it’s been a long, long time since I read the book and I had a hard time associating their twirly dance moves with specific plot points!
At the end of the first act we met Angel, Liz, Jason and Ned. Angel was disappointed that the dancing was lackluster so far. We all agreed that the Knave of Hearts was adorable though. We headed back into the second act.
The second act was my favorite part. I really enjoyed the Mad Hatter’s tap dancing. In fact, I thought it was the highlight of the show. Jason thought that was because it wasn’t ballet. Also, his costume of brilliantly striped pants and a hot pink jacket was fantastic. There was a creepy scene with a disembodied cat and a really hot and mostly naked caterpillar, as well.
The final act featured a dance by the Queen of Hears who was resplendent in a bright red tutu and a matching wig. That was great but my favorite part was when the Mad Hatter tap danced again.
One of the greatest things about the Kennedy Center, besides it’s imposing exterior, is the giant Kennedy head. The entire place looks opulent with lots of red and crystal. If you get a chance you should go, I will definitely be going back!
Erin, Abby and I put on our cutest hats and set out to meet Dawn and Sharlene to celebrate the second inauguration of Barack Obama. Our plan to drive to the city quickly got derailed by a massive number of street closings and pedestrians. We turned around and parked at the airport so we could hop on the metro instead.
A few stops later we emerged in Chinatown. We waited around with McGruff until Dawn and Sharlene arrived and then started walking towards the security checkpoint.
Along the way, we popped into Bruegger’s Bagels for a quick bite and to chit chat with some of North Carolina’s finest.
When we arrived at the security checkpoint, we lined up with the masses to huddle in line.
There were tons of things you couldn’t bring into the mall area, like firearms and explosives and balloons and fruit.
Apparently adult juice boxes were no problem though because Sharlene was packing two of them and made it right thru!
We crossed the parade route and headed over to the mall. Along the way, we picked up a few flags.
We staked out a spot with a good view of the Jumbotron just in time for the start of the show.
First up was Chuck Schumer. Then there was a prayer. Erin and Abby cheered when their Senator spoke, though they weren’t sure who he was or which party he represented.
Then the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir totally rocked out. Really, I had chills! Next it was time to swear in Vice President Joe Biden.
The next performer was James Taylor, a favorite of ours since the Tree Lighting Ceremony! Well, we saw him at the Tree Lighting Ceremony, anyhow. Finally, Barack Obama took the stage. Michelle was wearing a very smart coat with a subtle print and the girls were adorable with a bold color palate.
There was some blonde country singer who sang a patriotic song I can’t remember and then a poem by Richard Blanco.
After another prayer it was time for what some of us considered a highlight of the event.
Beyonce, bitches!
We tried to rush the stage,
and lingered for a few photos before starting to head to the Metro.
Our intent was to get out of the Mall and meet up with Ethan for a late lunch at Nellies. Sadly, we were a bit like salmon trying to swim upstream. After shuffling along with the masses we decided most people were heading towards the parade and we might be better off trying to board at L’Enfant Plaza. Sadly, they had us penned in like cattle being herded to the slaughter. Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE
We stopped on the way to take a peek at the back of Anderson Cooper’s head and then made it to the human funnel that was several hundred thousand people trying to exit from a single three foot wide gate.
Once we got through, we were confounded by thousands of people blocking the door to the Metro.
We decided to head north and try to enter through a different door.
Sadly, that didn’t work either and when we arrived Dawn and I got separated from the rest and fell a bit behind. When we finally spotted the rest of our gang, we started rushing towards them. That’s when the giant bump in the road tripped me and I sailed through the air until the curb caught me… on my cheek. Thankfully, my friends rescued my hat and various other items that had flown from my hands as I flew through the air.
A very kind policeman approached and helped me over to sit on the bumper of a parked car. Sharlene found some napkins to mop up the blood.The police officer came back and escorted me to an ambulance. When we arrived, the paramedic told me I was fine which was odd since I didn’t feel fine and the whole side of my head was starting to swell. We asked them if they could clean out the cut on my face but they apparently don’t carry any first aid supplies with them. I asked if I should go to the hospital in case I had a concussion. He told me that he could take me there if I really, really, really wanted to go, but that was up to me. He suggested that maybe I should walk it off and then try to go home in a few hours when the crowd died down. I decided to go to the hospital instead.
Erin and Abby rode along. It was my first ambulance ride and frankly, I thought it would be much more exciting. Sure we had the lights and sirens on, but we had to go less than 20 MPH because the damn crowds wouldn’t get out of our way and then we got lost.
Fortunately, the driver had an iPhone and was able to ask Siri how to get there.
When we arrived, I had to hop from the back and walk in to the building. Then stand there while they took my vital signs and other information. I was a little surprised they didn’t seem to have any seats, or wheelchairs, but it’s my first time in an urban hospital, so maybe that’s normal for them.
They sent me to the urgent care side where at least they had seats and a TV so we could watch the parade, and let’s be honest we probably had a better view!
When I finally got called back to the treatment area, they decided to give me a tetanus shot and some Tylenol with Codeine.
So to sum up…
Winning!
Sharlene and Pinkus and I decided to walk to The Point in Fells Point where we were meeting up with Erin, Daniel, and a couple of their friends for brunch.
The day was gloriously sunny but not warm. And by that I mean the wind chill blowing off the water was probably somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen or twenty degrees! Sharlene thought about taking a bike.
We found a monument to their family name…
and a giant fish.
We walked around the Aquarium, past the Power Plant and across a few piers.
We saw lots of urban sights.
Finally, we arrived at The Point. It’s an adorable little bar with an amazing brunch menu. I had the seafood omlette with giant chunks of crab meat and blackend shrimp. I also had a few very delicious bloody mary’s and some really good mimosas (it’s important to maintain your vegatable intake and who wants to get skurvy?)
Sharlene pointed out the Touch Tunes Jukebox hanging right next to our table, so I entertained the crowd with a few of my favorite songs.
It wasn’t long before we broke out the Cards Against Humanity.
Which morphed into a Truth, Dare or Drink game as well. We learned a few interesting things about each other, mostly that Erin can still complete an interesting cartwheel.
Afterwards, we walked back through Fells Point. We stopped at a sidewalk oyster bar and Daniel tried to convince Erin to try them.
She was not as excited.
We stepped into Max’s Taproom, but it was super crowded, so we headed across the street to Eat Bertha’s Mussels.
I tried the Kilkinney Cream Ale, to prepare for this year’s trip to Kilkenny. It was delicious. Now I’m even more excited to go.
We took the Charm City Circulator back to the hotel to check out the Executive Lounge.
The drinks were overpriced and since the only things they served were cheese and cookies, we walked to the Kona Grill for dinner. A quick taxi ride later and we arrived at the Lyric Opera House for the opening night of the Cirque Eloize.
The Cirque Eloize is an urban circus with tons of breakdancing, inline skating, bikes, and trampolines. The music was peppy, the dancing was amazing, and the show was fantastic! The best part? The lighting! During the trampoline act, the lights and music lit the stage and pulsed with the acrobats. Amazing!
We returned to the hotel and finished our evening by watching Beautyshop and Four Brothers on BET. So urban!
After visiting the Baltimore Aquarium, we headed over to a local bar to meet Erin and Daniel.
They had been choreographing dance moves and bra shopping while they waited. We met at Pickles, a sports bar across the street from Camden Yards.
Since it was the night before the big Ravens game, there wasn’t a big crowd so we ordered a couple of pitchers of beer and some fried pickles and clams. After a rousing discussion of Russell Crowe’s performance in Les Minerables, Sharlene, Pinkus and Mitchell decided to head home and Erin, Daniel and I headed off to Lith Hall.
Lithuanian Hall is a private social hall for Lithuanian people and each month on the first Friday then have a dance party called Save Your Soul. A group of fantastic DJs play dance songs from the 50s and 60s.
The entrance is decorated with interesting art and dolls wearing our native garb. After waiting in line for a brief time, a kindly old man takes your money and hands over your citizenship papers.
Once you flash your papers at the burly guards, they allow you to descend to the basement where the magic actually occurs.
We hit the bar to sample our native beverages. Our choices were simple. Lithuanian beer (Ekstra) or Lithuanian honey liquor.
The DJ was spinning righteous tunes…
And we hit the dancefloor…
Then we sampled the honey liquor (which is a lot like drinking candy!)
After a few more dances I caught a cab back to the hotel to try to catch a couple of hours of sleep before we all headed out to the Urban Staycation Brunch!
And so the quest to maintain my diamond status at the Hilton continues…
This weekend Sharlene planned an “urban staycation” itinerary that involved a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium and an urban cirque de something I can’t remember. My roommate Erin rode up with us and we picked up Sharlene’s little sister Pinkus on the way.
Once we arrived Daniel and Mitchell joined us and we headed over the the Inner Harbor for Happy Hour.
There was no wait for a table, but service wasn’t quick so we only had time for a cocktail and an appetizer.
Daniel and Erin left to work on their choreography for the post aquarium activities…
while Sharlene, Pinkus, Mitchell and I headed out to the Aquarium.
Late night at the Aquarium means much smaller crowds. Sadly, it also means no monkeys. Apparently they put them away at night. But we did see lots of other interesting sites!
The Aquarium is very large with lots of escalators that take you from level to level.
My favorites were the sharks, who looked really, really hungry…
And the dolphins who were merrily swimming in circles…
And of course the jellyfish.
The Aquarium was great and if you get a chance you should totally visit!
I love my job! Mostly because of my talented and dedicated co-workers, but also because of the incredible opportunities it provides. I can build programs that help families all over the world, train families and school leaders to develop the skills that help students succeed, and hang out with people who win tickets to an Open House at the White House during the holiday season!
Sharlene won two tickets to visit the White House and I was able to tag along. Our friends Jeff and Victoria also accompanied us. Fritzi was there, but so was her daughter so she obviously couldn’t join us for our pregame activities. We started our evening by parking at the Williard and walking through their fabulously decorated lobby.
Super convenient, it’s located a block from where we entered the White House. Fortunatly, it’s not far from the Oceaniare either, which was where we decided to begin our adventures.
The Oceanaire has a great happy hour with crabcake sliders, fish tacos (I’m a purist and can’t eat those on the east coast, but they did look good when Jeff got them) and a really, really good Prosecco Sangria.
We decided to head up the road and visit a few of our other favorite spots. Sadly, there was no room at the Inn when we stopped at Chef Goeff’s or the M&S Grill. We pushed on and Sharlene led us to Cieba. Although happy hour was over, we decided to have a cocktail and a snack. Ifyou have a chance to visit, I highly recommend the Cuban. Also, the guacamole was amazing!
Feeling pretty fortified, we decided to head over to the White House to get in line.
Fritzi was way ahead of us and we never saw her, though she texted us when she made it through. Victoria and her boyfriend joined us there.
There were two different security spots, and we made it through both with no problem.
We entered the East Wing. The holiday decorations were breathtaking. My favorite tree looked like it was decorated in giant skittles.
But I also enjoyed the patriotic tree set up by Joining Forces. We paused there to send some holiday wishes to the troops.
We walked past the entrance to the West Wing, but the really hot secret service man prevented us from entering.
We oogled the official gingerbread house…
And more fancy Christmas trees…
Before posing for a picture under the presidential seal.
The tour ended at the back door and we lingered for a bi
t to listen to the carolers who were belting out songs for our listening pleasure.
We waved goodbye and stepped out onto the porch.
Wish you were here!
Even if the sky is gloomy, running the Jingle All the Way 8K will totally put you in the holiday mood!
I hopped on the Metro and rode to Federal Triangle. The finish line was right there, and I like to think I crossed it first. Then I headed over to Au Bon Pain, which was the designated meet up spot for most of our team of reindeer.
Renee, Ray, and Jordon arrived and picked up their antlers…
and then Sharlene joined us and we headed out to the starting line to find everyone else.
Once we arrived, we found Marie, Gina, Bret and two of Gina’s friends.
The most interesting things about the Jingle All the Way 8K is the scenery.
And by scenery I mean our nation’s capital and the costumes. Mostly the costumes.
As soon as the race started we were lapped by Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Some of my other favories were the Santa that juggled, a man in his Christmas jammies (complete with very large reindeer slippers), the North Star, elves, reindeer, and bunnies (if you’ve seen A Christmas Story, that totally makes sense).
We walked up Pennsylvania Avenue, around the Capital building, behind a few Smithsonians, and then ended the race back on Pennsylvania Avenue at Freedom Plaza.
The race was 8Ks altogether and I really started to feel it by the last couple of Ks.
By the time we finished the snacks were gone, along with most of the runners, but what’s really important was that we finished. And not even dead last!
We hopped in Bret’s car and headed over to the Madhatter to enjoy a celebratory brunch.
My friend Louisa joined us. She had raced as well, but she’s fast, she’s like a blur and after she passed us in the race
we never saw her again!
Although there was a long (and by long I mean REALLY LONG) wait for a table, the staff kept the bottomless mimosas coming. By the time we did score a table, I didn’t even feel the pain!
A ride home from Louisa and a long nap on my couch were the perfect way to sober up and recover from the race! And I still have time to start Googling the next one…
This week, my very very good friend Sharlene’s sister’s friend Kimmy won tickets to the standing room only section of the National Christmas Tree Lighting Lottery. Four of them! And she invited Sharlene, Pinkus and I to join her (Thanks Kimmy! You are a rock star!)
Sharlene and I arrived first and as we neared the back of the White House, we realized the line was more than a few blocks long and snaked around the plaza like a Disney Land line with no rope!
Thankfully, Sharlene was fully prepared and had packed a couple of adult juice boxes.
Our friend Dawn arrived. And by arrived I mean Pinkus talked her through finding us within the crowd of 20,000 in spite of the fact that the line was moving so quickly at the end, we were sprinting to keep up.
We made it through security and into the our area but discovered we couldn’t see much from the standing room only section. Sharlene began weaving her way through the crowd. The rest of us followed. She got to an area in the back where they were letting people through one at a time. We all just got in line and next thing we knew we were in the seated section, a hundred yards from the stage.
That’s when I discovered that the entire warm up act was the navy jazz band. And I think we all know how I feel about jazz! Sharlene and Dawn tried to distract me by skatting crazy christmas lyrics, and then Sharlene busted out the Triscuts and M&Ms she packed for us, which although they looked dusty, were the pretzel variety and totally delicious.
The temperature continued to plummet.
Finally, Dougie Howser came out and began to introduce the event participants. First up was the First Family.
Also appearing was Jason Mraz, Phillip Phillps, some blonde girl in a skimpy dress, Ledisi, Baby Face, and James Taylor.
The Fray performed as well, and during the show asked the President if he had been a good boy. When President Obama nodded, they said they doubted it, they’d herard he had been golfing with Republicans (rimshot!). We left as James Taylor began, hoping to beat the crowd.
We decided to conclude the night’s festivities with a happy hour. Along the way, Sharlene stopped to sing some Christmas Carols.
We passed the White House.
And finally ended up at Toscana West.
A couple of mojitos and two pizzas later, we called it a night.
Happy holidays, friends!
Whenever work takes me to a new city I try to get out of the conference hotel and experience a bit of the local culture. Sometimes that is a bit more challenging than others, but its always worth the effort!
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Sharlene and I decided to take advantage of the local bus to Grapevine after a long day of chatting up potential new members at the NHSA Family Engagement Conference. We walked to the bus stop outside the Gaylord Texan and were confronted by masses of people loitering around what appeared to be several bus stops. Having researched the bus schedule and route, we assumed we were right on time. A less than helpful Gaylord staffer quickly disabused us of THAT notion.
He claimed that the bus only ran once per hour. We mentioned that the website and the brochure that the hotel gave us both mentioned that there was a bus headed downtown at :24 minutes past every hour. He said he can’t control that because it’s a city bus. Since we appeared to have a breakdown in communication and there was no bus in sight, we gave up and went to find a taxi.
When we got in the taxi the first thing we asked was if he accepted Visa. He assured us he did. He asked where we wanted to go. We told him we wanted to go to Downtown Grapevine. He asked us where that was. This confused us, since apparently the hotel is in Grapevine. He said he would put it in his GPS if we could get him an address. So while Sharlene googled an address from Grapevine, I routed my phone to downtown Grapevine.
Eventually we found it. I offered my Visa card and the cabbie said “don’t you have cash?” I said “you told us you take Visa?” He said he did but would prefer cash. Sharlene told him we only had $10 in cash and not the $15 he was charging us for teaching him how to drive the 1.5 miles to Grapevine. He said, “that’s good enough”. So we handed over our cash. Then he said “what, no tip?” We said “you told us you didn’t want to do Visa? If you want us to pay more we have to use Visa, that’s all the cash we have!” He said nevermind. We climbed out and set off to explore the city…
Having no real destination in mind, we immediately opened the door to the first bar on the street. As soon as we did, every head in the extremely well lit establishment swung our way at the same time a veritable wall of cigarette smoke hit us. We quickly backed out but not before we heard audible gasps and moans. Sharlene began to pray they wouldn’t chase us down and hang us!
We continued down the road until we spotted a small wine bar with some cute little sidewalk tables. We sat down and ordered a glass of sparkling wine and as soon as we did the Christmas Light Extravaganza began, and it was right across the street!
While the extremely well choreographed light and music show was on, we sat across the street and enjoyed the view. It was a really warm night, and the people watching was exceptional!
The next place we popped into was the Chic Boutique. Decorated entirely in pink, the store was a vision! There was a large pink tree decorated with glittery white ornaments, hot pink walls and a large variety of pink chandeliers and ornaments suspended from the ceiling. Honest to God, it was the most beautiful Christmas decor I have ever seen…
Next up was a fancy wine bar/antique shop that actually sold Dornfelder by the glass! We enjoyed a lovely spinach dip and another glass of wine and then wandered out to the back patio to enjoy the fire.
Except it was too hot for a fire, so we finished our drinks and moved on. Our next stop was all the way at the other end of Main Street. We stopped into the South
Prairie Market and Eatery primarily because there was a large signs in front that said “Dine In $4.99”.
The place was tiny, brightly lit and super clean. The proprietor stood behind a U shaped counter. There were a couple of men on one side and a married couple on another. Sharlene and I sat down and ordered a glass of wine. Someone asked where we were from. We replied DC. The guys sitting across from us tossed down their napkins and said “DC? Guess we can’t talk politics” and walked out the door.
The other couple struck up a conversation with us. They mentioned that they were from Buffalo originally and then offered to drive us back to the Gaylord. We decided to order some dinner and asked the owner what he recommended. He told us we had to have the Texas Tamales with chili and onions.
We got them, and boy howdy were they delicious! My mouth is still thanking me! We learned that Will (the owner) was adopted as a small boy by a wonderful couple there in Grapevine. He had a lovely childhood though his adoptive parents died when he was relatively young. He’d been running his place for years and one day a few years ago a woman came in and told him she was his mother and was there to apologize to him. She was dying of cancer and didn’t want to go without letting him know she had regretted giving him up all those years ago. She died shortly after, but he was able to get to know her and spend time with her before she left.
The other couple (we never did catch their name) then herded us out to their car. Like innocent lambs to the slaughter, we trundled along after them and climbed into the back seat of their texas sized sedan. I began to worry when they started heading in the wrong direction, but it turned out the wife was just directionally challenged and had just made a wrong turn. They dropped us off right at the front door of the Gaylord and waved as they drove away.
When we entered the hotel, we realized that our adventures had only taken a couple of hours and it was only 8 pm. We headed to Zeppole to cross another hotel bar off the bucket list.
iSherri 