25 Hours in D.C.

I'm not sure what instinct made me say yes to G's 14th annual vegetarian potluck Hanukkah party (I have only rarely attended), but it turned out to be exactly the right choice.  This Hanukkah party was a very special one indeed - G's last as a non-mom! She is due in February and is expecting twins; I suppose we can say she doesn't do things by halves - or no, that would be far too corny, so let's not say that. Forget that I mentioned it.

In any event, it was the perfect time to visit, because I could be helpful to G and get to hang out with her before the joy and madness of the parental juggling act starts. The party itself was perhaps more sedate than in previous years, in keeping with G's energy level. (In fact, a guy who is usually among the first to throw in the towel found himself - to his great surprise - the last one out the door! And he didn't even have to change his bedtime to do this.) After we put away all the leftovers, G and I watched The Muppet Show (season 3) until our brains started oozing out our ears. This was still all very efficient; I think I was in bed by 11 pm.

The next day, as G headed off to her baby shower in Baltimore, K graciously stopped by to take me on a tour of DC. Luckily, K has mad face-recognition skillz, and so he spotted me right away as I started wandering vaguely around the corner of Walk and Don't Walk, wondering how I was going to pick his car out from perhaps hundreds parked in the area.

We enjoyed lunch at Cafe La Ruche in Georgetown, selected - I believe - not only for its French cuisine and friendly vibe, but also for its proximity to Lock Zero (not to be confused with Prisoner Zero from Dr Who), the C&O Canal, the start of the Capital Crescent Trail, and the steps from The Exorcist. (I trained for this particular expedition by watching the Exorcist on the bus ride down to D.C.  Creeeepy!)

K and I had not seen each other since college (a lamentable oversight), but you can judge for yourself by means of these amazingly high-quality photographs whether we've changed for the better over the years.

College photo (in doorway of student office):

Life in black-and-white

Post-college photo (at the base of the Exorcist steps):

Life in full color

OK, maybe these photos aren't quite the bee's knees, but I'd still say yes.  Good times!  Perhaps we'll be able to join forces in a non-urban setting (hiking expeditions, anyone?) in the future.

DC is a lot more accessible (and fun) than I remembered; then again, my last few visits were all work-related, and featured grim luncheons at fast-food institutions, complete with all the thrills of paper and electronic document discovery.  But I'm glad I came back.