It seems like a lifetime ago I touched down at Reagan in Washington DC late on a Friday night. Because it's how Barbara-Jill and I roll, the plane was early and the traffic bad so I got to hang out for a bit (which meant I got to take a photo for a mom visiting her daughter at Gallaudet for the first time--her welcoming party was foiled by the early arrival, but we pretended her daughter and friends had been waiting with their signs).
Any trip with the two of us (Boston, New York, Philadelphia) is a comedy of errors worthy of an I Love Lucy episode; just getting checked into the hotel was an adventure--after we navigated through the throng of well-dressed, national-fraternity-conference-social-night celebrants clogging the surrounding streets, we were told there was no parking for us at the hotel. Luckily, Union Station was a 1/2 block away (oh, Hyatt Regency bell captain you are probably stilling chuckling over that mischaracterization).
A bright light in our Union Station interlude was a guy who was similarly aghast at the thought that we, paying hotel guests, were kicking our vacations off by schlepping through a train station parking structure. He gave us great info on a late night tapas bar and then--more luck--when we almost abandoned our quest to said tapas bar as it took us through a dicey street landscape, he and his party showed up to let us know were walking past a homeless shelter and Google wasn't lying about how to get to the tapas bar, but we might want to consider a longer, alternate route on the return trip.
Barbara-Jill is the BEST person ever to sight-see with--she is a travel agent by trade. I don't believe the Old Town Trolley people really thought you could do the Orange, Green and Red lines in a day, but we did it!
Also? We had mega-fun doing it AND the next day when we took a more leisurely tour of some museums.
Of course, we also had an incredible time just sitting and talking for umpteen hours (as one does with a lifetime BFF who they don't see in person very often). I am stoked for next summer's meetup in Denver to take in a Red Rocks concert and meet Barbara-Jill's new husband IRL.
I actually took my big girl camera with me and was able to indulge my love for all things texturey and patterny in architecture . . . Barbara-Jill was quite patient with me and my penchant for pointing my camera at ceilings--especially ones with a Greek Revival motif.
San Diego has a lovely botanical garden, but it doesn't have a very cool metal sculpture garden--note to Mr. Fix-it, doesn't metal work sound like a lovely hobby . . .
When California Barbie and new New Jersey Barbie get-together, great times happen. Every. Single. Time.
This looks like a blast! So glad you were able to meet up and enjoy the sights together.
Posted by: Busy Bee Suz | November 03, 2014 at 09:49 AM
Gorgeous collages...and now I want a wacky get-away that isn't simultaneously energizing and exhausting. Sigh.
Posted by: Jocelyn | November 06, 2014 at 05:29 PM
Loving the picture collages, and sighing with frustration over the "half-block away" parking lot situation. The amount of things you saw in a single day would have taken me an entire week.
Posted by: Karen (formerly kcinnova) | November 12, 2014 at 12:18 AM
Got attracted by these pictures. They are really beautiful. Collages are best.
Love.
Posted by: Happy New Years Quote 2015 | December 02, 2014 at 10:26 AM