Capital City

Over the weekend, I went to D.C/Maryland to see an old college friend and to attend a wedding. This was my first visit back to the capital in about 2 years. It really didn't seem like I had been away for so long. The boyfriend and I arrived on Saturday afternoon. We flew on one of those tiny jets, and the low-pressure made my head tingle and really upset my stomach. I may have to resort to some Dramamine the next time I fly. It was a sticky, sunny and warm late spring day, much warmer than the weather we'd been experiencing in Chicago. The first thing we did after my friend picked us up was eat pizza at a nearby pizza place. The lunch was good and we all traded dating horror stories. My friend lives in a really nice condo in a questionable part of town. It's centrally located to the Capital and all of that touristy stuff, but if you walk a block down the street, you're in the ghetto. We even saw someone near her place getting arrested. Nice. Later that night, we drove to Baltimore for dinner. The boyfriend had never been there. This was my second or third visit there, but the first since I was like 18 yrs old. I immediately texted a friend who grew up there to see if she had any ideas of cool places to go. Baltimore reminds me of the South Side of Chicago, except with better venues. There seemed to be some cool places in the arty district, but the city itself looked kinda grimy. We picked up her friend and went to dinner at a restaurant known for their crabcakes. Those were probably the most authentic crabcakes I ever had as they were made from large chunks of fresh crab. The dinner came with a lot of food, so we were pretty stuffed. It was pretty late at this point, so we drove back to D.C and went to sleep.

Saturday morning we woke up and went to a great Belgium brunch place down the street. They had celery foam Bloody Marys! And a lot of egg dishes. The entire meal was good, but once again, we were stuffed. The main reason we went to D.C was for the boyfriend's friend's wedding being held in Bethesda, MD. We got all dressed up and went to the wedding at the groom's parents' house. Their house was probably one of the biggest, and nicest I'd ever seen, easily costing over $2 million. Their entire backyard was a garden. I was seriously impressed. I'd never met either the bride or groom, but later on discovered the bride was also from Ohio and had attended the same college I did in Ohio. Small world! This was my first Jewish wedding, and first wedding at someone's house. I'd describe the wedding as both traditional and nontraditional. As the bridal party marched down the aisle, an orchestra version of a popular Journey song played (nontraditional). After the ceremony, they had a cocktail reception with hors d'oeuvres. Instead of having dinner first, they started the dancing before dinner then served dinner which consisted of crab, salad, fried chicken, burgers, fries, milkshakes and corn fritters. And instead of having a typical wedding cake, they had cupcakes instead. They had a well-stocked bar and even a keg. Yes, a keg. That's what I meant by "nontraditional." I think if I ever get married, I'm going to have a very nontraditional wedding. There will be a tater tot bar with toppings and an indie rock band. The evening ended a few hours later, and the boyfriend and I managed to find our way back to my friend's place.

This morning, we realized our flight was leaving earlier than expected. I suppose we should've checked what time our flight was actually leaving instead of assuming. Luckily, we made it to the airport in time. One thing I really like about D.C is their Metro. It runs smoothly, always on time, never any construction, etc, unlike Chicago's transit system. Chicago should take a cue from them. I always have fun in D.C, but like every trip, it's never enough time. I've seen most of the touristy stuff, but would like to go back and spend more time wandering around the Mall, check out some of the music venues, etc. It was really good to see my friend and to attend the wedding. I missed a pretty cool music fest over the weekend, but the trip definitely was worth it. There are always so many people to visit, but not enough time. Hopefully another 2 years won't pass by until I get out there again. Now I just need to visit friends in L.A, N.Y, Nashville, KY, etc.

Tomorrow morning, I start that temp job. I'm not looking forward to getting up at 6am. Not one bit. My former roommate finally moved all his stuff out. Now we don't have a couch or chairs, but there's a lot more space now. The boyfriend finally has what he's calling a study. As of right now, I don't have any other travel plans set for the summer. Festival season is in full gear, so maybe I should concentrate on that for a while and just enjoying Chicago's summer. Well, at least until my wanderlust kicks in again.