Visitors and Travel

I am coming up to breathe after a rowdy nine-day, late nights, friend-filled bender. The journey began with a Mexican date-night at Fuego on Friday, followed by comedy with new and old friends. Saturday brought Kansas basketball--the last game of the regular season--at The Bottom Line with friends from Kansas. And Sunday, there was a lengthy city stroll on Roosevelt Island and later through Georgetown for shoe shopping and ice cream at Thomas Sweet.

Monday was normal--a long, coffee-filled day of work.

On Tuesday, a dear friend, K.A.B., returned from a 10-month Peace Corps Response job in Hamburg, South Africa. The day was overcast--heavy-rain falling, and because I was working from home, I was barely awake when she knocked on my door circa early bird hour. The benefit of a work from home schedule allowed a little bit of catch-up time before she found the Pentagon City Mall for shopping. Post-work, I met Boyfriend and her for happy hour at The American Tap Room, and we later joined fellow Returned Peace Corps Volunteers for dinner at The Lost Dog Cafe. During a well-timed, slow Wednesday of work, I spent time in conversation over Ethiopian coffee, brought kindly by my visitor following her venture there, with K.A.B. Then there might have been some Rocklands lunch and a Dance Moms siesta. Tough life I lead, eh?

Thursday I took the day off, and I deserved it, after all the hard-work logged on Wednesday. There was brunch at The Silver Dinner, followed by coffee at Baked and Wire. Coffee we might or might not have spiked with Baileys. Then, of course, Thursday being March 14, we celebrated National Pi Day at Pie Sisters in Georgetown. And since it was nearly time for Kansas to tip-off, I dragged our clan to McFaddens so this diehard could catch second-round play of the Big 12 tournament. Kansas whipped up on Texas Tech, which was nice to see, after the embarrassing loss to Baylor the Saturday before. After the game we migrated to the Science Club... because went you start drinking at 1:00 pm, you are really thirsty by happy hour. The Science Club is a great idea for a bar... there is just so much potential there... and if you have not already discovered the nerd in me (and my equally so friends; re: Pi Day), we really longed for drinks served in beakers. I hate to report we struck out, but know that I am not above investing.

After a drink, Boyfriend and I had to part ways with our West Coast friend to catch a bus to New York City for a(nother) reunion of sorts. I am still sort of exhausted when I think about this trip; NYC was filled to the brim with continuous activity. The 2:00 am arrival--thank you one-lane of traffic through the entire state of New Jersey--really jived with the City That Never Sleeps. We woke-up refreshed on Friday morning and refueled at H&H Bagels before heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (This was a pretty painful experience for me. Meanwhile, Boyfriend could quote the name of various paintings before reading the accompanying plaque. He has a bit of an old man spirit... and I will let this photo capture his essence for you.)

From the Met, we walked through Central Park. It was f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g, so we headed down to Chelsea for another outdoor activity--a walk on The High Line. I thought the attempt at historical nature in the city was neat while Boyfriend was less impressed. This was surprisingly more frigid than Central Park, as the wind whipped off the water. Then it was time to meet friends in Chinatown--where health inspection 'grade pending' signs were posted to nearly every window--for the most unhealthy linner (lunch + dinner). (But that is just me sucking the joy out of life... or so I hear.) Then back over to Chelsea--efficiency is totally our thing--for happy hour at the Trailer Park Lounge. So many fabulous things happen when a bunch of budget travelers find five dollar margaritas in NYC... and proceed to order ridiculous amounts right before happy hour expires.

R.D.S., bless her heart, met us at "happy hour" so we could walk to the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre for an improv show. The show was excellent. Afterwards, we headed back to the Upper East Side for Insomnia Cookies before closing day and night one.

Saturday, R.D.S. and I got up early to get rush tickets to Rodger + Hamerstein's Cinderella. For a reason unbeknownst to us, there were no rush tickets on this snowy March Saturday. This means I did not get to see Cinderella or Matilda or Book of Mormons or Peter and the Starcatchers. Next time. For certain. From there, we met Boyfriend at Ess-a Bagel for another bagel breakfast. Delicious. And during out 20-minute wait for bagels, R.D.S. managed to snag us a table. Win. As we started walking back to R.D.S.'s place, the weather took a turn for the worse. After warm showers, we decided to cancel our plans for walking the Brooklyn Bridge and pizza by the slice at Grimaldi's due to snow showers. We settled Upper East Side coffee and pizza at Numero 28... and a relaxing afternoon of catch-up time. In the late afternoon, Boyfriend and I parted from R.D.S. to head to Harlem to visit with Peace Corps friends and later see the Africa Now! concert at the Apollo. Freshlyground, a South African band we adore, was playing one of the sets in show. I also got to see Blitz the Ambassador, a name I only heard in Ghana, perform. The concert turned into the highlight of the weekend. And what could have made the night more perfect? Street food and another helping of Insomnia Cookies. Yes. Please.

Spent from the first two days, we slept in a bit on Sunday. After saying goodbye to our excellent host, I headed to Brooklyn to meet J.W.M. and his girlfriend for brunch. The food was yummy and the company was, per usual, entertaining. Afterwards, I met back up with J.P.B. and the two of us wasted time for the final hour until our bus departed.

On any other given Sunday, my bed would have been the most delightful greeting when I walked in the door of my apartment... but this was Selection Sunday. Before sleep, I needed to do an initial bracket analysis. March Madness is upon us. Time to dance. And I saw a potential for a bracket filled out with a lot of heart. So Go Blue. Until the Rock Chalk Jayhawks take over in the South. Go Sparty in the Midwest. As for the East and West, heart might be lacking, but I will take ACC in the East and Big Ten (Badgers, NOT Buckeyes) in the West.

If that was not enough excitement, Gap was having a sale on jeans. I am in dire need, so I did closed out evening with some impulse purchases as the sale expired at midnight.

Times like these might lead to emails from Mom that say, "It's like you still live in Africa." Busy, busy.