DC Weekend

I had quite the interesting weekend. Friday night my coworkers invited me to join them on their boat for a trip down the Potomac. We launched the boat from a park right by national airport. **Mental note to self: next time you want to watch the airplanes land, go here.** After boarding the boat and making sure everyone had the appropriate life vests we travelled down the river, past old town Alexandria, under the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and over to National Harbor, located on the Maryland side of the Potomac.

Little did I know that one of the sights of DC that I've been wanting to see would be waiting there for me when I got off the boat. Apparently "The Awakening" was moved from it's original location in DC to National Harbor. The Awakening is a huge face, hand and foot that appears to be climbing out of the sand, or sinking into it depending on how you look at it. It was pretty cool to see it but even more exciting to climb on the foot and face emerging from the sand. Even more cool was the fact this was accompanied by a live band covering country songs. I couldn't have been happier! After a few drinks inside the atrium of the Gaylord hotel we boarded the boat and returned back to the airport. If you had told me before the trip that I wouldn't be getting home until 1am I would have never believed you!

Sunday was gorgeously sunny so I took advantage of the weather and strolled around some of the monuments. Apparently I am a little attracted to the Potomac lately. I parked right next to it and then wandered around the tidal basin to the Jefferson memorial and then along the mall. It's so hard to believe that it's already the end of August. Soon enough the weather will turn and so will the leaves and everything in DC will start to look that little bit different. I love fall but I will miss my sunny afternoons for strolling around.

I'm Famous!

My clinic was written up in the local newspaper for National Health Center Week and mine was one of the two clinic programs featured in the article. I have edited the below to maintain my anonymity but here's the section on my program:

Two of the center’s programs are of particular interest, one new one and one that has been in place for many years.

In January, [the best] dietitian, joined the staff. “[She] works really hard with adults with diabetes, elevated cholesterol and other conditions that are influenced in a positive way with good nutrition and an exercise program,” Langlykke explained. “We are so delighted to have her.”

“She is a very nice addition and we’ve seen a great deal of progress in weight loss with our patients.” Langlykke added. “Children also are a major focus and [She] is partnering with the YMCA to get the children moving.”

The Health Center has also introduced a donation program to provide bikes for kids. They have enough bicycles for the teens but would love to have more donations of bicycles and helmets for younger kids.

New York, New York

This past weekend was spent hanging out with the ladies in New York. It was a reunion of sorts as I haven't hung out with these two lovely ladies since last fall, but it felt as though no time had passed. Saturday morning was spent sleeping in, followed by an afternoon of soaking up the sun while playing frisbee at the park. But the highlight of the weekend was Saturday night.

On our walk from the park back to soul friend's apartment we walked by a Blue Ribbon Sushi. Soul Friend commented, "Hey I didn't know they had one of those out here. That's where we're going for dinner." Unfortunately we found out the hard way that there are actually three locations for Blue Ribbon sushi. I say the hard way because we took a cab across town for dinner only to find out the location that had our reservation was only a couple of blocks away from the W hotel where we had met for pre-dinner drinks. Doh! A short cab ride later we were back where we started enjoying a delicious meal.

The majority of Sunday was spent on the bus driving back to DC. We got stuck in a lightning storm which produced a little more traffic then expected but provided quite a show, so I can't say it was all bad. But it was definitely nice to be home when I finally got there. Sadly it's bittersweet because Wednesday I am back to the airport and off to Seattle for the weekend. But I swear, after that I'll be staying put . . . well at least until September.

Uniquely DC

This summer I have been experiencing quite a few uniquely DC events. The events in and of themselves are pretty cool only made better by the company. Here are the highlights:


What? Jazz in the Garden

When? Friday nights 5-9 pm, National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden




What? Nationals Baseball

When? See the schedule at the official Nationals Website




What? Screen on The Green

When? Monday evening starting between 8-9pm, National Mall




What? United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Team

When? Tuesday evening at 6pm, Marine Corps Memorial (Iwo Jima Statue)