I read this little blurb shortly before our anniversary and it resonated with me-
Adventure?
Freedom?
Quiet?
Whatever it is you're missing, go after it. Do something or go someplace that makes your forget for a second that you're parents and budget-keepers and remember that you were lovers first.
Shut off the cruise control and take a damn detour together.
So we did! The weekend after our anniversary, Brian put on his "son hat" (he wears so many, and does so extremely well) and went home to visit his parents. It took a little rescheduling, but when I mentioned to Brian that I wanted to go away with just him- no kids, no friends, just us- he made it happen and planned what would turn out to be a perfect weekend away for us.
I love traveling by public transportation- metro, uber/lyft, okay maybe not the bus- and probably because I don't have to do it daily- so I was thrilled to spend the morning packing up my suitcase, then driving to the metro to head into the city to meet up with Brian.
I had the day off from school, Brian did not. So he got to the hotel and enjoyed this view before me-
What a view! Here it is in panoramic, from our room-
Friday afternoon we grabbed a drink at the hotel bar- like adults who are traveling kidless do- and then I threw out the idea of heading over to the Kennedy Center for a show. They have a free nightly 6pm show that we'd always talked about popping in for, but never had. Until now!
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The show we saw was a Youth Jazz Orchestra from Germany, paired up with singers from George Mason University. It was 45 minutes, free and the perfect activity for us. Would I do it again, nope. But it was great to be doing something different.
Brian was in charge of food for the weekend. And Friday night he made reservations for Georgian food- think country, not state- at Supra.
I am still dreaming about or appetizer- KHACHAPURI-
AJARULI
Boat-shaped cheese bread, organic egg yolk
Oh my goodness it was the most delicious cheese and bread ever! They brought it to the table as pictured above, then mix the egg in with the warm melty cheese. You rip off a piece of the soft warm bread and dip it in the cheese- wow wow wow
These "soup dumplings" were also fantastic. Filled with broth, and eaten with your hands- hence the small finger bowl on the plate!
Our waiter explained that in Georgia, men will compete with eachother about who can eat the most of these dumplings. They do not eat the top- or the handle- leaving it on the plate to show off how many they have eaten.
Check out the orange wine-
Not my favorite- but again, I was after something different, and that is what we found!
Brian jokingly suggested we go to a club after dinner. To which I reminded him that we had a bottle of wine and we each had a brand new book to crack back in the room- so why oh why would we waste our time at a club? Hehe.
And that's what we did- headed back to our room, sipped wine and read- it was glorious.
Saturday morning we woke up (thankful we didn't go clubbing) to the perfect view-
But, down below we could hear something....
Yup, a protest!
Can you read the sign below?
Sadly, it says "Finish the Wall" (Insert eye roll now.)
After a great hotel breakfast, off to the Renwick Gallery- which is a Smithsonian Art Museum across from the White House that we've walked by for years and always said "someday we have to go to that one." The building was actually damaged in the 2011 earthquake, so it was closed for renovations when we first moved here.
The Renwick Gallery building was originally built to be Washington, D.C.'s first art museum and to house William Wilson Corcoran's collection of American and European art. The building was designed by James Renwick, Jr. and finally completed in 1874.[3][4] It is located at 1661 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.[5] Renwick designed it after the Louvre's Tuileries addition.[6] At the time of its construction, it was known as "the American Louvre".[7][8]
The building was near completion when the Civil War broke out and was seized by the U.S. Army in August 1861 as a temporary military warehouse for the records and uniforms for the Quarter Master General's Corps.[9] In 1864, General Montgomery C. Meigs converted the building into his headquarters office.[9]
On May 10, 1869, the building was returned to Corcoran, and, on January 19, 1874, the Corcoran Gallery of Art opened to the public.[3][9] The gallery quickly outgrew the space and relocated to a new building nearby in 1897.[10] Starting in 1899, the building housed the federal Court of Claims.[3] By the 1950s, in need of more space, the Court of Claims proposed to demolish the building, however, it was saved from demolition by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1963.[4][6][8] In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson and Secretary of the Smithsonian S. Dillon Ripley, proposed that the building be turned over to the Smithsonian.[3][9][11]
In 1965, President Johnson signed an executive order transferring the Renwick building to the Smithsonian Institution for use as a "gallery of arts, craft and design."[3] After a renovation, it opened in 1972 as the home of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's contemporary craft program.[3][11] The Renwick Gallery is now a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, housing the museum's collection of decorative art and crafts.[4][6]
The building is stunning inside!
An exhibit dedicated to the Simplicity brand of women's dress patterns for sewing-
This picture does not do this chandelier justice-
No idea what this is-
But i had to stand under it for a photo-
Upstairs was an entire Burning Man festival temple-
The intricate wooden walls were fascinating-
And you could write messages on them and leave prayers, notes-
Some of the other stunning pieces of art-
And fun ones-
In the past few weeks, several people across the country had shared with me a video of a DC restaurant- located just blocks from the White House- owned by a Pakistani family, that feeds the homeless free each weekday- so we went to check it out!
Absolutely delicious. And we were so happy to be able to support this business as a thank you to this family for all they do in the community.
Next up- The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. Just look at it here on in the middle of these two streets, all historic, with a brand new building built right up behind it-
This church is the closest place of worship to the White house and the ministers of this church have repeatedly had the opportunity to speak truth to power. In addition to Adams, Jackson, and Lincoln, other Presidents of the United States attended services to hear their preaching, including William Henry Harrison, James K. Polk, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Benjamin Harrison, Dwight David Eisenhower, and Richard Milhous Nixon, as well as members of their Cabinets, Congress, and the Supreme Court. MLK also spoke here.
President Lincoln worshiped regularly at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church during the American Civil War. Lincoln rented a pew for $50 a year. And here it is- 
And right outside, they have preserved President Lincoln's hitching post-
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Brian realized right about now that the UT Basketball game was on, so we went to find a good place to watch it and grab some drinks. Because we could. And just like that, there was the City Tap House and in we went. Sadly UT lost- because that is what happens when Brian watches UT.
Off we go to the National Portrait Gallery next-
Again this building is beautiful- with random art everywhere-
And it just happened to be Oscar night the following night, so seeing Audrey Hepburn's collection was cool-
You can paint a portrait on anything-
Brian's pictures were very different than mine-
Macy is studying Andy Worhol in art class, and Jake's girlfriend Jess is a huge fan of Marilyn Monroe, so I snapped this for them-
Macy recently read about Wilma Rudolph and it turns out that our former Honorary Squadron Commander, Mayrene Bates, at Travis AFB, ran against Wilma back in the day. So I snapped this pic to send to Mayrene-
Oh LL- this painting was amazing in person!
Doesn't this capture George Jr. so perfectly?
This one was so cool how the painting is made up of all smaller abstract squares to become the entire portrait-
When we walked in I went to the info desk and said "which way to the Obama's?" The guy behind me then said "where are the orchids?"
I'm not a fan of Michelle's official portrait, but I HAD to see it in person-
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Another one for Macy-
Okay, okay we will see the Orchids too....
The courtyard of the building- where the orchids were- was so breathtaking-
Okay enough. I was done. Back to the room to relax. Because we could!
Randomly, Brian wanted to go to the Trump Hotel for a drink before dinner. I obliged. Barely. No pictures. Lots of red hats. Get me out of here!!!!!
So off we go to the exact opposite of the Trump Hotel- a tiny, hole in the wall Japanese Ramen place- Diakaya- that is supposedly the best in the city. The line is usually long- but we scored two seats at the bar, with a full view of the "kitchen"-
Saturday night was another night in- after dinner. And try as I might to watch dumb tv- I just couldn't do it. So I was more than happy to continue reading my book- Becoming by Michelle Obama- instead!
Brian's breakfast was amazing the Sunday morning-
This weekend was wonderful. It was easy, it was full of long walks, history and great food. And my husband. The perfect mix.
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