This past weekend, I had the pleasure of joining hubby as he attended a conference in Washington, D.C. It was our first time back in the city since 2014 when took three little kids on a homeschool Spring Break.
My first impulse was to find the amazing Lebanese restaurant that was near our hotel in Arlington. Hubby warned me that it might not have survived COVID’s shutdowns, a sad end for so many mom-and-pop businesses these past few years.
I have the cutest pictures of little L snuggling up to me at a big round table with my little men entertaining us with spoons-on-the-nose tricks as hubby and I prepared to introduce my typically picky eaters to Mediterranean food. They loved it! We’ve eaten some variety of Mediterranean food at least once a week since!
Back to the trip: Hubby and I stayed at the conference hotel, the Gaylord in Oxon Hill. On our first afternoon, we ventured out to explore the walking trail that took us out to Rosalie Island and over I-495. The wind blew, the sun shined brightly, and the temps hovered around 65 degrees Fahrenheit. It was pretty close to heaven! Back at the hotel, we watched the sun set over the Potomac.
I was on my own the next day. I “uber-ed” over to the National Gallery of Art and spent the morning meandering through gallery after gallery of sculptures and Medieval art on the first floor. Then I found the stairs and food for my soul! The impressionists were there! In my own art, I often bemoan the fact that what sells these days is full of muted colors and soft, blurry lines; my perusal of the masters confirmed that I’m simply drawn to a bright color pallet and so many details! I can’t help it!
At this point, my heart was full, but my tummy was empty. After a quick lunch in the museum’s basement Cascades Café, I decided it was time to get some sun. The sculpture garden across the street from the Gallery’s West Wing was beckoning. After wandering through it for a while, I found a spot on a bench in the shade to catch up on emails and then read a good Kindle book. When the mosquitos found me, I got up and started walking again.
About that time, hubby decided to join me. I waited for him at the pollinator garden that borders the Museum of Natural History. Here, I missed my naturalist son most intensely. I sent pics of natives and their pollinators to him and received immediate responses. 🙂 It was great to be in touch with him through the magic of technology.
Hubby arrived, and we started our trek to the National Botanical Garden near the Capitol. We had to scurry to see all the amazing plants in the garden and atriums before it closed at 5 p.m. We had intended to make our way to Me Jana, that wonderful Lebanese place that I longed to enjoy again, but a friend had recommended Rasiki, an Indian restaurant, which was closer to the gardens. The enormous fare on Uber at that time of day decided it for us—Rasiki became our walking destination!
Oh, how glad I am that we found Rasiki! It is absolutely the best food ever! We indulged in mango shrimp, chicken tikka masala, and a mixed grill plate, which included tandoori salmon, chicken tikka, and truffle seekh kebab. I was afraid it would be too spicy for hubby, but no, it was just perfect! You’ve got to try it if ever you’re in the area! The waiter suggested for dessert the apple jalebi (beignet) with cardamon ice cream and a little sliver of real, edible silver. WOW!
The next day, hubby was excused from the conference, so we visited the Museum of the Bible. There’s so much to see and do there! It took us from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. to see every exhibit, and we didn’t even examine each thing. It’s a wealth of information intermingled with really fun interactive exhibits. I highly recommend it for the next time you go to D.C.
From there, we finally made our way to Arlington and shopped at our favorite non-Mississippi stores for a little while. Then we walked to Me Jana with great anticipation. On the advice of our waitress, we ordered the houlami watermelon (a stack of bronzed cheese, dates, and sliced watermelon), potato kibbeh, hummus, and the Me Jana grill (chicken kebab, lamb kebab, and kafta with sumac onion, tomato, garlic whip, and grilled vegetables. Oh, my goodness! We had to decline dessert. We rolled out of there so full of happiness!
Rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ian kept us from further exploring our capitol city the next day, but we did join the busload of convention attendees for a tasty dinner at McCormick & Schmidt that evening, meeting a lot of fine folks for the first time.
My heart is full and so is my list of things to accomplish at home this week. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to travel with my best friend! I hope you get to travel this fall, too!
