Visitors...

Here is the weekend in abbreviated form:

Friday Night:

After a long week of work, and what weeks aren't long, I took the metro with my clothes and computer baggage, and headed for Rosslyn. Rosslyn metro stop is in Arlington, VA, where I would be staying a hotel for a few nights. I eventually met up with mom and dad, who then gave me things to carry up to the room, and we made dinner plans. I wanted to go somewhere 'DC' even though we were in Virginia. I chose the Capital City Brewery, a restaurant who brews their own beers, and has pretty good food to match it. I had a 'build your own' pizza of sorts. I got their traditional 4 cheese pizza, but put chorizo sausage on it. Sneha, if you are reading this, the sausage was like what you and I had in Spain, but nowhere near as good! We also started with a beer/cheddar pretzel dip. To finish the meal, we had a 'monumental' brownie sundae.

Saturday:

Sleeping in a semi-real bed for the first time in months, I didn't want to get up real early, but did anyways to get a jump on the museums. After taking the metro, we went to the International Spy Museum here in DC. It is one of the few museums that you actually have to pay for here, $18. I think it was well worth it. The museum featured gadgets that spies have used, and still do, the history of the underground culture of spying, and great exhibits on techniques, missions, and secrets that have been kept and traded. I did not realize how much spying actually still occurs within the world. Basically, from what I understand, everybody is watching you at all times, so don't do anything bad.

After the Spy Museum, it was on to the National Portrait Gallery. Located just across the street in China town, it was not too difficult to find. The gallery holds pictures of people, often times close up and unflattering, but pictures nonetheless. There was a 'modern' section, with pictures of people like Barack, McCain (though not modern), Morrissey (for some reason), Angelina Jolie, and more. Then there was the President's Gallery, which has portraits of all U.S. President's. Each picture had a story, of why it was drawn that way, and what it was supposed to represent. I just saw the paintings, not the hidden meanings.

After the Gallery, we headed to Ben's Chili Bowl for lunch, and ended up sitting at the table President Obama sat at just after he was inaugurated. So I ate the Barack special, a half-smoke (not sure what that is) with chili and chips, plus a cherry shake. I could've had 3 of them.

After lunch, which was actually eaten at 4:30pm, we went to the Washington Monument, WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial (as it was getting dark, which looks nice), and then decided to walk back to Arlington instead of walking a mile plus back to the next closest metro stop.

Once back at the hotel, we headed for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I had something called the Chicken di Pana, and of course cheesecake. I think it was oreo mudslide.

The next morning, we went to the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, right by the hotel. After taking several pictures, we then made our way to Arlington National Cemetary. We stopped at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers to see the changing of the guard, and then visited Kennedy's tomb. After that, it was time to get me back to my awful apartment.

It's bad to look at it this way, but only a month more in the mice infested, roach crawling, mold growing place that is my DC apartment.