Sunrise

I have a few east-facing windows in my new apartment. So when I get up early on those cold winter mornings, I often get to see a beautiful sunrise such as this one.

Celebration

I just returned from Richmond, where I witnessed the wedding of my darling friend Kara. But first, we had a bachelorette party a few weeks ago. It was pretty tame; we went to a few wineries then had a nice dinner. Here we are at beautiful Barboursville Winery near Charlottesville.

The grounds of the winery also contain the ruins of a house designed by Thomas Jefferson! So fascinating.

But I digress....The wedding in Richmond yesterday was so lovely. It was great being able to celebrate with Kara and all our friends.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Road Trip through PA

I know I'm way behind on this, but it's been a busy month. I traveled 3 out of 5 weekends in May, and June hasn't been much calmer.

So anyway, the first weekend in May, I took a road trip through Pennsylvania with my travel buddy, Lacey. Our first stop was Gettysburg....can you believe I've lived in DC for nearly 13 years and had never been to Gettysburg? I know!

It's a quaint town with obviously a ton of history. We were on a bit of a short timeline, but I wish I could've spent more time exploring the area.

Lincoln is omnipresent in Gettysburg.

As are guns and monuments.

And people walk around in period costume and no one bats an eye.

Hi Lacey! (I believe this is at Little Round Top.)

The historic cemetery dedicated by Lincoln...

And this is the monument commemorating Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

Sadly, there were lots of markers like this one.

Pennsylvania has some beautiful countryside. 

After a day and a half in Gettysburg, we drove east towards Philadelphia. But first, we stopped in Amish country for lunch. And it was gooood!

You could pay to take a buggy ride, but that was a little too kitschy for me.

We got to Philly in the evening and checked into our hotel, which was just blocks from City Hall.

The next day we walked around the historic district, beginning at Independence Hall.

I am OBSESSED with tulips, you guys. Must be my Dutch heritage. :)

This statue is called "The Signer" and is a monument to the signers of the Declaration of Independence, who frankly risked their lives by doing so.

Next we visited the Ben Franklin Museum and Print Shop.

There was a demonstration of the old timey printing press.

We then took a tour of the U.S. Mint. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but there were so many shiny coins!

On our last day, we went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We probably spent about two hours there, and I feel like that still wasn't enough.

Everyone running up the Rocky steps.....you better believe I did it too!

His footprints are at the top of the steps.

And the iconic statue, which used to be at the top of the steps, but got moved after the Art people had a fit.

So that's it! It was a short trip, but nice to get away for a bit.

Happy V-E Day!

I'm a little behind on this post; my apologies. Friday, May 8th was the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe (V-E) Day. The day was commemorated with a tremendous flyover in the skies above Washington, DC. Even though it was a regular workday, thousands of people spilled out of their offices during the noon hour and trained their cameras upward (yours truly included).

The whole experience was incredibly thrilling and moving. It's times like this when I feel so fortunate to be living in this great city. I was especially moved when I saw a PBY Catalina fly overheard, which is the aircraft my grandfather flew in as a radioman.

Here is a selection of other photos I snapped. As you can see, it was literally a picture-perfect day.

Rites of spring

Ah, spring! My favorite time of year. The cold begins to thaw, the flowers burst forth from the ground, and the cherry blossoms come to life for a few short days. And the hordes of people clog up the Tidal Basin. I'm not sure if I can keep doing this annual pilgrimage without resisting the urge to push someone in the water.

Seriously.

Victory!

I got this puzzle for my birthday back in February (thanks, mom!), and I finally finished it about two weeks ago. It was a tough one, but I got it done! All one thousand pieces.