thank you, d.c., for the best show to date. crafty bastards was great, great, great--a hearty THANK YOU to everyone who made our trip to d.c. possible. we could not do it without you!
we made the drive down to d.c. in two segments, stopping over in jersey at a hotel (such luxury!). this was a new experience for me, as nearly all previous family trips to d.c. had been accomplished in one endless jog of highway driving, beginning well before the sun came up and ending, at times, just before the sun went down. it was nice to sleep halfway through. when we arrived to darby's house (yay darby!) we were hungry, and at the suggestion of anai we went to ben's chili bowl where we had good eats. i especially liked the sign which read 'who eats at ben's for free? : 1. bill cosby 2. the obama family (but he paid).'
the next morning we were due at the marie reed learning center at 7 AM to start setting up for the show. from the moment we arrived it was smooth sailing. the staff had organized every detail of the day to ensure a positive experience for everyone involved. food was provided, as well as an ARMY of very kind and helpful volunteers, available to help with anything and everything. nabil and i were very very impressed and thankful.
lunch came around at about mid day, which we carefully stowed away for a free moment...occurring at approximately 6 PM, one hour after the show officially ended. it was busy! we met so many kind, thoughtful, and interesting people--thank you to all who stopped by for a chat, a handshake, a story...we loved every moment. and to those who have taken the time to visit our online shop and contact us via email--the love continues! thank you thank you.
after this very busy day, nabil and i ate falafel, fell into a semi-coma, and slept through till morning. we enjoyed the morning out walking on 14th street:
...eating bagels and drinking coffee on this brand new plaza with a fountain and lights powered by solar panels. you see those shoes there at the bottom of this photo? my most comfortable shoes. my feet were spent from the show.
my favorite husband and business partner.
later that day, we went with anai and ben to the fish market where we took full advantage of the free samples. anai bought three fresh whole tilapia and we brought them to the nearby fish cutters who scaled them and cut them in a tiny little workshop. i loved watching them work.
we cooked the fish on a cedar board to give it a smoky taste and though darby was not happy with the results, i thought it was great. you should also note the moxie there...sold only in maine, but stocked up in darby's house in d.c., the careful planning of an annual trip north. to me, moxie tastes like cloves, which i do so love. darby thinks it is the gentian root that gives it its flavor. whatever the source, i do love it. why do i only drink it when with darby?
on our last day in d.c. we went to do a little bit of siteseeing. i was exhausted and we did little more than walk the national mall and see the capitol, but we enjoyed what we did see. the weather was beautiful, the flowers were still blooming, and there were plenty of tourists...tourists riding segways in groups wearing helmets (those were the most amusing, i thought), and german high school students wearing skinny jeans and keffiyahs, walking arm in arm.
on our way home to maine we ate some fast food and drank too much coffee, listened to lots of arabic pop and aretha franklin, and did a couple of fist pumps when we saw the 'maine, the way life should be' sign. it was a good good trip. thanks so much.
