Friday I did my FBI fingerprinting at my hotel in Herndon and made it to the National Mall by 4 pm for a little sightseeing. First stop was the Washington Monument.
Then I strolled by the Smithsonian on my way to the Capitol.
Here I am in front of the Capitol during an exciting time in US history, in the midst of the bailout bill being approved in Congress and just before this major election.
One of the highlights was getting to catch up with friends from Biloxi. The crazy thing about FEMA is that you keep running into the same people all around the country. In this case, Dana and Stephen actually live in DC, and Trevor and I were passing through for training. Here, Dana's hospitality dawns true style. I must say she was the one who insisted on 'making' the blog. Here's to you, D!!
Trevor, Dana, and I took Jackson for a quick stroll around her beautiful Woodley Park neighborhood, just a block from the free National Zoo.
Dana, me, Stephen, and Trevor worked our way through this amazing platter of Ethiopian cuisine and beer at Dukem on U Street.
Then we headed to one of Dana's favorite hangouts, Busboys and Poets, which was hosting part of the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival currently underway.
We moved onto dessert at Coppi's where we severely over-ordered. That's Sean cozying up to Dana on the left. It was incredibly great to see old friends and catch up with everyone. I must note that I was bragging to this table of marathon runners, mountaineers, and triathletes extraordinaire about having run two 12-minute miles that morning. They were duly impressed.
