We Went To Washington, D.C.

April 24, 2015July 1, 2025 / Ally Bean / 28 Comments

ZEN-DEN NEEDED TO be in D.C. for his work, so we wrapped a couple of days around his business travel– and went to Washington, D.C. for a fast little vacay.

We figure that it must have been 15+ years since we’d been there together, which surprised us. At one point, Z-D’s job in the midwest took him to D.C. about half of the year, so I’d meet him there on the weekends.

D.C. was our favorite vacation playground.

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Cherry blossoms were past their prime, but tulips were everywhere. I snapped these photos at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

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FROM A TOURIST’S point of view much has changed for the better in D.C.

What amazed us was how much cleaner, easier, prettier, friendlier the city has become. No snarly people [I’m looking at you, Boston] or people with superior attitudes [I’m looking at you, NYC].

Instead, hotel employees, nice. Cabbies, pleasant. Museum employees, helpful. Restaurant wait staff, attentive. TSA, patient.

Who would have thought that while the jackweasels in the U.S. Congress can’t agree on which way is up, the rest of Washington is buzzing along like cooperative little bees making honey while the flowers grow?

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I took all of these tulip photos with Zen-Den’s iPhone, which is something that I’ve never done before.

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WHILE MOST OF our time in D.C. was taken up with business events, we did manage to do a few things.

We had a delicious lunch at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, which is a gorgeous old-fashioned hotel in Adams Morgan that you may remember from scenes in The Pelican Brief.
We rode the metro which made me feel like a young twenty-something fresh out of college, assuming I’d end up in a big east coast city. [That didn’t happen, now did it?]
We went to the National Gallery of Art, toured it, then ate lunch in the cafeteria in the basement by the waterfall because… well, that’s what we do when we’re in D.C. together.
We wandered around the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden which was pretty even if we were a week late for the cherry blossoms.
We saw the Navy Yard, the Watergate Complex and Rock Creek Park from a taxi.
And while waiting at Reagan National Airport for our flight home, we saw an Honor Flight of WWII & Korea veterans arriving in D.C. At their gate a live jazz quartet playing pop standards from the 1940s & 1950s met the group, while a crowd gathered round and applauded.

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While the flowers were glorious, these iPhone photos don’t do them justice. Next time I’ll bring my real camera with me. 🙂

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IT’S BEEN A long time since I’ve been anywhere that I felt as comfortable as I did on this Washington D.C. trip. We’re both ready to return soon.

Next time I’d like to focus on seeing more of the presidential and war monuments; take in a few more museums; perhaps go to a concert; and breakfast each morning on fresh east coast bagels with a schmear & a coffee regular.

How have I lived without them?

Get Out The Windex, It’s Time To Vote

November 4, 2014November 4, 2014 / Ally Bean / 18 Comments

{ Source: WordPress.com News }

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During the 18 years that we’ve lived in this area we’ve voted at six different locations:

the smoky VFW Hall;
the cavernous golf course/convention center;
the cheerful Methodist church;
the crowded elementary school;
the difficult to get into and out of community church; and now
the Greek Orthodox church.

Of all the locations, this Greek Orthodox church is the best one because it’s slightly off of a busy street, has lots of parking and the actual voting area is a few steps inside the door. The Greeks do voting well.

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But the thing about this voting location, which has absolutely nothing to do with the voting itself but I’ll tell you about it anyhow, is that Z-D comes from a family with a Greek heritage.

And our well-mannered, kind Mr. Bean can do a wicked, dead-on impression of his Great Uncle, who disapproved of everything and everyone. Great Uncle was not a happy person with a generous soul, unlike his nephew.

So as you can imagine, this impression, which Z-D trots out two times a year, gets me laughing. Every time.

And always leads to one of us quoting a movie that is best known for its references to Windex, but also explains Zen-Den’s family so well. A movie in which I am the WASP to his Greekinicity. A movie called My Big Fat Greek Wedding which gives us the following wonderful lines.

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Aunt Voula: What do you mean he don’t eat no meat?

[the entire room stops, in shock]

Aunt Voula: Oh, that’s okay. I make lamb.

Friday Wisdom Brought To You By My Addled Brain + The Breakfast Club

May 16, 2014February 27, 2015 / Ally Bean / 8 Comments

In my addled brain, one thought leads to another.

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I bought some new nail polish. It looks like this color.

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I put the polish on my toenails and then put on a pair of leather sandals that are in this color.

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The color combo reminded me of Claire Standish, played by Molly Ringwald, in The Breakfast Club.

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When this movie came out, like every other girl of a certain age, I wanted to dress like Claire. Truth be known, I still kinda want to dress like Claire.

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Do you realize that it was 1985 when this movie was released? This means that I’ve grooved on this stylish look and quoted what I believe to be two of the best movie lines ever… for 29 years. Oh my!

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[Image Sources: 1) me; 2) Pantone here; 3) Pantone here; 4) Elle magazine, courtesy of Universal Pictures, here; 5) Not So Witty Witterings here; 6) me.]

My Own Version Of Lady & The Tramp

February 18, 2014 / Ally Bean / 13 Comments

I almost feel bad about this.

I mean, it’s never my intention for my actions to cause any creature to get upset. I’m not one to stir the pot just for the heck of it. I’m one to glue the puzzle pieces together to make things whole.

However…

Our neighbor’s dog, who looks just like Lady from the Disney movie, Lady and the Tramp, is a pretty cocker spaniel with impeccable manners. She usually sits on her front sidewalk, watchful and quiet; or patrols up and down her driveway, checking out the suburban scene around her house.

With nary a woof-woof.

Sadly, she has not taken this extreme weather in stride. In fact, more than once this winter she has barked her displeasure with me as I trudge diagonally across our snow-covered front yard to get to our mailbox. Granted as I’m doing this I’m wearing a huge parka, hat and scarf, so maybe she thinks that I don’t belong over here.

That I’m a tramp of sorts.

All I know is that she makes it clear to me that she believes that I’m breaking decorum by not using our [currently ice-covered] concrete sidewalk and driveway. This makes her uneasy, I sense. Worried. And in need of telling everyone within a five block radius about my lack of good manners as evidenced by my tramping through the snow.

Who knew that this breed of dog could be so loud?

Photo Source: American Kennel Club