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?

The Bean Abides

April 7, 2015May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 40 Comments

A Poem on the Occasion of the Beginning of my 12th Year in the Blogosphere

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I started small because I didn’t know,

What to expect from this blogging show.

My friends in real life ignored my blog dream,

It made me so mad that I wanted to scream.

But continuing on I wrote each day,

Knowing that others would head this way.

• • •

My mantra simple, my goals were clear:

Give the readers a story to cheer.

“I will not whine, nor over-share,

I will show up and rarely swear.

I am authentic, I refuse to mock,

I enjoy learning, and taking stock.”

• • •

Perspicacious am I, willing to share,

Light of heart, but still I care.

Nuanced and nutty, in equal part,

I have been quirky, right from the start.

Stick-to-itiveness, I think you’ll agree,

Is the word that best describes me.

• • •

Free-spirited, niche-less, with content well-written,

Yet editors varied with me are not smitten.

No Freshly Pressed badge, will you see here,

It seems what I write, they just do not hear.

But now gentle readers, in you I confide,

No matter what happens, the Bean will abide.

• • •

A special thanks to la peregrina at Santiago Dreaming who’s been here with me from the beginning AND to Margaret at Stargazer who’s been around here for almost as long. You both paid attention to me when no one else did– and helped me, a reserved introvert, gain the confidence to keep on writing. Love you both.

[H/T to D. Parker at yadadarcyyada whose wonderful post “Why I Will Never Be Freshly Pressed” put me in a mind to write this poem.]

QOTD: What Are Your Dreams For This Spring?

March 19, 2015January 24, 2016 / Ally Bean / 28 Comments

Always looking forward. Always planning. Influenced by ~~Arrowsmith~~ Aerosmith. I’m rarely without a list of what I need to do next.

Usually my lists revolve around practical matters, but occasionally I make a personal list of a few simple things that I want to accomplish. So without further babble, I give you…

My “Dreams For Spring” List

I want to go for a walk almost every day. There will be no numerical goals attached to this walk, I just want to move more. Rain be damned.

I want to bake muffins. The reality here is that for months I’ve said that I’m going to start baking again– then I haven’t done so. However, now that it’s on my list, let muffin-palooza begin.

I want to travel somewhere. While this may seem vague, I’ve learned that when I talk about a specific vacation, the gods start screwing around with my life. So mum’s the word. I’m going to sneak travel by them this time. You just watch and see.

I want to work in the garden. Last year I was lazy about gardening because– well, I haven’t a clue why I was, but I was. This year I’m planning some new features out there– and some new color schemes. Nothing like a design project to ramp up my interest and keep me enthused.

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So here’s the Question of the Day, presented to you on the last full day of Winter:

What are your dreams for this Spring?

Answer in the comments below and I promise that we here at The Spectacled Bean will cheer you on to victory!

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Fred the Monkey & Sandrine the Bear’s Fun Afternoon

February 27, 2015February 9, 2019 / Ally Bean / 39 Comments

[The following story is my entry in evilsquirrel13’s The Second Annual Contest of Whatever. Please enjoy!]

Fred the Monkey & Sandrine the Bear’s Fun Afternoon

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Fred the Monkey was bored.

All day it had snowed outside while he was stuck inside Grandpa Aloha and Grandma Mahalo’s house. He wanted someone to play with, so he asked them if he could call Sandrine the Bear and invite her over to play games.

Grandpa and Grandma said that it was okay.

Sandrine arrived at the front door wrapped in her mother’s scarf. She looked pretty and was warm. Sandrine was ready to have fun.

Fred suggested that they play an easy game first. He found Grandma Mahalo’s Tic-Tac-Toe game and the friends started to play it.

Because Sandrine was his guest, Fred let her go first. She was “X.”

Fred was “O.”

Grandpa Aloha looked on as they played. He loved to watch the kids goof-off just like he did growing up in Hawaii.

Suddenly, he realized that down in the basement there might be his favorite game for the kids to play. He went downstairs and searched.

When Fred and Sandrine saw what Grandpa Aloha had found for them to play, they were delighted. Grandpa’s favorite old-time game was Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.

Sandrine got to pick her side first. She was “Red Rocker.”

Fred was “Blue Bomber.”

But after many exciting rounds of the game, both monkey and bear were ready for a snack. They’d had enough fun punching each other.

Fortunately, Grandma Mahalo was more than happy to make them some tea and serve it with cookies.

Then it was time for Sandrine to go home, but the friends decided to do one last silly thing before she left. They took a selfie with Buddha so that they’d have a photo to remind them of their fun afternoon playing games together.