vacation, all i ever wanted

Well, Internet, I’m back. Vacation was lovely. Being married to a medical resident can be stressful and grueling, even on the non-resident, and just having some time to hang out and reconnect with my husband was just what I needed. Did you miss me?

We started our vacation in coastal Maryland. It was too cold to enjoy the beach, and the place was a ghost town. The high point was the best Italian meal I’ve ever had. We randomly stumbled upon this place that seemed to reside in a renovated Pizza Hut, a place where they happen to make all their own pasta. Jon ordered a dish with thin layers of pasta, ground veal, mozzarella cheese, and a very delicate tomato sauce. It. was. divine. Seriously. The single best Italian dish I’ve ever had. I had a pasta dish with Italian sausage, and it was almost as good as Jon’s dish. Also enjoyable was the flamboyant owner/manager who was singing solos, exuberantly greeting guests, and giving presentations of the specials with such flair that I wanted to try all of them. Otherwise, being without cable in our normal life, we were actually more than entertained just to be able to watch cable television. ESPN for Jon, marathons of “What Not to Wear” and “NCIS” for me. Here are some highlights from the Maryland portion of the trip:

You'd think it being too cold to swim would make this gorgeous weather a sad sight. But I actually hate to be wet, so just looking at it was fine by me.

This pup lived in front of our condo. I suspect his human is an avid surfer and local, as pup had his own hitchin' post, "Beware of Dog" sign, water bowl, and bedding, right on the beach. I wanted to pet him, but he barked at me furiously, so I heeded the sign.

After we left the coast, we headed to Washington D.C. for a couple of days. Jon had never been, and it was my third trip, so it was fun to see him seeing it all for the first time. I know I kid around about being an elitist near-commie liberal, but being in D.C. makes me all kinds of patriotic. I got all choked up during the intro video to the capitol tour. I really do love the ideals that this country was founded on, and hope that one day we might truly live into our potential, with liberty, equality, and justice for ALL. We only had two days, but we hit many of the major sights. I didn’t get to see President Obama, but I did see a larger than life picture of him on the wall of Ben’s Chili Bowl, and that’s almost enough. We were slightly bummed that the big snows delayed the cherry blossoms, but as someone who suffers from extreme seasonal allergies, perhaps the lack of pollen in the air was a good thing. Some highlights:

The light was sorta gorgeous as we walked from Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. It was very romantical.

This confused me. Do those who served really care if I walk on the grass? What is grass good for if not for walking? I guess I'll stay off it if they say so, though!

Plz to ignore my crazy bowed legs and focus on the Capitol. Not sure why that most democratic of buildings gets me all choked up, but it does.

One of the real highlights for me was seeing Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian. I wish to have a set of copper pots and a bunch of Le Creuset, and maybe even robin's egg blue cabinets now.

It sucks that this picture is blurry. Go here and have a half smoke. Only regret is that the milkshake machine was broken.

Good enough for President Obama, good enough for me. A sign said, "The only people who eat free at Ben's Chili Bowl are Michelle, Malia, and Sasha Obama, and Bill Cosby. President Obama does not eat free because Bill Cosby said so."

All in all, an awesome trip. Despite being what my husband calls the worst planned vacation in the history of vacations, it proved to me that I’m happy as long as I’m hanging out with my honey (I don’t usually call him that, but “hanging out with my honey” is just so cute I could puke). I’m glad we’re both go-with-the-flow types who are just in it for the ride, but we might need to do more planning for our next trip. I’ve already decided I want to go to California to see giant trees and vineyards and things I’ve only seen in Ansel Adams photos. And I’d like to spend a week doing nothing on a Greek island. Either one of those would be nice.