Too much fun and not enough sleep

Oh what fun it is to spend a weekend with good friends! As Josh had never been to DC (bah!), we did a circuit of The Mall and all its offerings on Friday, starting with a stop by the White House to say hi to George and the family.

And what would a trip to DC be without a picture of the Washington Monument?!

We swung by the Vietnam Wall, where a group of elementary kids from Cali had left some beautiful sentiments...

...and where I also cried for the first time while visiting the wall. Someone had left a note thanking a fellow soldier for having died in his place in Vietnam, writing that he had tried his hardest in the years since to be worthy of that soldier's sacrifice. It was so sad and yet so beautiful.

There was also a stop at the World War II Memorial...

...and a quick passby of the Smithsonian Castle.

And of course there was some silliness along the way...because it wouldn't be "consultants' weekend" without silliness.

Seems like enough for one day, right? Not for our fearless travelers! We also caught a Nationals v. Orioles game, where Esther and I made friends with Screech the Eagle.

But we'd still not had enough! After watching the Nats lose a bit disgracefully to the O's, we bar-hopped with a couple of Esther's friends. Yeah, we were just a little bit exhausted on the Metro ride home!

After sleeping in veeeerrrry late, our Saturday was a little quieter, and included a viewing of "The DaVinci Code" and a tour of the totally cool International Spy Museum (wow!).

What a fabulous weekend!! I could tell all kinds of stories, and share some really good quotes...but I just don't know that anyone other than the four of us would find them amusing. So I'll end with one last picture.

Where I am: Athens, OH
What I'm reading: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson