Mr. Riley Goes to Washington

A few weekends ago, Noah and I took advantage of yet another great neighboring metropolis and enjoyed the kind hospitality of yet another crew of stellar friends with a trip to DC for the annual Cherry Blossom Festival.

I lived in DC a few years ago and it is, in fact, the scene of our engagement story. But as happens with most interns I was only able to enjoy four months, and consequently, one season in DC - hot n' humid. So when the peak of the festival coincided with an easy weekend to get away, we anxiously jumped at the chance.

We stayed with my former roommate, Melissa, her now-roomate (and husband) Jon and their new roommate (and offspring) Van. Can you even get enough of this little guy? I cannot.

Do you ever visit some place completely gorgeous and feel torn between wanting to capture it all and wishing you could enjoy it with your natural eyes without worrying about the camera? Well, then you should hang out with these people. Both Jon and Melissa possess wicked skills behind the lens, so we left their home with two discs of our Cherry Blossom experience. I'll pipe down and let the photos do the talkin'...

Our hostess with the mostest.

I really only put this on because I think my hair looks rockin' awesome in this shot. It must be said.

The day was absolutely gorgeous except for the wind - almost unlike anything I've ever experienced. When we took this photo, conditions were somewhat akin to sticking your head out the window on the freeway. Literally, I could not breathe in. And thanks to my cheesy, toothy grin in this shot, I'm still flossing dust out of my teeth. (And if any of my China gals read this blog - you can attest to how deeply I despise the wind. Worst. Element. Ever.)

As we drove into town, it occurred to me it had been nearly three years since I'd been to DC. The length of my absence was further reaffirmed when I absolutely could not get my bearings in the metro. And also when I realized they'd had time to built three monstrous spikes just beyond my old stompin' ground. It was really nice to visit the new Air Force and Pentagon Memorials while we were there. The Pentagon Memorial was especially stirring. Its design really drew out the personal stories of the victims for me. A lot of you may already know it, but it felt like new news to me - the memorial is essentially a grid of dates laid out by year. A bench is placed on the grid based on the victim's birth date. The benches for individuals who lost their lives in the plane face away from the Pentagon while the benches for those who were inside face toward the building. Those simple facts told such a story about the people, where they were, what they were likely doing, why they might have been in the building or on the plane. It was incredibly powerful.

Melissa and I also had the chance to catch up with another one of our DC roommates, the fabulous Kami. (Ashlee, Mindy - we'll all be in one place at the same time sometime!) What a great evening of catching up and being completely awed by the beautiful, talented, classy, intelligent women in my life. I was evidently so awed (or perhaps still relying on the Smith photography crutch!) that I didn't even think to snap a picture while we were all together. So instead, this shot cicrca summer '06...