Tuesday, April 14, 2009

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...

10 comments:

lauren said...

those cherry blossom photos are breathtaking. and so springy. glad you guys had fun!

Jaci said...

Classy, beautiful girls is right! My cute Kami from good ol' BR is one of my most favorite friends too.
Mellisa, i have not met, but she sent my the nicest blog post. I like your style in friends, and more. ;)

Have a great day!

Jaci Udy

Tabbi said...

I agree, it did feel like my head was sticking out the window while driving down the freeway. Why didn't we think to find each other while we were both downtown enjoying the blossoms?

Quinn and Linds said...

Agreed, your hair does looks awesome...I would have done the same thing. Especially because in the next picture, your hair is a little shall we say, less-awesome?? Remember back to the picture of us and the caramel apples last fall and how we look like sisters...well we need to take another one soon; my hair is also getting quite long (I am proud to say) and I get equally excited when it looks good and long in a picture!

Missy said...

Wow, those photos are amazing! DC is such a cool place, I would love to see the new memorials.

Whitney said...

wow, these pics are awesome! have you seen my latest post? i HATE the wind! and unfortunately it blows here in the spring a.lot. boo.
but you look fantastic! yay! as always of course! :)

Amy said...

The cherry blossoms look amazing!! I too HATE, despise, detest the wind. But I love DC. how fun that you're close enough to visit such fun places.

Emi Sorensen said...

oh sakura (japanese for cherry blossom)how i love thee!

Claire said...

WOW! I love that you got to see the blossoms, how GLORIOUS! Somehow Matt and I managed to only see them at night- amazing. Heh, so glad you got to go revisit DC! (And for some reason this makes me super huge miss you since I got to see you there and meet Noah!)

Kami said...

I love when the Riley's come to Washington (and your hair does look amazing...and pretty awesome in that windy pic!). An evening with Miss and Al is just what the doctor ordered- I love when my sweet DC girls are together (even half of us!). You are amazing women...and I'm so blessed to call you friends!