Monday, June 25, 2007

A Great Vacation

We are back from our trip to the nation's capital, happy and well-rested. The past four days have been like a dream vacation for us, a perfect combination of great friends, good food, amazing conversation, and morning coffee out on the deck overlooking trees and horses.

I would feel slightly obnoxious raving about how wonderful everything was if Steve and I didn't have such a LONG string of bad vacations behind us. We honeymooned on the equivalent of a deserted island (which sounds romantic until you really think about it). Last spring we stayed in a hotel that had burn marks from the crack pipes in the bathroom. And last summer - while vacationing in my hometown, where you'd think I'd know how to organize a decent vacation - our getaway cabin dangled precariously over a muddy inlet and had a rodent's nest... under our pillow. The pool was closed due to some sort of chemical catastrophe, and the restaurant was closed for renovations. Should I even mention the rain?

This trip was entirely, delightfully different. We stayed with our amazingly brilliant friends I'll call Genius and Harmony, who live in a suburb of Virginia best described as bucolic. They are southern, which means that hospitality abounded - they cooked more for us in four days than I've cooked for us this year. We talked about books and music and relationships. Steve left inspired to take guitar lessons, I left with a new love for the poet T.S. Eliot. To say that our horizons were broadened is an understatement. And as if that weren't enough, Genius and Harmony have reproduced, so there were three little examples of what a great DNA combination can create running around their house (okay, the littlest one didn't run so much as lounge - she's only 3 months old - but her occasional wiggly smile made up for her lack of forward movement).

We saw the WWII memorial, which was jaw-droppingly beautiful. I'm not a huge fan of monuments/museums (I wish I was that kind of person; it's a bit embarrassing that I'm not) but this newest work of dedication was both a powerful remembrance and artistically mesmerizing. I could have stayed there all day. And the Korean Memorial was beautiful and haunting. (Anyone who wonders if we should stop funding the arts should wander through these two displays of vision, skill, and devotion before making a decision). Then we went into Georgetown, to a little French bistro were we celebrated our anniversaries - three years for Steve & I, ten later this summer for Genius & Harmony. Honestly, the DC Bureau of Tourism should have followed us, as that day alone was a great sampler of all the city has to offer.

We're back now, and I need to get to work. I've missed life here in blog-land and hope to get around to see everyone later tonight. In the meantime though, Harmony is thinking of starting a blog - feel free to post words of encouragement in the comments, as she will be a fabulous addition to our online family :)

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad you had such a wonderful trip. Sounds like a much needed time to re-energize! I also loved to WWII Memorial. We spent hours wandering around down there, pretty amazing.
Blessings and happy writing!

Beth said...

Great friends, great food, and great conversation-sounds like an amazing trip. I'm glad you had a fun time!

Stacy said...

Glad you had a great time.

Harmony, if you're reading this, do consider blogging. I'm sure the blogosphere could benefit from your Southern graciousness :)

j said...

Sounds like you had a great trip and a wonderful time catching up with old friends. Congrats on (finally) getting a great vacation!

Beck said...

That sounds like a WONDERFUL trip!

Larramie said...

Harmony, before you decide to blog, ask "what will be the purpose? From Trish's raves, you have a lot to share, but setting subject limits definitely helps.

Unknown said...

I love Washington, D.C. It is one of my favorite cities and I always love going to visit. Glad you had a great time!!

xox

PS Harmony: Blogging is awesome, and rather addicting. But I totally recommend it. :)

LEstes65 said...

I am SO glad you had a great trip. You guys deserve it. I assure you that you would have a fabulous one in Austin (hint). And I will cook for you. I may be a California Yankee in Texas, but I got hospitality and cooking ability up the wazzu.

I'm honestly so tickled to see you had such an awesome time. YEAH!

I missed you.

(PS - my word verification was "xzubemex". That needs to be the name of my next Dog in a Thong)

L Sass said...

Welcome back!! You make me want to swing down to DC.

My mom and uncles contributed to the WWII memorial in my Grandfather's name shortly before he died; I'm anxious to see it.

John Robison said...

I'm glad to hear you had such a good trip. I have not really learned to go on vacation yet.

I do take short trips, like my recent jaunt to New York, but I have yet to just take a week or two off, and relax.

I hope to do that once my book is out and I've done the initial tour.

Alyssa Goodnight said...

Sounds like an awesome trip, and you sure deserved it after the horrors of your last vacations.

Glad you're back!

Unknown said...

I just love you!! and I'm so happy that you had a great trip! I'm sure Genius and Harmony were thrilled to have you. So glad that you are home safely. Big hugs to both of you.;)

Karen said...

Sounds like a wonderful trip! I've never been to DC, but it's on my list. We're leaving later today for another trip to Omaha. Hope ours is half that much fun. Welcome back! :)

Jenny said...

I can't believe you were in DC - shoot, we should've had coffee or something. Oh well. Sounds like you were pretty busy. Glad you had fun!