Vacation to DC and Florida

Back home from my vacation, still trying to catch up on things.  But the 11 days I was away were amazing.  I got to spend time with friends that I love dearly and don't get to see often.  And we stuffed as much fun as we could into each day.  Needless to say I'm a bit tired, almost done with catching up on things, and putting off that mountain of laundry that I have from my trip. 

First up - DC.  I hadn't seen Kate in a year and we were both anxiously awaiting my vacation.  We had tons of things planned.  I get off the plane and immediately put a light up bow on my shoulder.  I had asked what she wanted as a present from where I live and she replied "Put a bow on you".  So that's what I did.  She sees me and we both start laughing hysterically.  We get my luggage and off we go to Anapolis.  I was excited for this, I'm a bit of a sucker for a man in uniform and Anapolis is always crawling with sailors since the academy is right there.  Wouldn't you know it - we only saw 1 sailor.  I was bummed.  :(

I did all of the touristy things while I was there.  This was my second visit to DC so we were crossing off things on my list of what I wanted to see.  We ate some crabs

he kept looking at me

I was taught the proper way to crack and eat the crab, and Kate's husband even let me try his special crab dip that he makes when he eats crab.

it was really good

Last year when I went they were cleaning out the Reflecting pool so all I got to see was a giant pile of mud and dirt.  When we get there this year..............

not happy

........a pile of dirt and some bulldozers.  Clearly I'm not meant to see the Reflecting Pool with water in it.  We walked a lot and ate a lot.  DC is full of amazing chefs and celebrity chefs restaurants and we ate at a couple.  We had lunch at Spike Mendelsohn's Good Stuff Eatery.  It's right next door to his restaurant We The Pizza.  Amazingly delicious.  If you are a fan of Top Chef then Spike should sound familiar, so should Mike Isabella.  He had just opened his new restaurant Bandolero and we got to eat there.  When we walked in and sat down, we realized he was actually there!

Feet away from him!

We were amazed he was there.  And the food was amazing.  My personal favorite was the Queso Fundido....I will be dreaming about this dish until I get it again.  My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it. 

My time came to an end at DC and next up was Florida to see Rae and Paul.  I was so excited.  I check in at the airport and get my bag checked in and off I go.  When I get to Florida, my bag was nowhere to be found.  It somehow got the man standing at the check in kiosk next to me flight tag and his luggage got mine.  So my bag ended up in Alabama.  And the kicker was we couldn't get it to Florida until 11:30 that night.  So I had to pick it up the next morning.  Not off to a good start.  The next morning rolls around and off we go to the airport - and there was my bag, waiting for me.  I had never been so happy to see my luggage.  I immediatley went into the airport bathroom and changed into clean clothes.  With my luggage now with me, off we went to have fun - even if Tropical Storm Debbie made her appearance for my whole time there :(  We made the best of it and still had an amazing time. I even got to teach Paul how to make the Pepperoni Pizza Bread - which he did a fantastic job at.  And I'm told he has already made it again and it went extremely well.   When it was time to leave I didn't want to go home. 

view from the airport in FL

My flight home was good, my luggage was even waiting for me when I got to baggage claim.  Home from a great trip and getting things in order for the next part of my life :)