I just never get tired of DC

I do a fair amount of traveling around the country--mostly for work, but occasionally for pleasure. There are three places that, for no apparent reason, I tend to end up statistically more often than others: Atlanta, Ft. Worth, and Washington, DC.

I love going to Atlanta because it is the only time I get to see Tracy.

Ft. Worth isn't my favorite city in Texas, but it's certainly not a bad place.

But DC. . . Sigh.

I was there less than 48 hours, most of which were spent in a hotel conference room discussing collecting data in our student clinics. (For those of you who may be wondering, I will be working at BYU for another year, and we will see what happens after that).

But I did venture out long enough to have dinner with this man:

I fully intended to get a picture of Ryan with my new camera, but it was raining pretty hard that night, and I didn't want to get it wet. Please enjoy this picture of him with Evonne at a Chief's barn party, circa 2008.

Ryan left Lubbock around the same time that I did, and while I settled into academia in the lovely, urbane city of Pleasant Grove, Utah, Ryan headed out to DC to become a big-time patent attorney. He was kind enough to take time out of his busy life to have dinner with me at this place:

a decision born of hunger, rain, a 90-minute wait, and a bunch of hockey fans desperate for Texas barbecue (I still don't get that one). But the food was great. Not only does Bobby do a great burger, but he also did about the best chocolate shake I have ever had (side note: why don't all shakes come with a really big straw? It's nice to drink a shake without getting a migraine).

Plus, I got to hang out with Ryan, which was awesome. I have known Ryan over 10 years, and he's one of my favorite people to have a stimulating conversation about just about anything from politics to work to hockey. 

On our way back to my hotel, we passed the Washington Monument, and I asked Ryan if he ever stopped being in awe of DC. He said that if that ever happened, he'd have to think seriously about moving.

So I was ecstatic when we finished our second day of meetings early and I had the opportunity to do some sightseeing.

We visited the Air and Space Museum...

...walked through the Supreme Court...

...and stopped to look at the Capitol Building.

Of course, the whole trip finished on sort of a sour note. My flight out of Denver was delayed. Then we got stuck on the runway while a microburst passed by us. When we finally did take off, there was still a fair amount of wind, which rocked us back and forth. It was the first time I have ever used the airsickness bag located in the seat back pocket in front of me. Sadly, it was not the last.

When I got off the plane, the flight attendant chirped cheerily at me, "Have a good evening." I didn't have the energy to tell her that ship had sailed, and she should have said something like, "Better luck next time," instead.

I still love DC.