weekend trip north

This weekend I went with my friend Tess to Washington, DC and the Northern Virginia area. It was great fun. We stayed with my (great) Uncle Richard in Leesburg. He recently moved into the penthouse of a big fancy condo in a big fancy condo complex for 55+ers. It's okay to laugh when you hear that the place is called Leisure World.

Friday we saw the changing of the guards at Arlington Cemetery, visited the National Portrait Gallery, ate lunch at the Chinese place in Chinatown with the guy making noodles, and visited the National Museum of African Art. Then Uncle Richard took us to dinner at Clyde's in Leesburg.

Leesburg, it turns out, is closer to West Virginia than it is to DC. So Saturday we drove to Harpers Ferry. I really liked it there. There was history (+1) and mountains (+1) and wineries to visit on the way back (+1). Saturday night we went to Adams Morgan in DC, which is a strip with tons of fun bars and restaurants. I think Uncle Richard didn't know what to do with two twenty-four-year-old girls at Leisure World running around at 9pm trying to get ready for a night on the town.

Sunday we slept in and then went to brunch with Uncle Richard at an old bank. Then Tess and I went to Georgetown to walk around and shop before hitting the road again for Richmond. I also introduced Tess to the world of Ikea on the way home.

Overall it was a pretty excellent weekend. We saw museums and sights in DC, mountains and history in West Virginia, a beautiful winery, and DC nightlife and shopping. And seriously, how could a weekend that involved taking this picture not be awesome?