A Sensible Dinner - Pearlieq's Journal
- Thread starter pearlieq
- Start date
Good morning, Pearlieq! 
Sounds like you are doing well on your trip. It is great that you got out of the airport w/o stopping at McD's. Small achievements like that will develop into better habits in the long run.
Keep up the AWESOME work and have fun in DC!
Sounds like you are doing well on your trip. It is great that you got out of the airport w/o stopping at McD's. Small achievements like that will develop into better habits in the long run.
Keep up the AWESOME work and have fun in DC!
pearlieq
<font color=green>They can sit & spin<br><font col
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2004
- Messages
- 8,734
8/7/05
10:00am
--1 SB bar
--1 pkt prunes
Since most of the museums don't open until 10 or so we were able to sleep in some this morning. We walked down to Federal Triangle to catch the Metro. The guidemap said that the closest station to the Air & Space Museum was L'Enfant Plaza so we got off there, but we must have missed the directional signs because we got completely turned around in some kind of office building/shopping mall and then went out through a hotel into some kind of no-man's land. We finally found our way to the museum but not before going about 10-15 minutes out of our way.
Once we got to the museum we got in line for tickets to the first showing of the Space Station 3D IMAX show. We were able to get in and the show was spectacular!!! It went through each phase of the creation of the space station, the equipment on board, and life on board the station. It was neat to see the some of the "how do they do that" type of things like the sleeping chambers, showers, and spacewalking. There were also some gorgeous shots of Earth and some footage from inside the shuttle during liftoff. So very cool!
11:30am
--1 grilled ranch BLT chicken sandwich
--1 orange
--3 or 4 fries
My love affair with this McD's sandwich continues! Like I expected, slim pickings at the food court. There was McD's, a couple of pizzas, and some carver sandwiches from Boston Market. The only "vegetable" they had from Boston Market was corn so I settled for the fruit. Our meal, which included my sandwich, DH's combo meal, and 2 pieces of fruit was $16.50!!! Between that and the $16 for 2 IMAX tickets, we spent over $30 for a few hours at a "free" museum. And that doesn't include the gift shop!!!
After lunch we walked around some of the various exhibits. DH took a picture of anything that didn't move and I wandered around. I love museums, but I have my own style of going through them. I cruise them very quickly and then go back and explore the things that catch my eye. I'm not one to progress from one exhibit to another in an orderly fashion. I saw an exhibit on the planets and we went through the Wright Brothers hall. We also saw some of the Apollo exhibits. By then we were pretty much done--the museum was very crowded and it was starting to be less than enjoyable. So, after making a generous donation at the museum store we headed out back on to the mall. We decided to walk over to the American History museum.
2:30pm
--1 Subway turkey breast wrap
Both DH and I were still hungry, so we decided to stop into the Subway at the American History museum for a quick snack. BIG MISTAKE!!! The line was over 30 minutes long as they only had two people making sandwiches. I was hungry and didn't want museum cafe food so I stuck it out, but it was not a fun experience. Worst of all, our two 6" sandwiches and a drink were $11.50!!! I really can't get over these museum food prices.
We went through the gift shop but didn't stay long past that. The museum was very crowded and my feet were killing me. I had hoped I wouldn't have such a bad time of it this time--I was very encouraged by my experiences at WDW last May. Unfortunately about 2 days into this trip I realized the difference between this and WDW. At WDW you walk and then every few mintues you sit and ride or sit and watch or sit and eat. Here you walk and stand and walk and stand and walk and stand. It's the standing that kills my feet so I've had to rethink some of my plans. It's actually pretty motivating as I had been thinking before that while in theory I would like to lose more weight, I couldn't really think of a good and compelling reason to actually do it. Most of the problems that made my higher weight unsatisfactory had been resolved. This is a good and compelling reason to keep going.
6:30pm
--2 small white rolls
--1/3 pat butter
--1/2 smoked chicken quesadilla w/sour cream and salsa
--2/3 cup steamed veggies
--2 or 3 small bites roasted turkey w/dressing and cranberry relish
--Several chicken tenders
--1/2 cup sauteed spinach
After a rest and a swim we made our way over to Union Station to have dinner at America. Neither the restaurant nor the meal were all that great. The restaurant seemed to be tucked away in a shabby corner of one of the halls. They decorated a little bit but not anything to write home about. The rolls and the quesadilla were exceptional, but I had to send my turkey meal back because the turkey had been overcooked into Turkey Jerky while the veggies were near raw. I wasn't really thinking when I reordered so I asked for the chicken tenders because I thought DH would like some and I thought they would be quick. They were quick, but DH wasn't all that interested so I wound up eating them all myself. They were good but I really didn't need all of them.
7:45pm
--1 McD's caramel sundae
Unfortunately, while we were eating all of the shops closed so there wasn't much to do after dinner but go back to the hotel. We hopped back on the Metro and I picked up the sundae on the walk home. I starting reading over the guidebooks when we got back to the room and I happened to notice that the National Archives were staying open until 9pm for the summer. DH and I decided to head over there and we really enjoyed the exhibits! Again, I tend to take things pretty quickly--I'm not all that much of a stop and smell the roses type person, but I thought it was well done. Their public valuts exhibit was really neat. There were a bunch of interactive exhibits that let you digitally view all sorts of documents from various past events--the McCarthy hearings, the Challenger Explosion, etc. I had a lot of fun there.
--9:45pm
--1 big grab sour cream & onion chips
--1/2 12" pizza
It was still incredibly hot and humid, so by the time we got back to the hotel we were both dying for a drink. We stopped in the gift shop and got drinks. I also picked up a bag of chips and a packet of peanut M&M's. Not really sure why, because I certainly didn't need them. Once we got back to the room I tore into the chips, but realized I really didn't need that much snacking. So, I finished the chips but I put the M&M's aside for later.
DH wanted food and I didn't do anything to discourage him, so we wound up ordering up this pizza as well. It was good, but greasy and I didn't need it. I knew I didn't need it but felt compelled to keep eating it. For some reason I couldn't let it go. This evening is a pretty good example of carbs begetting carbs--it started at dinner and it kept rolling all evening. It could have been a lot worse, but it could have been better as well.
10:00am
--1 SB bar
--1 pkt prunes
Since most of the museums don't open until 10 or so we were able to sleep in some this morning. We walked down to Federal Triangle to catch the Metro. The guidemap said that the closest station to the Air & Space Museum was L'Enfant Plaza so we got off there, but we must have missed the directional signs because we got completely turned around in some kind of office building/shopping mall and then went out through a hotel into some kind of no-man's land. We finally found our way to the museum but not before going about 10-15 minutes out of our way.
Once we got to the museum we got in line for tickets to the first showing of the Space Station 3D IMAX show. We were able to get in and the show was spectacular!!! It went through each phase of the creation of the space station, the equipment on board, and life on board the station. It was neat to see the some of the "how do they do that" type of things like the sleeping chambers, showers, and spacewalking. There were also some gorgeous shots of Earth and some footage from inside the shuttle during liftoff. So very cool!
11:30am
--1 grilled ranch BLT chicken sandwich
--1 orange
--3 or 4 fries
My love affair with this McD's sandwich continues! Like I expected, slim pickings at the food court. There was McD's, a couple of pizzas, and some carver sandwiches from Boston Market. The only "vegetable" they had from Boston Market was corn so I settled for the fruit. Our meal, which included my sandwich, DH's combo meal, and 2 pieces of fruit was $16.50!!! Between that and the $16 for 2 IMAX tickets, we spent over $30 for a few hours at a "free" museum. And that doesn't include the gift shop!!!
After lunch we walked around some of the various exhibits. DH took a picture of anything that didn't move and I wandered around. I love museums, but I have my own style of going through them. I cruise them very quickly and then go back and explore the things that catch my eye. I'm not one to progress from one exhibit to another in an orderly fashion. I saw an exhibit on the planets and we went through the Wright Brothers hall. We also saw some of the Apollo exhibits. By then we were pretty much done--the museum was very crowded and it was starting to be less than enjoyable. So, after making a generous donation at the museum store we headed out back on to the mall. We decided to walk over to the American History museum.
2:30pm
--1 Subway turkey breast wrap
Both DH and I were still hungry, so we decided to stop into the Subway at the American History museum for a quick snack. BIG MISTAKE!!! The line was over 30 minutes long as they only had two people making sandwiches. I was hungry and didn't want museum cafe food so I stuck it out, but it was not a fun experience. Worst of all, our two 6" sandwiches and a drink were $11.50!!! I really can't get over these museum food prices.
We went through the gift shop but didn't stay long past that. The museum was very crowded and my feet were killing me. I had hoped I wouldn't have such a bad time of it this time--I was very encouraged by my experiences at WDW last May. Unfortunately about 2 days into this trip I realized the difference between this and WDW. At WDW you walk and then every few mintues you sit and ride or sit and watch or sit and eat. Here you walk and stand and walk and stand and walk and stand. It's the standing that kills my feet so I've had to rethink some of my plans. It's actually pretty motivating as I had been thinking before that while in theory I would like to lose more weight, I couldn't really think of a good and compelling reason to actually do it. Most of the problems that made my higher weight unsatisfactory had been resolved. This is a good and compelling reason to keep going.
6:30pm
--2 small white rolls
--1/3 pat butter
--1/2 smoked chicken quesadilla w/sour cream and salsa
--2/3 cup steamed veggies
--2 or 3 small bites roasted turkey w/dressing and cranberry relish
--Several chicken tenders
--1/2 cup sauteed spinach
After a rest and a swim we made our way over to Union Station to have dinner at America. Neither the restaurant nor the meal were all that great. The restaurant seemed to be tucked away in a shabby corner of one of the halls. They decorated a little bit but not anything to write home about. The rolls and the quesadilla were exceptional, but I had to send my turkey meal back because the turkey had been overcooked into Turkey Jerky while the veggies were near raw. I wasn't really thinking when I reordered so I asked for the chicken tenders because I thought DH would like some and I thought they would be quick. They were quick, but DH wasn't all that interested so I wound up eating them all myself. They were good but I really didn't need all of them.
7:45pm
--1 McD's caramel sundae
Unfortunately, while we were eating all of the shops closed so there wasn't much to do after dinner but go back to the hotel. We hopped back on the Metro and I picked up the sundae on the walk home. I starting reading over the guidebooks when we got back to the room and I happened to notice that the National Archives were staying open until 9pm for the summer. DH and I decided to head over there and we really enjoyed the exhibits! Again, I tend to take things pretty quickly--I'm not all that much of a stop and smell the roses type person, but I thought it was well done. Their public valuts exhibit was really neat. There were a bunch of interactive exhibits that let you digitally view all sorts of documents from various past events--the McCarthy hearings, the Challenger Explosion, etc. I had a lot of fun there.
--9:45pm
--1 big grab sour cream & onion chips
--1/2 12" pizza
It was still incredibly hot and humid, so by the time we got back to the hotel we were both dying for a drink. We stopped in the gift shop and got drinks. I also picked up a bag of chips and a packet of peanut M&M's. Not really sure why, because I certainly didn't need them. Once we got back to the room I tore into the chips, but realized I really didn't need that much snacking. So, I finished the chips but I put the M&M's aside for later.
DH wanted food and I didn't do anything to discourage him, so we wound up ordering up this pizza as well. It was good, but greasy and I didn't need it. I knew I didn't need it but felt compelled to keep eating it. For some reason I couldn't let it go. This evening is a pretty good example of carbs begetting carbs--it started at dinner and it kept rolling all evening. It could have been a lot worse, but it could have been better as well.
pearlieq
<font color=green>They can sit & spin<br><font col
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2004
- Messages
- 8,734
8/8/05
9:00am
--1 orange
--1 SB bar
--1 small handfull almonds
Wow, I really paid for the carbs I ate last night. I woke up feeling quite sluggish. However, I was able to shrug it off and get going. I was not in the best of spirits though. I was groggy, surly, and, once we got outside, hot and cranky as well. Lucky DH...
We took the Metro up to Capitol South and made our way over to the ticket distribution booth. It was not a short trip! You pretty much have to go to the farthest point away on the lawn to get tickets. We got in line, and there was this blowhard behind me who decided to make a big deal about the fact that we couldn't bring water bottles (or any other food or drink) into the Capitol. He was giving the poor girl who was organizing the line a hard time about it and I wound up turning around and snapping something along the lines of "It's not her personal decision to make the policy" or some other such nonsense. Did I mention I was hot and tired and surly? Well DH was mortified and tried to get me to stop, which just irritated me even more. We made it through the ticket line, but DH and I had a nice tiff at low volume whilst walking back up the Capitol lawn. We did not resume speaking until halfway through the Library of Congress.
I can understand that he thought it was inappropriate for me to say anything and that the guard was handling herself just fine, but I think that A) the guy was being a huge jerk and that he needed to hear from someone that what he was doing wasn't OK and that B) I can understand that DH won't always agree with me but I would like to think that because he's my husband we would support each other and that I could count on him to have my back (or at least keep his pie-hole shut) in a situation like that, even if he didn't agree with me. Perhaps I'm idealizing marriage.
Once we made it through the security line and into the Library of Congress we took a quick look at the Gershwin and Bob Hope exhibits and then headed up into the main hall. To call it breathtaking would be an understatement. I couldn't even begin to figure out where to look first. There was beautiful stained glass, friezes, frescoes, and more and more and more! It was incredibly lovely! After we'd had our fill of the hall, and I made my way through the gift shop (of course!), we headed out in search of lunch.
12:00pm
--1 small green salad with tomatoes, croutons, grilled chicken, and ranch
--1/2 cup fresh fruit salad
--2 pieces smoked ham
--2 bites pasta casserole
--1 white roll
--1 1/2 pieces cornbread
--1/2 cup steamed vegetables
--1/4 cup stewed spinach
--1/4 cup rice pilaf
--1 cup curried chicken breast
--1 scoop black cherry ice cream
--1 small piece bread pudding with vanilla sauce
I forgot how much I loved curry!!! I had read in a guidebook that the Dirksen Senate Office building offered a lunch buffet that was a good value, so we set about to find it. I was a little intimidated walking into the office building, but luckily we were able to find the lunch easily enough and everyone there was very nice. It was an icredible value for $12. It included a full salad bar with different lettuces, veggies, prepared salads, fruit salads, and dressings as well as a carved meat (the ham for us) and hot entrees (flounder, mushroom pasta casserole, and chicken curry) and sides (rice, potatoes, steamed veggies, and spinach) as well as a drink and dessert. The curry was just delicious. I'm going to have to learn how to make it. I may have to order from this Penzey's you all talk about.
After lunch it was almost time for our Capitol tour to begin. So we made our way back to the staging area and found a bench in the shade to rest our tired legs and feet. We got about 20 minutes of rest before it was our time. Of course, since they were right behind us in line Blowhard and his wife were in our group.
We went through security (yes, Blowhard whined about the no food provision again) and then we were instructed to walk outside and up a series of ramps to the entrance of the Capitol. It was about a 3-4 minute walk and just as we walked out of the building the heavens opened! It was quite an impressive shower--we even got a bit of hail! Our group was most certainly water-logged when we got into the actual Capitol building. We were then directed up a flight of stairs and in to the rotunda to meet our tour guide. I suppose I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth as the tours are free, but it was honestly pretty bad. We were herded into the rotunda in a group of about 30 to crowd around a guide. There were about 8 other groups in the rotunda as well, in various stages of their tours. The guide was nearly inaudible, but we spent over 35 minutes standing in that same spot while he described every bit of artwork in the rotunda in excruciating detail. I know some people would really enjoy it, but it just wasn't my thing. It seemed important to DH for us to see the Capitol and that was the only way we could do it (our Congressman's office couldn't get us a staff tour on one of the days DH was free). It was supposed to be about a 45 mintue tour, but ours ran over an hour mostly because our guide just kept droning on and on. By the end I was praying to any diety that would listen for an end, or at least a chair! Of course, to add more fun, Blowhard had to pop in with inane comments and rants. He especially took issue with a statue of Vespucci and gave the poor guide a long-winded lecture on why Leif Erikson should be given credit for "discovering" Amercia. Whatever, dude...
Finally released from the tour we caught the Metro back to the hotel. Luckily the rain had stopped and it was an easy trip.
3:30pm
--1 serving Ritz Chips
--1/2 bag peanut M&Ms
We stopped for drinks on the way back to the hotel and this bag of Ritz chips threw itself at me. I split it with DH so I only had one serving and then I split the M&Ms in half and saved the rest for later.
We took a rest and DH went to formally register for his conference, then we got ready to head over to the National Theater for their free summer movie series. They were to be showing Bull Durham. We got in and seated, but they wound up having issues with the projector and couldn't get the movie to run! They finally had to call the showing off. Bummer!
7:30pm
--1 multi-grain roll w/butter
--1 cup french onion soup
--1/2 cheeseburger w/fries
--1/2 chicken and torellini in cream sauce
--1/2 dessert sampler (chocolate cake, creme brulee, sorbet, bread pudding)
We spent quite a while foraging for food tonight! We tried to go back to the ESPN Zone for dinner, but their main dining room was closed for a private even so they were only seating in the downstairs game room. The wait was 30 minutes and it wasn't exactly a relaxing atmosphere, so we took a pass. We really didn't want to eat hugely overpriced hotel foods, so we walked around checking out other nearby options (yes, I realize this took longer than the 30min we were quoted at the ESPN Zone) and couldn't find anything appealing and reasonably priced. I would have been fine with McD's, but DH vetoed it.
So, we would up at the lounge at our hotel. We seated ourselves and it took quite a while for a waiter to come by. He barely made eye contact and hardly spoke, but took our order. I ordered soup and DH a salad and after several minutes they brought my soup but not salad. DH had to ask the waiter for the salad. Our entrees came out together, but the cheeseburger was prepared incorrectly (it usually comes with caramelized onions but we had asked for those to be left off). The waiter was nowhere to be found, and eventually we gave up and scraped them off and began to eat. Luckily ketchup pretty much covered the flavor for DH (he hates onions) but for a $10 hamburger I shouldn't have to cover anything up with ketchup! The waiter didn't come back until after we'd finished eating so our glasses had remained empty throughout the entire meal. He asked if everything was OK and I enumerated the issues we'd had with the meal. He left and eventually came back and said they'd offer us dessert on the house. I was prepared to leave without dessert and I really wish I had put my foot down and insisted they comp part or all of our meal, but I was feeling a little self-concious after the incident with Blowhard this morning and the fact that DH seemed almost annoyed when I said I intended to speak to the manager. He's a much more passive person than I am. I can respect that, but I expect him to respect my desire to be assertive. Also, I didn't exactly hear him complaining when his mouth was full of free dessert! The dessert sampler was pretty but underwhelming. The sorbets were the standout--the raspberry and lemon were intense and refreshing. The chocolate cake was passable but was a jarring mash of flavors. I found the bread pudding bland but DH enjoyed it. The creme brulee was awful--it tasted of nothing but egg yolk. In all, we spent almost $50 dollars on a very bad meal. Always frustrating!!!
The evening did end on a nice note, though. We found that the Bears were playing in the Hall of Fame game and enjoyed the rest of the night watching that in our room.
9:00am
--1 orange
--1 SB bar
--1 small handfull almonds
Wow, I really paid for the carbs I ate last night. I woke up feeling quite sluggish. However, I was able to shrug it off and get going. I was not in the best of spirits though. I was groggy, surly, and, once we got outside, hot and cranky as well. Lucky DH...
We took the Metro up to Capitol South and made our way over to the ticket distribution booth. It was not a short trip! You pretty much have to go to the farthest point away on the lawn to get tickets. We got in line, and there was this blowhard behind me who decided to make a big deal about the fact that we couldn't bring water bottles (or any other food or drink) into the Capitol. He was giving the poor girl who was organizing the line a hard time about it and I wound up turning around and snapping something along the lines of "It's not her personal decision to make the policy" or some other such nonsense. Did I mention I was hot and tired and surly? Well DH was mortified and tried to get me to stop, which just irritated me even more. We made it through the ticket line, but DH and I had a nice tiff at low volume whilst walking back up the Capitol lawn. We did not resume speaking until halfway through the Library of Congress.
I can understand that he thought it was inappropriate for me to say anything and that the guard was handling herself just fine, but I think that A) the guy was being a huge jerk and that he needed to hear from someone that what he was doing wasn't OK and that B) I can understand that DH won't always agree with me but I would like to think that because he's my husband we would support each other and that I could count on him to have my back (or at least keep his pie-hole shut) in a situation like that, even if he didn't agree with me. Perhaps I'm idealizing marriage.
Once we made it through the security line and into the Library of Congress we took a quick look at the Gershwin and Bob Hope exhibits and then headed up into the main hall. To call it breathtaking would be an understatement. I couldn't even begin to figure out where to look first. There was beautiful stained glass, friezes, frescoes, and more and more and more! It was incredibly lovely! After we'd had our fill of the hall, and I made my way through the gift shop (of course!), we headed out in search of lunch.
12:00pm
--1 small green salad with tomatoes, croutons, grilled chicken, and ranch
--1/2 cup fresh fruit salad
--2 pieces smoked ham
--2 bites pasta casserole
--1 white roll
--1 1/2 pieces cornbread
--1/2 cup steamed vegetables
--1/4 cup stewed spinach
--1/4 cup rice pilaf
--1 cup curried chicken breast
--1 scoop black cherry ice cream
--1 small piece bread pudding with vanilla sauce
I forgot how much I loved curry!!! I had read in a guidebook that the Dirksen Senate Office building offered a lunch buffet that was a good value, so we set about to find it. I was a little intimidated walking into the office building, but luckily we were able to find the lunch easily enough and everyone there was very nice. It was an icredible value for $12. It included a full salad bar with different lettuces, veggies, prepared salads, fruit salads, and dressings as well as a carved meat (the ham for us) and hot entrees (flounder, mushroom pasta casserole, and chicken curry) and sides (rice, potatoes, steamed veggies, and spinach) as well as a drink and dessert. The curry was just delicious. I'm going to have to learn how to make it. I may have to order from this Penzey's you all talk about.
After lunch it was almost time for our Capitol tour to begin. So we made our way back to the staging area and found a bench in the shade to rest our tired legs and feet. We got about 20 minutes of rest before it was our time. Of course, since they were right behind us in line Blowhard and his wife were in our group.
We went through security (yes, Blowhard whined about the no food provision again) and then we were instructed to walk outside and up a series of ramps to the entrance of the Capitol. It was about a 3-4 minute walk and just as we walked out of the building the heavens opened! It was quite an impressive shower--we even got a bit of hail! Our group was most certainly water-logged when we got into the actual Capitol building. We were then directed up a flight of stairs and in to the rotunda to meet our tour guide. I suppose I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth as the tours are free, but it was honestly pretty bad. We were herded into the rotunda in a group of about 30 to crowd around a guide. There were about 8 other groups in the rotunda as well, in various stages of their tours. The guide was nearly inaudible, but we spent over 35 minutes standing in that same spot while he described every bit of artwork in the rotunda in excruciating detail. I know some people would really enjoy it, but it just wasn't my thing. It seemed important to DH for us to see the Capitol and that was the only way we could do it (our Congressman's office couldn't get us a staff tour on one of the days DH was free). It was supposed to be about a 45 mintue tour, but ours ran over an hour mostly because our guide just kept droning on and on. By the end I was praying to any diety that would listen for an end, or at least a chair! Of course, to add more fun, Blowhard had to pop in with inane comments and rants. He especially took issue with a statue of Vespucci and gave the poor guide a long-winded lecture on why Leif Erikson should be given credit for "discovering" Amercia. Whatever, dude...
Finally released from the tour we caught the Metro back to the hotel. Luckily the rain had stopped and it was an easy trip.
3:30pm
--1 serving Ritz Chips
--1/2 bag peanut M&Ms
We stopped for drinks on the way back to the hotel and this bag of Ritz chips threw itself at me. I split it with DH so I only had one serving and then I split the M&Ms in half and saved the rest for later.
We took a rest and DH went to formally register for his conference, then we got ready to head over to the National Theater for their free summer movie series. They were to be showing Bull Durham. We got in and seated, but they wound up having issues with the projector and couldn't get the movie to run! They finally had to call the showing off. Bummer!
7:30pm
--1 multi-grain roll w/butter
--1 cup french onion soup
--1/2 cheeseburger w/fries
--1/2 chicken and torellini in cream sauce
--1/2 dessert sampler (chocolate cake, creme brulee, sorbet, bread pudding)
We spent quite a while foraging for food tonight! We tried to go back to the ESPN Zone for dinner, but their main dining room was closed for a private even so they were only seating in the downstairs game room. The wait was 30 minutes and it wasn't exactly a relaxing atmosphere, so we took a pass. We really didn't want to eat hugely overpriced hotel foods, so we walked around checking out other nearby options (yes, I realize this took longer than the 30min we were quoted at the ESPN Zone) and couldn't find anything appealing and reasonably priced. I would have been fine with McD's, but DH vetoed it.
So, we would up at the lounge at our hotel. We seated ourselves and it took quite a while for a waiter to come by. He barely made eye contact and hardly spoke, but took our order. I ordered soup and DH a salad and after several minutes they brought my soup but not salad. DH had to ask the waiter for the salad. Our entrees came out together, but the cheeseburger was prepared incorrectly (it usually comes with caramelized onions but we had asked for those to be left off). The waiter was nowhere to be found, and eventually we gave up and scraped them off and began to eat. Luckily ketchup pretty much covered the flavor for DH (he hates onions) but for a $10 hamburger I shouldn't have to cover anything up with ketchup! The waiter didn't come back until after we'd finished eating so our glasses had remained empty throughout the entire meal. He asked if everything was OK and I enumerated the issues we'd had with the meal. He left and eventually came back and said they'd offer us dessert on the house. I was prepared to leave without dessert and I really wish I had put my foot down and insisted they comp part or all of our meal, but I was feeling a little self-concious after the incident with Blowhard this morning and the fact that DH seemed almost annoyed when I said I intended to speak to the manager. He's a much more passive person than I am. I can respect that, but I expect him to respect my desire to be assertive. Also, I didn't exactly hear him complaining when his mouth was full of free dessert! The dessert sampler was pretty but underwhelming. The sorbets were the standout--the raspberry and lemon were intense and refreshing. The chocolate cake was passable but was a jarring mash of flavors. I found the bread pudding bland but DH enjoyed it. The creme brulee was awful--it tasted of nothing but egg yolk. In all, we spent almost $50 dollars on a very bad meal. Always frustrating!!!
The evening did end on a nice note, though. We found that the Bears were playing in the Hall of Fame game and enjoyed the rest of the night watching that in our room.
I think your trip sounds like fun. Too bad your DH is giving a bit of an attitude about some of your comments. I agree, it is hard to keep your mouth shut when people are complaining about stupid things. As far as the bad restaurant, we would have complained as well. You do expect a pricey meal to have good service, even if you don't care much for the food.
Looking forward to reading more.
Looking forward to reading more.
pearlieq
<font color=green>They can sit & spin<br><font col
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2004
- Messages
- 8,734
8/9/05
9:00am
--1/2 bag peanut M&Ms
I just couldn't face another SB bar yet! The funny thing is, I looked at the label on the bag and the 1/2 bag I ate is about equivalent to having a cup of any of the kids cereals (Froot Loops and the like). I don't know if that makes me feel better about the M&M's or worse about the cereal!
DH started his conference today so I have the day to myself. I was a little slow getting started (again I think a few too many carbs yesterday though in general I feel I'm doing well and working everything I eat off) but came around pretty early.
I really wanted to take it easy on my feet today since I want to go to the National Zoo tomorrow. That, coupled with the fact that it's been raining pretty much all day, convinced me to scrap my plans for Arlington and the DEA Museum. I've already been to Arlington once and the DEA museum wasn't worth the trip by itself. They have the big Pentagon City mall up there as well, but I checked the store list and it's all the same stores as the mall at home. So, no big rush to get there either. Instead I decided on the Natural History Museum. I got there just before opening and got an IMAX ticket to the first T-REX 3-D show. I had time after that to go check out the galleries so I spent some time in the Gems section (can't leave without seeing the Hope Diamond!) and went through the geology and plate tectonics secion. Plate tectonics fascinates me and I really enjoyed their movie about it. They also have real time seismographs running and a board showing where the most recent Earthquakes have been. There were a few in the US in the last couple of day, but they were all at 1.0 or under. There had already been 3 today when I was there--two in the Pacific rim and one in Iran. Those were all in the 4-6 range.
The time for my IMAX film rolled around and I got up to the theater. The first thing that should have prepared me for the suckage that lay ahead was the disclaimer "This is a work of fantasy and contains historical inaccuracies." Hmm, I could have sworn I paid $8 to see an educational IMAX film. Perhaps I've wandered into the wrong theater. A quick check of my ticket confirms no such miracle and off I go on this horrid adventure. The story centers around this teenage girl who's dad is a paleontologist who seems to have more time for his work than her (mercifully we were spared the Cat Stevens soundtrack...). She comes to meet him at the museum so that he can help her with her science report which has something to do with T-Rex and whether or not it laid eggs and if it did, how it took care of them. Her dad dismisses her report as conjecture rather than science and then runs off to a meeting. She sits down at his desk which has an object they think is a dinosaur egg on it. She accidentally bumps the egg and it rolls off the desk. Steam comes out of the egg and with some low-budget graphics we're back in the cretaceous!!! Except not. Now we've somehow gotten to the middle of the museum's cretaceous exhibit. Is she in some kind of drug-induced coma? Sleepwalking? Controlled by demons? Who knows! Somehow she winds up back into the past and has a converstaion with a man who painted pictures of dinosaurs. Then we're back at the museum. She wanders into the ladies room to splash some water on her face (which in no way disturbs her makeup) and somehow gets transported back in time again (I'm so removed from the film at this point that I'm intensely bothered by the fact she left the tap running. Doesn't she realized she's wasting perfectly good water?!?) This time she has a conversation with an old fossil hunter before coming back to the museum again. Meanwhile her dad has discovered she's missing and is searching the museum for her. Finally, she goes back in time again and comes upon a dinosaur nest. She runs into a small scavenger-type dinosaur and actually gets into a physical fight with it to protect the eggs (Actual dialogue: "Hey!, put that back! Those aren't your eggs!") The line, and the premise behind it, are just so stupid it's hard to know where to begin. Eventually big momma T-Rex comes by and chases the small dinosaur away, and then turns her attention to our intrepid head-trauma victim. The girl slowly sets down the egg, and then the dinosaur leans down so the girl can PET IT!!!! I would have walked out if I thought I wouldn't have tumbled to my death in the dark, steep IMAX theater. Somehow we again return to the museum where no explanation is given to either her dad or to us as to what happened to her. Instead she blathers about how her experience gives her confidence and her dad agrees to let her accompany him on his next dig. Can I get a refund for the last 45 minutes of my life?
12:00pm
--2 large slices thin crust cheese pizza, minus 1/2 crust
--1 side salad
--1/4 packet ranch dressing
I couldn't face the idea of museum food, so I got lunch at the Internation Trade Center Food Court. It was perfectly serviceable.
After lunch I wandered over to the White House Visitors Center, which is right across the street from the hotel. After clearing security (I don't think I'll ever be able to walk into a building again without emptying my pockets and present all bags for inspection) I was free to wander around.
I really enjoyed one gallery they had of all sorts of different White House employees. They were these beautiful black and white 8X10 glossies of these people and what they did. They also noted how long they had been there. They showed butlers, doormen, chefs, groundskeepers, procurement managers, housekeepers, and even the network administrator. There were so many who had been there 40 and 50 years. It was just beautifully done--simple and full of dignity.
There was also an informative video about the construction of the White House and the various refurbishments and decor of the rooms. There were other galleries about the first ladies and families of the White House which were interesting. I stopped by the gift shop (of course!) where I got a postcard for my mom and a cookbook of Presidential Cookies for one of my neighbors who's watching the cats.
I'm back in the room now and just catching up on this and postcards until it's time to leave for dinner and the comedy show tonight.
5:30pm
--1 grilled chicken BLT sandwich
DH and I were both too starving to wait for dinner tonight, so we took a quick stop at McD's on our way to the Metro. First we headed up to Gallery Place to get our Spy Museum tickets for Friday. It looks very promising--both of us are very excited to get there.
6:40pm
--1 small passion green tea smoothie
We were early for our show, so we stopped at a Caribou for drinks. I didn't notice the bottles of water until after I ordered this--I could have saved myself money and calories. Still it was tasty and the shop was quite relaxing.
7:30pm
--1 grilled chicken burrito
--a few tortilla chips (maybe 1oz at the most)
--1 piece chocolate cake.
We went to the DC Improv to see their local comedy showcase. Dinner is served in the theater and was OK. The burrito was pretty good though very heavy on the rice and missing some ingredients listed on the menu. The chips were greasy and bland and I gave up on them pretty quick. The cake was amazing!!! Some of the best I've ever had. I was sorely tempted to order a piece of their banana chocolate chip cake but I resisted.
The show was fun--the MC was Rob Cantrell who was on a couple of Last Comic Standing shows. The next 10 acts were all amateurs with varying degrees of experience. There was one that didn't do so well, he was 71 and didn't really connect with the crowd. He told a joke where the punchline was Max Klinger from MASH. Wrong generation! Happily the crowd was kind to him. There were 4 standouts who did near professional work--with more practice they could easily be headlining soon. The rest were good but definintely on their way up. Most just need more practice. While the scores were being tallied we got a short set from one of the judges--a seasoned local comedian. He was a lot of fun. We really enjoyed the show and I'm glad we went, though I was very happy to breathe fresh air as we left! The concept of a non-smoking section doesn't mean much in a poorly ventilated basement!!!
Tomorrow my plan is to head up to the National Zoo. I think my feet can take it after the relative rest of today. Afterwards I may head out to another attraction or make take it easy and go swimming and catch up on postcards to my mom. We should have a free night tomorrow night so I think we're going to try to go back to ESPN Zone and then maybe catch a showing of March of the Penguins.
9:00am
--1/2 bag peanut M&Ms
I just couldn't face another SB bar yet! The funny thing is, I looked at the label on the bag and the 1/2 bag I ate is about equivalent to having a cup of any of the kids cereals (Froot Loops and the like). I don't know if that makes me feel better about the M&M's or worse about the cereal!
DH started his conference today so I have the day to myself. I was a little slow getting started (again I think a few too many carbs yesterday though in general I feel I'm doing well and working everything I eat off) but came around pretty early.
I really wanted to take it easy on my feet today since I want to go to the National Zoo tomorrow. That, coupled with the fact that it's been raining pretty much all day, convinced me to scrap my plans for Arlington and the DEA Museum. I've already been to Arlington once and the DEA museum wasn't worth the trip by itself. They have the big Pentagon City mall up there as well, but I checked the store list and it's all the same stores as the mall at home. So, no big rush to get there either. Instead I decided on the Natural History Museum. I got there just before opening and got an IMAX ticket to the first T-REX 3-D show. I had time after that to go check out the galleries so I spent some time in the Gems section (can't leave without seeing the Hope Diamond!) and went through the geology and plate tectonics secion. Plate tectonics fascinates me and I really enjoyed their movie about it. They also have real time seismographs running and a board showing where the most recent Earthquakes have been. There were a few in the US in the last couple of day, but they were all at 1.0 or under. There had already been 3 today when I was there--two in the Pacific rim and one in Iran. Those were all in the 4-6 range.
The time for my IMAX film rolled around and I got up to the theater. The first thing that should have prepared me for the suckage that lay ahead was the disclaimer "This is a work of fantasy and contains historical inaccuracies." Hmm, I could have sworn I paid $8 to see an educational IMAX film. Perhaps I've wandered into the wrong theater. A quick check of my ticket confirms no such miracle and off I go on this horrid adventure. The story centers around this teenage girl who's dad is a paleontologist who seems to have more time for his work than her (mercifully we were spared the Cat Stevens soundtrack...). She comes to meet him at the museum so that he can help her with her science report which has something to do with T-Rex and whether or not it laid eggs and if it did, how it took care of them. Her dad dismisses her report as conjecture rather than science and then runs off to a meeting. She sits down at his desk which has an object they think is a dinosaur egg on it. She accidentally bumps the egg and it rolls off the desk. Steam comes out of the egg and with some low-budget graphics we're back in the cretaceous!!! Except not. Now we've somehow gotten to the middle of the museum's cretaceous exhibit. Is she in some kind of drug-induced coma? Sleepwalking? Controlled by demons? Who knows! Somehow she winds up back into the past and has a converstaion with a man who painted pictures of dinosaurs. Then we're back at the museum. She wanders into the ladies room to splash some water on her face (which in no way disturbs her makeup) and somehow gets transported back in time again (I'm so removed from the film at this point that I'm intensely bothered by the fact she left the tap running. Doesn't she realized she's wasting perfectly good water?!?) This time she has a conversation with an old fossil hunter before coming back to the museum again. Meanwhile her dad has discovered she's missing and is searching the museum for her. Finally, she goes back in time again and comes upon a dinosaur nest. She runs into a small scavenger-type dinosaur and actually gets into a physical fight with it to protect the eggs (Actual dialogue: "Hey!, put that back! Those aren't your eggs!") The line, and the premise behind it, are just so stupid it's hard to know where to begin. Eventually big momma T-Rex comes by and chases the small dinosaur away, and then turns her attention to our intrepid head-trauma victim. The girl slowly sets down the egg, and then the dinosaur leans down so the girl can PET IT!!!! I would have walked out if I thought I wouldn't have tumbled to my death in the dark, steep IMAX theater. Somehow we again return to the museum where no explanation is given to either her dad or to us as to what happened to her. Instead she blathers about how her experience gives her confidence and her dad agrees to let her accompany him on his next dig. Can I get a refund for the last 45 minutes of my life?
12:00pm
--2 large slices thin crust cheese pizza, minus 1/2 crust
--1 side salad
--1/4 packet ranch dressing
I couldn't face the idea of museum food, so I got lunch at the Internation Trade Center Food Court. It was perfectly serviceable.
After lunch I wandered over to the White House Visitors Center, which is right across the street from the hotel. After clearing security (I don't think I'll ever be able to walk into a building again without emptying my pockets and present all bags for inspection) I was free to wander around.
I really enjoyed one gallery they had of all sorts of different White House employees. They were these beautiful black and white 8X10 glossies of these people and what they did. They also noted how long they had been there. They showed butlers, doormen, chefs, groundskeepers, procurement managers, housekeepers, and even the network administrator. There were so many who had been there 40 and 50 years. It was just beautifully done--simple and full of dignity.
There was also an informative video about the construction of the White House and the various refurbishments and decor of the rooms. There were other galleries about the first ladies and families of the White House which were interesting. I stopped by the gift shop (of course!) where I got a postcard for my mom and a cookbook of Presidential Cookies for one of my neighbors who's watching the cats.
I'm back in the room now and just catching up on this and postcards until it's time to leave for dinner and the comedy show tonight.
5:30pm
--1 grilled chicken BLT sandwich
DH and I were both too starving to wait for dinner tonight, so we took a quick stop at McD's on our way to the Metro. First we headed up to Gallery Place to get our Spy Museum tickets for Friday. It looks very promising--both of us are very excited to get there.
6:40pm
--1 small passion green tea smoothie
We were early for our show, so we stopped at a Caribou for drinks. I didn't notice the bottles of water until after I ordered this--I could have saved myself money and calories. Still it was tasty and the shop was quite relaxing.
7:30pm
--1 grilled chicken burrito
--a few tortilla chips (maybe 1oz at the most)
--1 piece chocolate cake.
We went to the DC Improv to see their local comedy showcase. Dinner is served in the theater and was OK. The burrito was pretty good though very heavy on the rice and missing some ingredients listed on the menu. The chips were greasy and bland and I gave up on them pretty quick. The cake was amazing!!! Some of the best I've ever had. I was sorely tempted to order a piece of their banana chocolate chip cake but I resisted.
The show was fun--the MC was Rob Cantrell who was on a couple of Last Comic Standing shows. The next 10 acts were all amateurs with varying degrees of experience. There was one that didn't do so well, he was 71 and didn't really connect with the crowd. He told a joke where the punchline was Max Klinger from MASH. Wrong generation! Happily the crowd was kind to him. There were 4 standouts who did near professional work--with more practice they could easily be headlining soon. The rest were good but definintely on their way up. Most just need more practice. While the scores were being tallied we got a short set from one of the judges--a seasoned local comedian. He was a lot of fun. We really enjoyed the show and I'm glad we went, though I was very happy to breathe fresh air as we left! The concept of a non-smoking section doesn't mean much in a poorly ventilated basement!!!
Tomorrow my plan is to head up to the National Zoo. I think my feet can take it after the relative rest of today. Afterwards I may head out to another attraction or make take it easy and go swimming and catch up on postcards to my mom. We should have a free night tomorrow night so I think we're going to try to go back to ESPN Zone and then maybe catch a showing of March of the Penguins.
Sounds like you are having a pretty good time despite that blowhard at the Capital. We really liked the White House Museum - when we were there a year ago dh was there for a conference at the same dd and I were there for her class trip so we got to stay and extra day and see the Cherry Blossom parade. Well while we were waiting I wanted to see the White House since we didn't get to see that with dd's class and then we went over to the museum - I just thought it was very enjoyable. We are dying to see the Capital Steps sometime - either out there the next time we go or when they come back to IL. My dh and dd just love them.
I hope the rest of your time there is just as good as what it's been so far. I can't wait to go back to DC sometime. We didn't get much time to do much and what we did was fast (except for the Capital tour we got because dd's grandma is related to the Speaker and she arranged a nice tour for 10 of us). We just rushed through way too much stuff. Got 30 minutes to spend at the Space museum and I want more time back there. I LOVE space and all that has been through the years.
Keep on
Chris
I hope the rest of your time there is just as good as what it's been so far. I can't wait to go back to DC sometime. We didn't get much time to do much and what we did was fast (except for the Capital tour we got because dd's grandma is related to the Speaker and she arranged a nice tour for 10 of us). We just rushed through way too much stuff. Got 30 minutes to spend at the Space museum and I want more time back there. I LOVE space and all that has been through the years.
Keep on
Chris
Good morning, Pearlieq!
Sounds like your rest day went pretty well. It's good to take it easy on your feet so that you can do the things you really want to do later. BTW, I loved the commentary on your horrible viewing of the IMAX movie. I would have thought it to be educational as well.
Have a good day today! (imagine 2 Mickey's here)
Sounds like your rest day went pretty well. It's good to take it easy on your feet so that you can do the things you really want to do later. BTW, I loved the commentary on your horrible viewing of the IMAX movie. I would have thought it to be educational as well.
Have a good day today! (imagine 2 Mickey's here)
honeymo78
Don't dream it, be it
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2002
- Messages
- 4,494
Sounds like you are having quite an adventure in DC. Let us know how you like the Penguin movie - I've heard it's quite good. It looks like you are making some good food choices even while enjoying yourself. Good for you 
My fiance is like you and I'm like your DH when it comes to complaining/standing up. It's taken a while for me to get used to it and not making comments about him doing it. I think my fear is that he will start a fight or we will get in some sort of trouble but I have to remember to hold my tongue. His assertiveness has had its rewards - why we wouldn't have fallen in love with WL if he hadn't complained about our service and POR and got us upgraded (for free) to a courtyard king room at WL 2 years ago.
My fiance is like you and I'm like your DH when it comes to complaining/standing up. It's taken a while for me to get used to it and not making comments about him doing it. I think my fear is that he will start a fight or we will get in some sort of trouble but I have to remember to hold my tongue. His assertiveness has had its rewards - why we wouldn't have fallen in love with WL if he hadn't complained about our service and POR and got us upgraded (for free) to a courtyard king room at WL 2 years ago.
It's raining, it's raining, it's raining. And I am talking about good solid rain. Chris says it is raining in DeKalb, so it is probably raining on your house as well. It is so beautiful! Not that it will save the great Sahara here, but I am not looking a Rain God in the mouth. 
Hope you are having a great day in DC.
Hope you are having a great day in DC.
rcyannacci
<font color="purple">A Feminist Princess...tiaras
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2000
- Messages
- 2,605
I'm loving your DC reports!!! The Capitol Steps show sounds so funny! I always try to catch their Christmas show on NPR- always entertaining.
DH runs the IMAX at the TX History Museum, so I've actually see that movie!!! Your critique is too funny, and right on target. All I remember is how bad the acting was...especially the father, who has a number of professional credits (even though I can't remember his name off hand).
Anyway, hope it's not too humid with all that rain. Enjoy the rest of your trip!
DH runs the IMAX at the TX History Museum, so I've actually see that movie!!! Your critique is too funny, and right on target. All I remember is how bad the acting was...especially the father, who has a number of professional credits (even though I can't remember his name off hand).
Anyway, hope it's not too humid with all that rain. Enjoy the rest of your trip!
pearlieq
<font color=green>They can sit & spin<br><font col
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2004
- Messages
- 8,734
Hi!
Sorry I've--been MIA for the last couple of days. Decent internet access has actually been hard to come by.
Short synopsis of the last couple of days: museums, restaurant food, Metro, IT'S HOT!!! I'll fill in details when I get home.
I hope everyone is well and I can't wait to get back to being here every day!
Sorry I've--been MIA for the last couple of days. Decent internet access has actually been hard to come by.
Short synopsis of the last couple of days: museums, restaurant food, Metro, IT'S HOT!!! I'll fill in details when I get home.
I hope everyone is well and I can't wait to get back to being here every day!
pearlieq
<font color=green>They can sit & spin<br><font col
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2004
- Messages
- 8,734
8/10/05
9:00am
--1 SB bar
I lolled in bed for a little bit this morning and then headed on my planned excursion to the zoo. The area the zoo is in is hilly so it makes a difference which Metro station you pick as the zoo is pretty much equidistant between 2 stops. I chose the Cleveland Park station because it's a nice flat walk versus the uphill walk you get from the Woodley Park station. I was pleasantly surprised by the neighborhood I saw when I got out. I was really quite charming--leafy streets lined with small shops and cafes--it reminded me a little bit of Evanston or Oak Park in the Chicago area through perhaps not quite as ethnic or bohemian as Evanston nor as progressive as Oak Park. There were beautiful apartment buildings and gorgeous old row houses chopped up into tiny 2 and 3 flats.
Once I got into the zoo I tried to go see the baby cheetahs, but they weren't out yet. I could hear them meowing from back in their enclosure--it was really cute! I got a map for the zoo and checked it out--it's very long and narrow and the entrance/exit is at the top of the hill so I imagine it's easy to get going too far down and then be very sorry as you hoof it back up!
While I was checking out the cheetahs, guess who was there?!? That's right! Blowhard!!! This is now the third day in a row I've run in to him! Yesterday I passed him and his wife in front of the American History museum and now today they were not 3 feet from me at the cheetah exhibit! I can't get away from this guy!
After leaving the cheetah area I saw that there was a zookeeper talk in about 10 minutes, so I decided to take a quick look at the pandas and come back up. I made a quick foray into the panda area, saw a panda (or at least, the behind of a panda. He was curled up in the corner asleep), and can now say I've seen a panda. There's a lot of contstruction going on at the zoo and it kind of seems like there's not much there. I guess I'm used to more elaborate animal enclosures/habitats like at AK or even the Brookfield Zoo back home.
I got back in time for the keeper talk which was about naked mole rats. He had a couple to show us. I know that all of God's creatures are beautiful, but there are some that are, er, less beautiful than others. I just hope these little guys have a good sense of humor because they won't be getting by on their looks! I learned that they can chew through a cinder block in about 15 minutes! Can you imagine how destructive they must be out in the wild! I was glad to hear that they only lived in Eastern Africa1 They also live in hierarchical society centered on a queen and her 3-4 sires. It was an interesting talk.
11:15am
--1 cheeseburger, minus 3/8 of the bun
--1 pear
After making a generous donation at the gift shop, I continued on down the hill a bit. There wasn't really much else I wanted to see besides the pandas and cheetah cubs, but I figured since I was already there I should make what I could of the experience. I ventured into the small mammal house. In the first enclosure there was an armadillo that kept running back and forth along about a 3 foot line near the window of his exhibit. I don't know what armadillo behavior is usually like but it seemed strange. In the next enclosure there was a single fox, who was pawing frantically at the window. It was just so depressing I almost started crying right there. This just isn't what God intended when he made the animals. Aren't foxes intensely social creatures? I hope I'm wrong about that or I hope he had a friend somewhere. Anyway, watching a small animal scrabble at the sides of his cage isn't my idea of entertainment and that was pretty much it for the zoo for me.
I stopped at their cafe on the way out and got a cheeseburger. I remembered after a couple of bites to at least take off the top bun to save some refined carbs. After eating I dragged myself back uphill to the entrance and wandered down to the Metro. When I got back off near our hotel I happened to notice there was a Hecht's store right by the station. We don't have them at home but I had heard a couple of people say they're nice. It reminded me a lot of Kohl's. I did get lucky however and found a brown leather mini backpack, which I'd been looking for for a while. So, I was happy about that but didn't stick around too much past that.
12:15pm
--1 large piece naan, minus the burned center
--1/2 cup chickpeas
--3-4 large chunks tandoori chicken
--1 veggie samosa
--1/3 cup basmati rice w/sauce
--2 or 3 pieces vegetables
--3 bites mystery item
I didn't go to the Indian place up by the zoo because I wasn't that hungry while I was up there, but I was ready for a proper meal by the time I finished shopping. I found this place in a food court near the hotel--I think it was called Naan & Beyond. I asked the guy at the counter for a recommendation and he gave me a meat thali platter. The naan was very tasty (the parts that weren't burned--mine looked like it had been shot through with a small cannon!) The chicken and veggies were also tasty, and I really enjoyed the chickpeas. There was something else on the plate that I sadly couldn't identify. I think it might have been a finely pureed spinach, but I'm not sure. It was also pretty good, whatever it was!
I'm not sure what I'll be doing this afternoon. DH won't be done until 5 or so, and it seems pretty early for me to hang it up for the day, but I can't really think of anywhere that I'm jonesing to go that we're not already sheduled to go to. I wouldn't mind taking it easy for another afternoon. I stil need to catch up on postcards for my mom and I want to look through the cookie cookbook and other souveniers I got. Also, a swim sounds kind of nice.
6:30pm
--3 mini burgers, minus one bun
--1 turkey burger with mozzarella, no bun
--1 green salad with vinagrette
--the cookie, whipped cream, and a few bites ice cream off of their baked cookie dessert
I was starving when we got here!!! I really should have had some kind of snack in the afternoon to take the edge off. I also wish I had remembered to remove the buns from the mini burger--I didn't remember until I'd already had one. This was very tasty and the cookies were delicious. I was stuffed afterwards.
DH was pretty tired from his full day of conferece and he wasn't feeling too well, so we had dinner, spent some time at Borders, then called it a night and headed back to the hotel. We'll have to see March of the Penguins another time.
9:00am
--1 SB bar
I lolled in bed for a little bit this morning and then headed on my planned excursion to the zoo. The area the zoo is in is hilly so it makes a difference which Metro station you pick as the zoo is pretty much equidistant between 2 stops. I chose the Cleveland Park station because it's a nice flat walk versus the uphill walk you get from the Woodley Park station. I was pleasantly surprised by the neighborhood I saw when I got out. I was really quite charming--leafy streets lined with small shops and cafes--it reminded me a little bit of Evanston or Oak Park in the Chicago area through perhaps not quite as ethnic or bohemian as Evanston nor as progressive as Oak Park. There were beautiful apartment buildings and gorgeous old row houses chopped up into tiny 2 and 3 flats.
Once I got into the zoo I tried to go see the baby cheetahs, but they weren't out yet. I could hear them meowing from back in their enclosure--it was really cute! I got a map for the zoo and checked it out--it's very long and narrow and the entrance/exit is at the top of the hill so I imagine it's easy to get going too far down and then be very sorry as you hoof it back up!
While I was checking out the cheetahs, guess who was there?!? That's right! Blowhard!!! This is now the third day in a row I've run in to him! Yesterday I passed him and his wife in front of the American History museum and now today they were not 3 feet from me at the cheetah exhibit! I can't get away from this guy!
After leaving the cheetah area I saw that there was a zookeeper talk in about 10 minutes, so I decided to take a quick look at the pandas and come back up. I made a quick foray into the panda area, saw a panda (or at least, the behind of a panda. He was curled up in the corner asleep), and can now say I've seen a panda. There's a lot of contstruction going on at the zoo and it kind of seems like there's not much there. I guess I'm used to more elaborate animal enclosures/habitats like at AK or even the Brookfield Zoo back home.
I got back in time for the keeper talk which was about naked mole rats. He had a couple to show us. I know that all of God's creatures are beautiful, but there are some that are, er, less beautiful than others. I just hope these little guys have a good sense of humor because they won't be getting by on their looks! I learned that they can chew through a cinder block in about 15 minutes! Can you imagine how destructive they must be out in the wild! I was glad to hear that they only lived in Eastern Africa1 They also live in hierarchical society centered on a queen and her 3-4 sires. It was an interesting talk.
11:15am
--1 cheeseburger, minus 3/8 of the bun
--1 pear
After making a generous donation at the gift shop, I continued on down the hill a bit. There wasn't really much else I wanted to see besides the pandas and cheetah cubs, but I figured since I was already there I should make what I could of the experience. I ventured into the small mammal house. In the first enclosure there was an armadillo that kept running back and forth along about a 3 foot line near the window of his exhibit. I don't know what armadillo behavior is usually like but it seemed strange. In the next enclosure there was a single fox, who was pawing frantically at the window. It was just so depressing I almost started crying right there. This just isn't what God intended when he made the animals. Aren't foxes intensely social creatures? I hope I'm wrong about that or I hope he had a friend somewhere. Anyway, watching a small animal scrabble at the sides of his cage isn't my idea of entertainment and that was pretty much it for the zoo for me.
I stopped at their cafe on the way out and got a cheeseburger. I remembered after a couple of bites to at least take off the top bun to save some refined carbs. After eating I dragged myself back uphill to the entrance and wandered down to the Metro. When I got back off near our hotel I happened to notice there was a Hecht's store right by the station. We don't have them at home but I had heard a couple of people say they're nice. It reminded me a lot of Kohl's. I did get lucky however and found a brown leather mini backpack, which I'd been looking for for a while. So, I was happy about that but didn't stick around too much past that.
12:15pm
--1 large piece naan, minus the burned center
--1/2 cup chickpeas
--3-4 large chunks tandoori chicken
--1 veggie samosa
--1/3 cup basmati rice w/sauce
--2 or 3 pieces vegetables
--3 bites mystery item
I didn't go to the Indian place up by the zoo because I wasn't that hungry while I was up there, but I was ready for a proper meal by the time I finished shopping. I found this place in a food court near the hotel--I think it was called Naan & Beyond. I asked the guy at the counter for a recommendation and he gave me a meat thali platter. The naan was very tasty (the parts that weren't burned--mine looked like it had been shot through with a small cannon!) The chicken and veggies were also tasty, and I really enjoyed the chickpeas. There was something else on the plate that I sadly couldn't identify. I think it might have been a finely pureed spinach, but I'm not sure. It was also pretty good, whatever it was!
I'm not sure what I'll be doing this afternoon. DH won't be done until 5 or so, and it seems pretty early for me to hang it up for the day, but I can't really think of anywhere that I'm jonesing to go that we're not already sheduled to go to. I wouldn't mind taking it easy for another afternoon. I stil need to catch up on postcards for my mom and I want to look through the cookie cookbook and other souveniers I got. Also, a swim sounds kind of nice.
6:30pm
--3 mini burgers, minus one bun
--1 turkey burger with mozzarella, no bun
--1 green salad with vinagrette
--the cookie, whipped cream, and a few bites ice cream off of their baked cookie dessert
I was starving when we got here!!! I really should have had some kind of snack in the afternoon to take the edge off. I also wish I had remembered to remove the buns from the mini burger--I didn't remember until I'd already had one. This was very tasty and the cookies were delicious. I was stuffed afterwards.
DH was pretty tired from his full day of conferece and he wasn't feeling too well, so we had dinner, spent some time at Borders, then called it a night and headed back to the hotel. We'll have to see March of the Penguins another time.
HI....
Sounds like you had a good time at the zoo!!!!!
Good for you for remembering to take the bun away! That used to be the hardest for me when I would eat my hotdogs!
Keep up the good work.
Hope you have a great rest of the day and a great weekend!
Sounds like you had a good time at the zoo!!!!!
Good for you for remembering to take the bun away! That used to be the hardest for me when I would eat my hotdogs!
Keep up the good work.
Hope you have a great rest of the day and a great weekend!
Sorry the zoo didn't turn out so great. But it is neat that you found such a beautiful neighborhood. I can imagine what it looks like. I think Oak Park is beautiful.
Sounds like you are doing pretty well, manuevering around the food.
Hope your day is a good one.
Sounds like you are doing pretty well, manuevering around the food.
Hope your day is a good one.
Mykelogan
Long time, no see!
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2005
- Messages
- 2,183
Sorry to hear that the zoo did not turn out as planned but sounded like a nice day overall! And you had Indian food, which is my favorite cuisine on the planet!!! (I make mean Rogan Josh aka red lamb curry!) They pointed you in the right direction foodwise there too for getting a great broad sample. mmmm Think I might make some curried chicken for dinner tonight now! LOL
Hope the rest of your trip is great!
Mike
Hope the rest of your trip is great!
Mike
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