Our Nation's Capital

What's that? Traveling on the East Coast again? Of course. Also necessitates the weekend in condensed form
Eight (why 8? because it's arbitrary) Reasons why Virginia is Cool, although it may *not* be for lovers

1. Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel: 3 bridges, 2 tunnels, 15+ miles of ocean driving

2. The Eastern Shore: unabashedly rural, salty, and gorgeous

3. Pat Robertson can pray for Supreme Court justices to die, and Va. Beach is still liberal enough to laugh at him for it

4. Institutions such as the VA Governor's Academy for Spanish still get funding

5. People think I'm 'Southern'

6. Vintage chic hasn't gotten this far yet, and one can still buy couches for under $20, and t-shirts for under a buck

7. There's a boutique in Dupont Circle that sells "Save Martha" shirts. I was almost forced to buy one

8. All the Smithsonian Museums are free

I had a fantastic time in D.C., leaving home late Thursday after Alex and I found a way to shove a loveseat, an entire dish set, three chairs, a lamp, and wineglasses from the Veterans' Thrift store into THE van while drizzling, me in miniskirt. We crossed the Bay at sundown, and thanks to my expert driving made it almost to Annapolis by 11:00 pm, many country songs later.

Once in the D.C. metropolitan area, I met up with an assortment of politically minded college students living/working/visiting the district in an impromptu Sweet Briar in Seville reunion. Sigh. Why is it that I have such a weakness for intelligent, self-deprecating sarcasm? Anyway, it was good to see people again, and I bonded over EMJ's experience at the Governor's school this summer. Apparently word on the mean streets of Staunton with regards to myself is "that girl can dance!" Ha. Now that's funny. I guess I can salsa with the best of white girls.

My ex-roommate and I tore up the town (or we just went to Ben and Jerry's in Georgetown) on Friday night, and saw the sights of Dupont/Adams Morgan today, which brought back many old memories of Alex living on Connecticut Ave, and lower school field trips to the museums. I like 'The District' even if it is crawling with Young Republicans at the moment. Great food.

Much in store for the next week or so, getting ready to traverse the Atlantic again, and trying to prepare for school. Seems like everyone and their brother is immersed in GRE/LSAT review that I feel like such a slacker, so I had better get cracking on the fellowship thing. Plus, in the midst of that, my faith in contemporary writing has been renewed, as have found another (shocking!) good book to read. Maybe literature isn't dead after all, even if American culture is sliding into decadence =).