Latest and Greatest

The Traveler has commenced the two week countdown. On August 13th, me and D.C. will part ways. I'll be heading to Maine and D.C., well, D.C.'s in trouble because I saw her hooking up with another dude in a Buick parked near the Jefferson Memorial...which is to say, D.C. will probably keep on just as she always has: breaking hearts, dashing dreams, lookin' pretty, and never failing to inspire dim glimmers of hope for even the most road-weary traveler.

The past weekend generated some fascinating stories.

1) A mechanical bull was let loose on the grounds of the "Celebrate Wyoming" party at the American Legion near Clarendon. Pictures below attest to the raucous time (though they fail to capture the live band performing everyone's country favorites).

2) The discovery, on Saturday, of a long-lost journal of an ancient, um, ancestor's journal covering his travels in a native watercraft on the Potomac some three hundred-odd years ago.

3) A visit to the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (which includes such highlights as getting lost in Brookland and eating more food than was ever intended to swell a man's belly).

4) The beginning and finishing of Malcolm Gladwell's captivating read, The Tipping Point.

5) Two treks to Georgetown including a trip to the infamous "Quick Pita," a cab ride with a bitter Indian, the discovery of the most remarkably unremarkable National Park Service site ever, and, once again getting lost while talking on the phone with my brother Joe (that happens all too often).

6) A round of rousing volleyball lasting long into the night: blood, sandy glasses, shimmying up trees, and the man who once was the top volleyball player in Serbia. Epic struggles of titanic wills against outrageous odds with glorious victory in the end.

All these stories and more from a weekend when I tried to relax. Stay tuned for their further exploration and explanation.