Segs in the City

I have been dying to take a Segway tour of DC since Richard moved up here, and having friends in town gave us the perfect excuse to finally do it! I know the owner of Segway recently died in a Segway-related accident, but luckily we escaped our tour with only one minor injury to an Aussie in our group. She took off her shoes, which I would not recommend. Despite that small distraction, we had an incredible time on the Segways. They are so much fun to tool around on and very easy to master. We looked super cool in our vests and helmets cruising the District at a max of 12 mph!

all four of us in front of the Washington monument

Steven and Richard in front of the White House

the Capitol building all lit up

Steven and Richard on the other side of the Washington Monument

one more in front of the Capitol

back at the Segway shop, wishing we could take one home!

house full of guests!

The week of our wedding, Richard and I got an email from his college roommate Steven, about coming to visit us in Washington in October. Steven and his girlfriend Anna are some serious planners, and even though we were overwhelmed with all the excitement that comes with a wedding, we were excited about the prospect about having Steven and Anna as guests. October has quickly arrived, and I was thrilled to pick up our friends from BWI yesterday. Another good Wofford friend, Chris, joined us for appetizers at our house and mussels out last night and ended up staying with us too!

Mussel Bar in downtown Bethesda

It's been great fun to put our monogrammed towels and beautiful serving pieces to good use, and I love being able to host friends. Steven and Anna (and Chris!) are fun, easy guests who keep us laughing, and I am thankful they are here!

A benefit of having out-of-town company is getting to do some sight-seeing that we don't always take the time to do. This morning we went to the Holocaust Museum, and it's hard to put into words the impact that it had on me. I never was able to watch Schindler's List, and though I've read a great deal on WWII and the Holocaust, I'd never fully experienced the gravity of what happened under Hitler's rule. In seeing the shoes of the victims left behind and hearing escape stories in the voices of concentration camp, I was moved to the core ...and just kept thinking, WHY? Why, God, did this unbelievable number of people have to be persecuted in this way? And where were You in all of this? I have no idea what the answer to that hard, hard question is, but I do know that the Holocaust was the absolute antithesis of His plan for us. At the end of the permanent exhibit, you enter a large room with a fire on one end burning over parts of earth taken from the ghettos, the concentration camps, and the WWII battlegrounds. The names of concentration camps are etched in the walls, and the large space is meant for remembrance and reflection. And while there were several verses displayed, this one stuck with me the most:

Deuteronomy 30:19

homesickness

A trip south inevitably brings about pangs of homesickness for me. Richard and I went to Chapel Hill last weekend to cheer on the Tigers against the Tarheels (a futile effort unfortunately) and were able to catch up with friends and enjoy Southern luxuries such as a diet cherry coke from Sonic and shopping at the Belk. The pace is slower, and things just seem easier. And those thoughts make me miss things...I miss having a job where I know everyone in the building. I miss having a job at all. I miss being able to have lunch with my best friends, right down the street. I miss decent classes at the gym, and all the familiar faces at said gym. I miss knowing where to go to get my nails done, alterations made, find fabric and have a chair recovered or cushions made. I miss walking into a restaurant or grocery store or even a Junior League meeting and knowing half the people there. I miss watching the Tigers actually win a football game! :)

And after returning, while I was feeling particularly sad about being away from home, Richard and I came home to find termites ALL OVER the retaining wall by our driveway. Flying termites, hundreds of them. The picture below was after Richard squirted the majority of them with repellant. To follow that, my sweet husband put about 2 lbs of BBQ hash down the garbage disposal and promptly stopped it up. And the plumber told us it would be multiple days before he could come.

But as the week progressed, I remembered...I WANTED this life. I desired to be married to Richard more than anything, and I would count the days until I had an opportunity to be with him permanently while we were engaged. I love being with him, even if it means being away from my comfort zone. And sometimes life isn't as smooth as we plan, but God is still in all the details. The plumber was able to come earlier than expected, the termites have not reared their ugly heads again after my brave husband eradicated them. A phone call to our landlord regarding the termites brought about new blinds and the repair of a broken window screen. And we enjoyed dinners with both our new small group from church and the mama and daddy of Miss Gia Capaldi. All in all not a bad week in my new home.

And now some pictures from our weekend in Chapel Hill/Raleigh:

thrilled to see Jill, even if just for a minute!

before our embarrassing loss- Richard's light purple definitely was construed as Carolina blue!

yummy blue mint chocolate chip ice cream at Kenan Stadium

brunch at the Guglhupf

lately

So besides chronicling our wedding from start to finish, we have had an eventful past couple of weeks! Richard having all of his weekends off has allowed us to both travel and entertain family and friends, which has been a huge blessing for this girl who has been more homesick than I would have ever thought! And we have had some fun date nights during the week too!

We went to see Chess at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, and though I was skeptical (it's an 80's rock opera), it was fabulous. The Signature is a Tony-awarding winning local theatre, and Jill Paice, who we had previously seen on Broadway in Curtains, did an amazing job as the female lead. They had a discussion with some of the actors and actresses after the show, which was very interesting, and we got to meet Jill Paice! So much fun.

Richard enjoying a yummy S'mores cupcake prior to the show- note the chess pieces in the background

loved the Signature Theatre and can't wait to go back!

We love that our friends often have work and conferences in DC. April came for work and stayed to visit as our first house guest! Would have been more fun to stay here...

back side of the White House

We had lunch with her aunt at the World Bank and saw a few sights in the city. The World Bank was quite interesting- lots of world cultures represented in one place, but not as busy as one might think. And certainly not a gathering of "It's a Smalle World"- type teller booths with bankers in native costume that my husband envisioned! We also had an incredible dinner at Charlie Palmer's. April is one of my oldest friends, so it was only fitting she was our first houseguest!

Our dear friends Min and Vin had a beautiful baby girl, Miss Gia Lina Capaldi!

And the Davis family came to visit! It was scheduled to correlate with Clemson's Open Date. And the Nats were playing the Braves, so we took in the game. Go Braves!

Mom caught a t-shirt for Will- she impressively took it from a small child ;)

the fam after the game- the stadium was about that empty during the game too!

Thanks to a recommendation from Kim, we tried out The General Store in Silver Spring, which had just been featured on the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives." Hence quite a crowd, but still tasty food!

Richard and Jeff in the General Store

We also got to travel to SC for Clemson Homecoming! We hated to see the Tigers lose, but loved getting to see family (again) and friends. So thankful for fall football bringing us all together!