2010 Highlights: Washington, DC

I loved living in DC. Had no idea when I arrived that my stay would be so brief, but…I managed to fit a few fun things in:

I got to live in a condo here (old WWII housing), right across the street from the Potomac River. Loved it. It's on the George Washington Parkway, which runs from the 495 all the way to Mt. Vernon. One of THE most beautiful drives on the planet. Hands down.

I got to live with this girl—one of my favorite people ever. I was so lucky that Jill was needing a new roomie when I decided to make my way east. And so lucky that she loves history as much as I do. That meant I always had a pal to go see dead presidents’ houses with. Like this trip to Montpelier.

Behold Montpelier! (James Madison's estate.) This one had only been on my list of places to see for about 5 years…. Check.

I became the proud holder of an annual pass to Mt. Vernon, and put that puppy to good use. I was a regular at George's house.

I got snowed in with the rest of the east coast. My first real blizzard! Here's Marta standing next to her car. She came to get snowed in with us. On purpose. (I think her car was the most buried in the entire parking lot.)

I finally got to see the cherry blossoms live.

I found some (somewhat inferior) stairs to replace my beloved Santa Monica stairs. This was my and Jill's favorite Saturday morning workout—we'd make the jaunt to Georgetown every weekend. Incidentally, these are the very stairs where “that one scene” from The Exorcist was filmed. I never saw the movie, so I have no idea what people are talking about when they say that. But apparently it was scary.

I had lots of visitors. Courtney and Sara came to visit from LA just after I got engaged, the same weekend I was trying to make a final decision on my diamond. Here they are helping me.

For the first (and, I'm pretty sure, last) time in my life, I had a personal bodyguard. Since Spencer was so far away, his good friend, Matt, took it upon himself to make sure no one got too close to me in S's absence. The ferocious Virgil helped, too. (Thanks, guys!)

And the best part of my time in DC...I left with this guy in tow.

Or was he towing me? Hard to say. Whichever it was, the time had come to say goodbye to DC for the moment.

By the time I left, I still couldn’t drive anywhere in the District (except to work and back) without getting lost. BUT…by the time I left, I could always find my way out of the District AFTER getting lost. And for those of you who've ever driven through DC—you know that’s something to be proud of.