Weekend Recap

This weekend was one of those weekends you wait for months to happen. Then you find yourself on the bus on your way to start the weekend. Then it passes so fast and you have to start a new countdown until the next weekend like this.

That was my weekend.

I traveled down to Washington DC to hangout with a few of my friends from college. You may remember when I wrote about them here. However, 3 of the 5 of us from our group met up and had a super fun-tastic weekend.  We laughed, we shopped, we saw sights, we ate delicious food. We caught up on each other's lives, we shared stories of our classrooms, and we took a fair share of pictures.

 

 

Needless to say, we had fun. It was the kind of weekend you can only have when you hangout with good friends who have the same interests as you, the same humor as you, and ultimately don't judge you when you do silly things like eat ice cream twice in one day or get confused about the location of countries. I am now waiting for the future get together and hopefully there will be a way for all five of us to hangout!

Source: Uploaded by user via Shauna on Pinterest

What I Did This Weekend: DC Part 1

I fell in love with Washington D.C. four summers ago when I attended a conference in college. It was my first real experience with a big city and it is where I rode my first taxi, took my first subway ride, and learned how to travel on no sleep and lots of ice cream.

This past Thursday, I jumped on a bus from New York and made the 4.5 hour journey to D.C.. My sister was attending a conference in D.C. and we thought that we could make the weekend a mini vacation around her conference sessions.

The first evening was a lot of great sister bonding time. We walked to Chinatown, ate authentic Chinese food, I found my way to an ice cream shop, and then we wandered around the area near our hotel. The hotel was an amazing hotel that I could never afford and it was located on Pennsylvania Ave. We were a hop, skip, and a jump from the White House. This also meant that we were directly across the street from Freedom Square and one of  the Occupy DC protestor campsites. Along with my sister there were other delegates from Florida attending the conference that I knew. It was so great to be around so many familiar faces and share stories from past conferences and events.

On Friday morning, I woke up fairly early and made my way to the Holocaust Museum. I have wanted to go to this museum for a few years because I am a big history nerd, but during my past trips, it hasn't worked out. This museum was my main priority sight seeing wise during the weekend and I succeeded. The museum is beyond anything I imagined. It is not a light-hearted museum, but it is so full of history and information that you could easily spend an entire morning inside and I did. I listened to the audio installments, I watched the videos in different rooms, and I saw the shoes that still remain as a reminder of what happened. There are no photos or videos allowed inside, so I cannot show you the museum, but I highly recommend it during your next trip to D.C.  


After leaving the museum, I needed a little pick me up and I decided to walk back to the hotel taking the scenic route to check out this beauty.  

While walking, I was minding my own business and chatting on the phone when suddenly I was being yelled out by a police officer. The gentleman in the picture below would be the man who kindly asked me to get out of the road and wait on the sidewalk. Then I realized that the traffic had been blocked off and I quickly decided something exciting was about to happen and I hung up the phone and took my camera out.

 About 3 minutes later, I heard the sirens, saw the lights, and in a matter of seconds the President's motorcade passed by. I was so entranced by the fact that I could clearly see into the car and see President Obama talking on his cell phone that I only took 1 photo. 
 

After the motorcade passed, traffic and pedestrians were allowed to resume moving and I made it back to the hotel. In the afternoon, one of my super awesome friends came into D.C. from Maryland and spent the night hanging out and catching up.

Saturday and Sunday were also filled with exciting things, but I'll save those for tomorrow.

You've ALWAYS got a friend in me.

I know that given any situation, I have a person (or persons) that I can count on.

If I need to chat for well over an hour on the telephone about nothing, I can call you.

If I need to share information that I am privy to so that we both can laugh, I can send you a text message.

If I need to share a hilarious google search that made me laugh, you will laugh too. 

If I need someone to  pick me up at the airport at an upsurd time, you will offer.

If I tell you a secret, you keep it.

If I go crazy, forget everything I know, and need to go to the ER, you will drive me. 

If I need to cry, you listen. 

If I need someone to bring a blender to a hotel so we can make margaritas, you will.

If I am having a bad day, you remind of an inside joke.

If I need an opinion about an outfit, I can skype you.

If I need to vent, you are there.

and even if we go hours, days, weeks, or months without talking - I know that the second we chat again it is like no time has past - and that is my favorite part about it all.

This post is not just for one friend. This post is to all of my friends that have helped me become the person I am in the last 24 years. I am so happy that I have more than a handful of true friends that I can call on when I need to.

Visit #1

So I have spent the night hiding the beer, throwing away all incriminating information, and making my apartment clean. Today is the day my Mom is coming to visit!

I am so excited to share this crazy awesome city with her. I am thrilled that she will finally get to see my apartment, meet my roommate, and get a feel of what I do on a daily basis. We are going to spend the weekend hanging out, laughing, and seeing a few sights.

The weather is set to be wonderful, probably a little cold for her, but we will handle it. We are going to cheer on the Gators and also watch LSU vs. Alabama on Saturday night. I still haven't figured out who I am rooting for, it's the best of two evils in my case, but the game should be fantastic.

Have a good weekend doing November like things.

(I really only straightened up the apartment, my Mom knows I drink beer, and she totally reads this blog so I can't really hide anything from her.)

Bucket List Week #1

Holy Cow! This bucket list business is awesome and tiring at the same time. Since I am still in school, trying to find the time to complete the tasks has been challenging, but I am so excited about everything! I have gotten to do some awesome things with awesome people this week.

5/29/11- 6/4/11

Go Tubing at the Springs (5/28/11) - Ok, so I cheated...I actually did this the day before I started the bucket list, but I am not sure that I will be going back, so I am going to count it! I had a great time tubing down the river with Barbara, Jeb, Sammy, and some random people I just met. Overall, we relaxed, got some sun, and relived many awesome tubing memories. I am going to miss having fun like this only 30 minutes away.

Dlites(6/1/11) - How do I explain the amazingness that is D'lites. It is soft serve, delicious icecream, that changes flavors eveyday. Did I mention is is low in calories...like really low in calories? When I say that fabulous icecream has never been so healthy, I do not lie. My favorite flavors are amaretto, carmel cashew, and vanilla with rainbow sprinkles :) I got to experience this joy for the last time with Sarah, a besty that will surely be missed, but also very close because she is moving to D.C. a few weeks after I move. No Picture :)

Go on a random road trip to Ocala for icecream (6/2/11) - This is by far the most random event on my bucket list and I love it. I once went to an away football game with Barbara and Jazz, it was cold, we decided to get icecream, we found Brusters..we fell in love. When we returned to Florida we craved this tasty treat so much that we googled where the nearest location was and found out is was about 40 minutes away. We went anyway. This icecream is amazing! The flavors are crazy and full of flavor, but this is full on fat baby. None of that healthy for you business like before. I had the dark chocolate and the carmel cashew. Tasty!


Eat a slice of spin/tom pizza at Leo’s (6/3/11) - I can;t really explain to you how much this place means to me. It was the first restaurant I ever ate at in Gainesville. I relived the memory with Steven, a friend for many years, who accompanied me 5 years ago on that first trip. The pizza was as good this week as it was then. Plus, their salad is to die for...chickpeas, carrot shavings, and alphalfa sprouts...who doesn't love that?

Watch the bats at sundown at the Bat House (6/3/11) - OK, I double dipped...two events...one day. But I missed a day or two and don't really have 30 days to complete this thing, so I am ok with it. This is actually something I have never done before and have always wanted to do. UF has two bat houses, they actually call one the bat barn, but nonetheless it is the largest sanctuary for bats in the southern United States. It is a must do for all students and most students do this during there first weeks on campus when you have nowhere else to go because no one you know has a car. You wait and wait until just the right moment and 20,000 bats fly out of their house to go feasting for the night. It is quite the experience and I am glad to have done this activity with Steven, a true UF expert and alumni.


Hopefully next week I can check off many more exciting things from my bucket list! Stay tuned!


*Photos courtesy of me :)*