Boats, blossoms, and banners

Let's go a little more upbeat than the last post, shall we?  Something along the lines of actual D.C. adventures and good times with friends?  Yes, let's do that.

Last Thursday I took a slightly extended lunch break for two of my favorite things - in no particular order, (1) a Five Guys cheeseburger, AND (2) meeting an out-of-town friend at the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro stop after his or her journey from a train or plane to escort said friend to my home for a dropping off of the stuff.  One Jason of the New York variety came into town for a couple of job interviews, some general good times, and the comfort of my apartment's sofa bed.  Happy to oblige.

Highlights! Yes, of course the first highlight I would mention involves food. Thursday night dinner involved a boat. A beautiful wooden boat full of sushi. We made the incredibly short walk over to Momiji for a little Sapporo, a little sake, and a whole lotta...well...rice and fish and such. Don't tell me you wouldn't be swayed by something called the Sushi Love Boat (really, disregard the "love" part - completely unnecessary - we're talking BOAT of sushi here), offering up 12 pieces of nigiri, three rolls (dragon, California, and tuna), and two spicy tuna hand rolls. And it literally comes to the table in a giant wooden boat. There's something to be said for the art of presentation. I didn't actually take a picture (shocking!!), but it looked kinda like this and was extremely awesome:

Friday was pretty work-ish for both of us - long day of interviews and general job stress for Jason, medical ick and work blah for me - and at the end of that long and rainy day, all I really wanted to do was chill and sit on the couch. So we did. Delivery of Thai food deliciousness, a little NCAA tourney action, some mind-bending from the Coen brothers, and done for the day. Thank goodness.
Saturday, though...sweet, blessed Saturday dawned bright and beautiful, and we took full advantage of it. A little time walking through the National Gallery Sculpture Garden, remembering our Parisian adventures...

...followed by a little time in the Natural History Museum, investigating the mysteries of Darwin and the depths of the ocean, where scary and enormous giant squid roam...

We also made our way over to the American History Museum, where it became pretty clear that tourist season (or maybe just spring break) is in full swing - line stretching out the door.  Here we go!

That didn't deter us from spending some quality time with the flag that inspired the Star Spangled Banner, sexy George Washington carved out of marble, Kermit the Frog, Julia Child's kitchen, sparkly First Lady dresses, and C-3PO.  Quite a cast of characters, really.  Oh, and W!  This one's for you, Dad, and no, I was not shunned by any liberals as we snapped the picture.

After getting in the requisite museum visits, we took to the outdoors to truly enjoy the beautiful spring day...and the cherry blossoms!  Yup, it's that time of year again, so we wound our way down to the Tidal Basin and around the Washington Monument, taking in the fluffy white blossoms and the sky dotted with colorful kites courtesy of the Smithsonian Kite Festival.  After fortifying ourselves with crab cakes from Old Ebbitt Grill and some quality Borders wandering and purchases, it was time to head back home - a few blocks for me and a few hours on a train for Jason.  Spring has definitely sprung!