Columbus Day

One of the perks of being a government employee is having Columbus Day off. That is one of the few perks I can think of, that and the Thrift Savings Plan, which I haven't started using yet. Anyway, I had Columbus Day off and I spent a good deal of time this weekend palling around with someone and drinking a beer or two. That was fun and we had some laughs but I needed a change of pace on Monday. It was pretty hot out so I wasn't feeling another bike ride to Mt. Vernon (about 45 miles round trip and definitely not worth it) like Saturday, so I walked to the Mall. There has been some great confusion about this when I told people I was at the Mall. It is not a mall, it is the Mall. Better known as the Smithsonian Complex. Here is a picture to aid in your understanding.

If you look closely you'll see an arrow and a stick figure, that is me (not to scale). Around 1:15pm I packed up a book in my backpack and took the 35 minute stroll down to the Mall. There were some nice shady spots on the North side of the street, so I grabbed a park bench and proceeded to read. I finally finished I book I'd been working on for a couple of weeks now, you may recall Dreaming in Cuba. It was a nice relaxing day in ridiculously hot weather for October and I eventually bought a hot dog and went home. (By the way, I still don't think that Dreaming in Cuba is a great book, but my impression of it warmed from my initial assessment, I would give it a B/B-.)

On my walk home I saw a local winery store and felt like stopping in to get something to cool me off. Sam Adams still has its seasonals going and I was able to pick up a Cherry Wheat, the only wheat beer that I can truly say I liked the first time I had it. It tastes sort of like a cheery soda, but it's beer.

Upon returning home and cooking dinner I decided to sit on the porch and have a beer. At this time the gentlemen living across the street from me invited me over to their house and asked me if I am in a band. Apparently, they have heard me playing guitar and harmonica on my roof and are interested in having me come to one of their practices. I am not too familiar with the type of music they play, Go-go, but if I have some free time when their next practice comes up, I'll see what my acoustic guitar and harmonica can add to their group.

Anyway, stay tuned for more news from the city where Jessie Jackson, Jr. can be seen riding a segway down K Street (the infamous lobby corridor).