Hello everyone! It's been a restful week at home in Washington D.C. I've been trying to catch up with friends and family and catch up on sleep. I'm doing pretty good on both fronts. I've been working hard on my next podcast which should be out by the weekend.
I spent most of the end of last week at home in the cool, cool air-conditioning finishing up the research and starting to write my second Tennessee podcast. I took lots of naps. I also got to catch up with some of my old pals around town and see what everyone's been up to since I've been gone these last six months. Everyone seems to be doing well which is great to see.
I went downtown last week and caught up with an old friend who was in town with her family. She had gone on several tours with me when I was working as a guide and it was nice to pop down and say hello to her.
Last Saturday I took my folks and headed down to the Columbia Pike Blues Festival in Arlington. It was a cool little block party with some good music which was definitely not blues. We were only there during the day and I know their headliners were more blues oriented, but it was nice to sit outside in the shade, drink a few beers and listen to music.
Yesterday, I headed down to the National Zoo in the morning with my old friend Rob and his kids who are visiting from California. We got to see all kinds of animals as we were there early in the day and they were pretty active. Mei Xiang, one of our pandas, was also having an early bamboo lunch when we were there. Having grown up in D.C., I've been used to having pandas around, and it is always fun to check in on them and see what they're up to. Our pandas are as much a part of our city culture as our sports teams are. It was also good to catch up with Rob and his kids. I see them whenever I'm in the Bay Area and have a free night, but it's nice to see them back on home turf.
Later, I headed down to the United States Capitol Building for a military band concert with my mother. Unfortunately, the concert was cancelled, but we took the opportunity of being downtown to stop into Kelly's Irish Times, a D.C. institution. It was nice to have a few quiet beers and catch up a little bit and talk about my plans for the future.
And that's really been it this week. It is very nice to be off the road for a few days, eat some home-cooked meals and try and catch up a little bit. I'm going to try and get a lot of articles posted this coming week and then start planning for the rest of the summer. I'm definitely headed north from here.
Until next week then, I'll be hanging out here at home. When was the last time you talked to your old friends from home? This week, I hope you'll take the opportunity to reach out and see what they've been up to. Have a great week and we'll see you again soon.
-Mike