Well, we are firmly in the dog days of summer; anyone else feel like the fireworks and cookouts of the Fourth of July were just yesterday? July was a fairly quiet month for me this year. I’ve had a physical therapy intern at work, and while she has been an amazing student teaching her kept me from wandering too far away from home. Now normally I don’t mind sticking close to home during the summer because well, I do live at the beach and love spending my weekends on the water with my paddleboard. I was on my way to do just that when my tie down strap broke and my board went flying. Luckily no one was nearby when this happened but there is a little (fixable) damage to my SUP board.
Of course I did manage to sneak in a little weekend getaway.
I am a huge Foo Fighters fan and when I saw that they added in a show in Maryland just outside of Washington DC I jumped on getting tickets. This was my third time seeing Dave and the guys and but this time I was mere feet from the stage and let me tell you-the Foo Fighters absolutely rocked it!
Seriously, I was this close!
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Since I was so close to Washington DC I couldn’t resist spending a day in one of my favorite cities, and even better I met up with my friend Adrienne and her husband. Adrienne and I served together in the Navy and it had been over 16 years since we had seen each other in person!
Washington DC in the summer can be miserably hot and humid but we lucked out with what may have been the nicest day this summer. Bright blue skies, sunny, 80 degrees and a light breeze, it really doesn’t get any better! The four of us spent the day walking around DC checking out some of the new art exhibits. The Renwick Gallery is a personal favorite of mine (and as part of the Smithsonian is free) and was currently hosting The Art of Burning Man exhibit featuring everything from costumes to enormous interactive sculptures.
We then hoofed it to the National Building Museum which typically houses a new interactive exhibit each summer but I have to admit that this year’s Funhouse didn’t live up to previous installations, at least for me. Unless your idea of a good time is climbing through a styrofoam house and a ball pit with 100 of your closest friends (no judgement if that’s your thing) I’d skip this one.
For me no visit to DC is complete without a stop by the National Mall. We time our visit for sunset for some absolutely stunning views of the monuments.
Things I’m Loving
When it’s hot outside the last thing you want to do is slave over a hot stove for hours. Make these Mediterranean-style beef kabobs with cucumber mint salad and thank me later.
I’ve been living in this side-gather T-shirt dress from Athleta this summer.
My friend Brianne of A Travelling Life has me wanting to sail the Maine coast.
Andi says
Bummer about your board! You are so brave to “brave” DC in the summer. Last time I went I nearly died. Well okay obs I didn’t but NOT my favorite time to visit. I do want to get to that fun house on my next run thru town though – hopefully in cooler weather!