March 2008 (transferred from our website)

March has been another busy month for us. Most importantly, we celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. We had dinner at a local Italian restaurant. It is really nice to have so many restaurant options within walking distance. It was supposed to rain that evening, but it didn't, and so we had a nice stroll up King Street after our meal as well.

March is also St. Patrick's month in the greater DC metro area. Alexandria's parade was on March 1st. The blocks around our apartment were used as the staging area--there were bagpipes everywhere! I even got serenaded while getting cash! DC's parade was the 16th. Ken was on his way to a trade show in California, but I went (without my camera--just imagine that there are monuments in the back of the Alexandria parade pictures and you will get the same effect).

Ken and I enjoyed many pints of Guinness on the porch in the warm early March weather, too, but it certainly doesn't have to be March for us to enjoy Guinness.

One of the reasons that I was excited to be moving to a city was finally being able to walk anywhere I wanted to go (I HATE driving). Shortly after we moved to the DC metro area, The Onion had an article that said, "When moving to the city, you imagined yourself prancing through the streets, returning from the local market carrying a perfectly tailored tote with a rustic roll of bread and leafy greens peeping out. Well, forget that--you're in DC, not Paris." Well, I am happy to say that I am proving them wrong! Each Saturday I walk to the farmer's market in Market Square. This was my basket the Saturday of Easter weekend. This is what I wanted my "new life" in the city to be. Walking to get freshly roasted coffee, farm fresh eggs and flowers, an organic baguette baked in the wee hours of the morning, and locally grown produce.

We spent a relaxing Easter just the two of us. Ken made my favorite dessert, his pineapple upside-down cake. I took a picture of it, but it is so ridiculously out of focus that it will not go on display here.

The last weekend of the month the cherry blossoms were at their peak, and fortunately, we were able to see them with friends who were visiting for the weekend. The trees line the path that goes entirely around the tidal basin at the Jefferson Memorial. It is a brilliant setup--when you are up at the fence looking across the tidal basin toward the monument, you can forget that there are thousands of people around you and really enjoy the beauty of the trees. The cherry blossoms mark the start of the tourist season in DC, and the crowds at the metro stations that weekend attested to that fact.

It was also perfect timing for our friends' visit, because it was the last weekend that Stephen Colbert's portrait was at the National Portrait Gallery, hanging in the second floor bathrooms alcove. Right next to this "display" is an exhibition of portraits of US presidents. I saw a few people milling around there, and one person taking a picture of the Clinton portrait. Meanwhile, at the Colbert portrait, there was a continuous line, the excited chatter of fans, and non-stop camera flashes. Maybe the South Carolina Democratic Party should have kept Stephen Colbert on the primary ballot. He seems to be quite the uniter!

In addition to all the activity in DC, another friend and his running group ended a 20 mile run in Alexandria, and so I met them at the Torpedo Factory with orange juice and coffee cake from the farmer's market.

We hope you all are well and having a good spring (or end of winter, as your climate may dictate).

Amanda and Ken.