Mama and Papa reunite on the East Coast!

My dear friend Chris, my Papashu, rolled into town from New York on Friday evening. I met him on U Street and we walked to my place, unloaded his business, and then set off to 8th street in my old neighborhood for dinner. We ended up at a Belgian cafe, which was pricey but delicious, and I ate some sort of scallop and rockfish dish covered in unusual gravy and after agonizing deliberation over Belgian frites, Chris had the flank steak. There were something like 150 beers there. Everyone complains about the lack of great beer in DC, but they clearly haven't been to the Belgian Cafe! I had some sort of crisp, fruity white beer and it was precisely what I wanted on such a hot, sticky Friday night. After a long catch-up session, we decided to head to Adam's Morgan to bar hop. In actuality, we found this offbeat little bar called Pharmacy and settled in for the evening. Adams Morgan is a great place for people watching, and we watched the young, hip, and drunk stumble past our pleasant window seat.

On Saturday, we had to wait for Chris to finish his work before we went exploring. Unfortunately, since he writes for a music blog and Amy Winehouse had just died, that wasn't until 3:00, at which time the temperature was blasting past 100 degrees. Did it seem like a good idea to go to the memorials in the heat? No. Did we do it anyway? Yes!

We exited the metro at the Navy Memorial, which is next to the National Archives. I had never paid much attention to it, but Chris had to take a moment to eat a snack, so I wandered around and found it to be a quietly poignant memorial.

Part of the memorial with the National Archives in the background.

These sculptured panels were gorgeous and depicted various aspects of the Navy life and history.

We struggled down the Mall toward the memorials and made slow progress due to the heat and a quick stop at the American History museum for air conditioning and a restroom. Our first destination was the Washington Monument, and then the White House! I was incredibly pleased with the situation at the White House, because whereas when I was there last week it was fenced off, on Saturday we were able to walk right up to the gate. Unfortunately, there was little shade and our revelry was short-lived.

Papashu on the Mall!

"The Castle."

This is a neat statue in front of the American History Museum.

Much closer this time!

This photo was some sort of cuteness miracle, because I did NOT look that good in real life.

After this picture, we were both on the verge of what felt like heatstroke, so we got some extra water and tried to stay in the shade as we made our way to the World War II Memorial.