Home is where everything is.: Back from our work-cation (and other chaos)

As mentioned in my previous post, I had a work conference last week in National Harbor, MD. B was able to take some time off work to go with me. Monday - Thursday morning I attended sessions, supported our presence on the tradeshow floor, live blogged key events (Yes, I get to do it for work, too.), and took video clips. Basically, a little bit of everything (the life of a marketer). On Thursday - Sunday, we stayed on Ft. Belvoir in Virginia. Ft. Belvoir holds fun memories for me - it was where I was born.

There's something so great about vacation. I'm just not a relaxed person by nature, but being away from our normal routine really helps me to be ~~a little less obnoxious~~ more calm. For a short period of time, your normal obligations aren't there, and you get to explore more freely - embracing the title of "tourist."

On Sunday, we grabbed dinner at this fun, Mexican restaurant that was known for its guacamole. I only recently developed a taste for guacamole, but now I love it, so "guacamole made fresh at your table" was right up our alley.

After dinner, we checked out our temporary home. National Harbor is one of those live-work-play developments that jams condos, hotels, shops, and restaurants into a 1.5 mile square space.

(The hubs was trying out the new video camera that accompanied me to work for aforementioned video clips.)

I'm not sure about living there (Things were expensive!), but it was fun to avoid the car and just walk everywhere for a few days. The whole area is punctuated by the harbor it backs up to. This view made for beautiful sunsets and a pleasant breeze for morning runs.

On Friday, we trekked downtown to visit the Newseum. It's relatively new, and it features a ton of stuff related to the past and present of media and journalism. It was pricey to get in, so we spent 5 hours there to make sure we got our money's worth. They had a phenomonal collection of newspapers (and their predecessors) - some more than 500 years old. It was really cool to see everything in one place. We also really enjoyed their collection of Pullitzer Prize winning photos. The other cool thing was the view from the top floor.

Pennsylvania Avenue

With the Capitol building in the background

Before we left downtown, we visited the Navy Memorial. That's the Lone Sailor.

On Saturday, we checked out Annapolis. I wanted to stay there. I think I belong in "southern New England."

Awesome.

While there, we ate at a place called Chick and Ruth's. It was super busy and slightly chaotic, but eating there is worth the effort. Adam from Man V Food beat their food challenge once. How cool is that? (Also - references to the show were everywhere.)

I snuck a shot of the "collossal milkshake." This was one half of Adam's food challenge.

Other best parts of the DC area - IKEA! And 7Eleven! Slurpees for the win.

While I was working, B contacted the Navy sailing club and managed to connect with a retired gentleman with a 46-ft sailboat. They spent a few hours sailing the Potomac on Tuesday. I didn't get to join them, but this was an insane opportunity. Investing in a boat like this is like investing in a house (an expensive one, at that),, so the guy was incredibly generous to let B in on the fun. I was pretty proud that he actually took a few pictures.