Kayaking on the Potomac

The William & Mary D.C. office has been organizing great events for students and alumni this summer, and one of my favorites by far was kayaking on the Potomac River.  One evening after work earlier in June, I made my way over to the Keybridge Boathouse in Georgetown.  The boathouse is located almost directly under Key Bridge, and also rents out canoes and paddleboards, plus they have grills and picnic tables (it would be a great place for a party!).

After a quick tutorial (I've been canoeing a few times but I'd never been in a kayak before), I settled into my bright green kayak. Though my first stroke was incredibly wobbly, I got the hang of it fairly quickly and set out to explore! It was very cool to see Georgetown, Rosslyn, and glimpses of the monuments from the middle of the river.

~All the kayaks piled up at the side of the river~

~View of Rosslyn from the kayak~

~Glimpse of the Kennedy Center and Roosevelt Island on the right~

~Pretty much the only way to get this view of Key Bridge~

~New way to watch a sunset!~

Getting to Know Capitol Hill

Though I've lived in D.C. my entire life, I'd never been to Capitol Hill until I started commuting there for my internship at the Library of Congress. Beyond the library's doors, I'm discovering that it's a really charming area with its own personality. I'm working on exploring all the restaurants and cafes in the area (I'll post my suggested food guide soon!), and I've also started wandering the residential streets that emanate from the Hill in every direction.

I found lots of shady streets, cute row houses, and great architecture:

~Residential houses just off Pennsylvania~

~St. Peter's on Capitol Hill~

~The blue, red, and orange doors remind me of the Doors of Dublin~

There are also a lot of parks and flowers in the area:

   

~Purple spring flowers~

Also, because I can't help myself, yet more perspectives of the Capitol:

~Looking at the Capitol from the south~

~Quite a to do the day the NSA hearings started~

And lastly, some views from the LOC:

~The dome of the Jefferson Building on a gorgeous day~

~View from the 6th floor of the Madison Building~

DC Tour: Lincoln's Assassination

Earlier this week I had the chance to participate in a walking tour of Lincoln's assassination in downtown DC. I met up with several students from my New Media class to do the tour as an assignment, but it was certainly not a typical class activity! The tour was offered by Free Tours By Foot, which operates in several cities and offers a variety of activities (here's the link to the Lincoln Assassination tour).

~Tour began at Lafayette Park, across from the White House~

The tour began by the White House, with the tour guide walking us through the night of the assassination as we progressed to Ford's Theater. It included a ton of great information that I hadn't learned before. For instance, the tour guide explained that John Wilkes Booth was part of a group called the Confederate Secret Service whose mission was to cause havoc in the Union. Through this group, Booth planned to have Lincoln, the Vice President, and the Secretary of State killed on the same night (though they only succeeded in killing Lincoln).

~Tour guide outside of Ford's Theater~

The tour guide did a great job of telling the story, and the tour's two hours passed by quickly. At the end of the evening, the tour ended with the guide reciting a stanza of "O Captain! My Captain!" written by Walt Whitman after witnessing Lincoln's funeral procession. It was an appropriate and moving end to the tour.

I highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in history in DC! I plan to investigate some of the group's other tours in DC, too.

~Glimpse of the Capitol at the end of the night~

Mexican Taco Pie

Last weekend I decided to switch things up and a) make dinner for a change, and b) try a new recipe. The dish I chose was Mexican Taco Pie, and it was delicious: like a Mexican casserole filled with veggies, beans, and cheese topped with crumbled tortilla chips and served in a tortilla crust.

The original recipe is below. I made several changes when I tried it out, which I've indicated in italics. During dinner, I also served additional tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream (in case it was too spicy!), as well as a side dish of refried beans with melted cheese.

 ~Pie fresh out of the oven~

~Garnish ingredients: lettuce, cheese, tomato, sour cream, tortilla chips~

~Recipe below from cooking.com (link here)~

INGREDIENTS For Pie: Pastry for Single-Crust Pie (I used a layer of corn tortillas laid out across a glass pie dish) 1/2 cup finely crushed corn chips 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper For Filling: 1 pound ground beef (I used black beans instead of meat) 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 teaspoons chili powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin one 16-ounce can tomatoes, cut up (undrained) one 4-ounce can diced green chiles, drained (I used a canned pepper in adobe sauce instead of green chiles) one 4-ounce package cream cheese, cubed one 8-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed, drained (I used corn instead of kidney beans; fresh corn or canned corn both work!) 1 beaten egg For Garnish: 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 1 medium tomato, chopped 1/3 cup sour cream 1/4 cup coarsely crushed corn chips

DIRECTIONS FOR PIE: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare pastry (you can use this recipe, or instead use a layer of corn tortillas like I did), except stir in 1/2 cup crushed corn chips and, if desired, the crushed red pepper with the flour and salt. Roll out and line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry. Trim and crimp edge of pastry. In a 10-inch skillet cook beef, onion, and garlic till meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in chili powder, salt, and cumin. Stir in undrained tomatoes, chili peppers, cream cheese, and kidney beans. Stir until cheese melts. Stir about 1 cup of the meat mixture into egg. Return all to skillet and mix well. Transfer filling to pie shell. To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie with foil. Bake 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake until crust is golden. Let stand 10 minutes. FOR GARNISH: Top pie with lettuce, cheese, tomato, sour cream, and 1/4 cup corn chips.

Friday Night Show

This Friday my sister and I went to Crystal City to see a friend's band perform at Tortoise and Hare. Tortoise and Hare turned out to be a pretty nice bar (it was my first time there), with good food and a relaxed vibe. The band, The Greensides, is a cover band with a lot of 90s songs in their sets, so you can bet I was loving the nostalgia of the night. A bunch of friends came out to see the performance, and since most of us are in our 20s, there was definitely some middle/high school reminiscing.

The bar had a nice stage space, and the four-man band played a great show. Every time I see live music, I want to be a musician a little bit--it's easy to get caught up in the glamor of it all. Sadly, the single semester of drums I took in college is not enough to support a career, so I'll have to settle for being a frequent audience member.

Below are some photos and a video of the night. Get ready for a Green Day/Blink 182 type of mood!

~Stage in between sets~

~Fun lights on the floor~

~The Greensides playing~

~Intro to 'I Guess This is Growing Up'~