Old Stomping Grounds, DC Day Two

Friday morning, the hub woke and then left for meetings. Me? I slept in. After waking up at 4 a.m. on Thursday to catch the flight, I needed a little catching up to do to say the least! But I didn't stay in bed too long. There was much to do! I had tried to contact a couple of friends just as I was leaving and leaving cryptic notes in Valentines and such. My friend in Leesburg contacted me and so that was where I was heading first thing. My brother Jim told me he "wouldn't be heart broken" if I didn't get to see him at the Capitol. tehe. Well. I did have plans on seeing him on Sunday, so I didn't feel so bad.

It was fun seeing so much of my history all around me. I first passed the old USA TODAY building in Rosslyn (Arlington). How many years did I spend on the 20th floor here? A lot! And how many wonderful lunches and dinners at the old Windows restaurant? Many. I was sure happy after they moved out to Tyson's. After 9/11, all I did was worry about that building displaying the proud USA TODAY on the top. It's the tallest building in the area, towering over any building in DC across the river. (We used to be able to read the airplane numbe when they would buzzy by! Scary!) But, it was the best for watching the 4th of July fireworks shot from the Washington Monument across the way.

I was happy to remember all the shortcuts back to Leesburg, VA from town. I was like an old pro. Sometimes I get lost when I come back home, but I was doing pretty well this trip. Of course, I got an early start so I could go through the old neighborhood and see the house we built way back when. It's still standing tall--just not as happy as when we lived there, of course. No doubt. I was happy to run into an old neighbor who just happened to be parked in front of our old house. We both jumped out and hugged but didn't have a lot of time to chat. Hope I hear from her soon.

It was then time to meet Linda at the Lightfoot Cafe. This is my favorite restaurant in Leesburg. It used to be a tiny room in one of the row houses. The bar was downstairs, and the three rooms for dining were up. The boys were small and the hub and I would have our nice date night here.

The two sisters later transformed the old bank around the corner into a fabulous restaurant. It's absolutely brilliant! This is where the kid lost his first tooth, in a bowl of fettuccine Alfredo! Try and find a tiny baby tooth in that stuff. The tooth faerie must have been looking over my shoulder because miraculously, I went right to it. After making a scene, I rushed the kid to the bathroom to clean up the blood (lovely). When we returned, he had a standing ovation by the diners. It was so memorable, to say the least. Awwww.

Linda and I caught up with cosmos running freely. It was wonderful seeing her again. We talked about so many things like we had never been apart. Such a good friend.

We finally got around to ordering lunch and ended with a slice of the YaYa cake--a rich flourless chocolate concoction which I always order when I come here. We used to call the teenager John Ya Ya (from Buckaroo Banzai) so it's always a must to order!

They kept a lot of the old bank intact, thank goodness. It is just marvelous. (Sorry a lot of the photos are blurred--no flash.)

I don't think I have ever eaten upstairs before. I remember the kid running up and down this staircase though when we would arrive before the place filled up.

Jeeves gives me the heeby jeebies. I kept on eyeing him wondering if he was listening in on Linda's and my conversation!

After lunch, Linda and I walked around town and hit a few shops. I miss it here. Sigh. This is the third courthouse that was erected in Leesburg, built in 1895. The previous ones were built in 1758 and 1811--the second surviving the Civil War. All about are sites from the war and it's told the area is extremely haunted! Oooooh.

A cute puppy greeted us at the door of one of the shops. But the time went by too quickly and before I knew it, I had to head back into town to meet up with the hub. Never enough time.

The hub and I had made reservations at one of our oldest and favorite DC restaurants, Nora's. Again, we remember it way back when (before the Clintons put it on the map and she had to expand--boohiss). There was a day when she didn't even take credit cards, only cash or check. It was a quaint little place, again probably two rooms only with wonderful old quilts on the wall, a fireplace and the only organic restaurant at the time. I've had some of my all-time favorite meals here. We taxied in and enjoyed pointing out all the old haunts on the way in from 7th and F Streets. The taxi driver was quite impressed until he learned we had lived here so many years before. It was a blast seeing everything again. The hub and I got a real kick out of it as we always do.

It was too dark to take photos of the meal. I ordered the Valentine's prix fixe dinner and the hub opted for ala carte. Let's see, I remember the pate appetizer and lobster for the main course. After that, I don't have a clue. Too many cosmos I suppose. It was a cosmo weekend, let me tell you.

I was so excited when I went to the loo and saw the transom with the light shining outside. Silly me, I know. I had to whip out the camera and take a shot. We had transoms in our old place when we lived in Georgetown. Awwww. Such memories. Sniffle.

After dinner, we walked over to DuPont Circle, yet another favorite area I/we spent a lot of time. Our favorite store is Kramer Books and Afterwords. We've spent many an hour in here browsing and shopping. Of course, we bought more books to lug home with us. It's just a great place.

Inside and out. You never know who you'll run into here. I still had the cosmo buzz going so who knows who I was knocking elbows with. (The eagle, at the top, was a window display somewhere around DuPont.)

It was such a great day and ended with a perfect evening. I was happy to have the hub finished with work.