28-29 July - Lots of Walking

Walked 1 hour in the neighborhood around home in Arlington on Monday. Surprised and relieved to not be sore from the bike rides this weekend. Tuesday walked an hour at lunch. Sunny and humid. Not so great for slacks and a dress shirt. People in the office thought I had spilled a glass of water on myself. It was sweat. Early evening, walked an hour and a half from Eastern Market to the Washington Monument on the National Mall and back with walking buddy, Kim. Smart, beautiful, kind, and very wise with counsel-- it is always a pleasure to spend time with Kim, but especially nice to make exercise so pleasant.

27 July - 35.25 Km Bike Ride

Rode from home in Arlington, VA, past the Air Force Memorial, through Pentagon City and Crystal City, went opposite direction on the Mt. Vernon Trail from yesterday into DC via the 14th Street Bridge by the Jefferson Memorial. Went up to Constitution Ave. by the National Mall, and made my circuitous way to Nationals Stadium. Crossed the Frederick Douglass/South Capitol Street Bridge, turned around, and headed home. It took 2 hours to do 35.25 km (21.90 miles.) Humidity was a lot higher today, and it was a tough ride for me, but if I stay consistent, it will get better.

26 July - 40K Bike Ride

photo of Mt. Vernon Trail along the Potomac River, courtesy of www.bikewashington.org


Rode from home to meet Joe at Gravelly Point by National Airport. From there we rode down the Mt. Vernon Trail to a turnaround at the 7 mile mark, and headed back. Very scenic and green, with tall trees, some city riding through part of Old Town Alexandria, and much of it within view of the river. A nice workout. Getting back from Gravelly Point to home was a chore, especially coming up the hill by the Air Force Memorial.


US Air Force Memorial


A good ride today. Would be nice if it is the start of a consistent exercise trend.

24 July - Walk to Union Station

Walked 1 hour in Capitol Hill to and from Union Station. It was a decent evening-- not too humid, a pleasant breeze-- and a nice walk. Other people were out walking dogs, jogging, having dinner outside at restaurants in the area. Very nice.

19 July -- Bike Ride

Yesterday went for a walk in the neighborhoof for an hour and 15 minutes. A fairly warm day, but a nice walk.

Today, went for the first bike ride in a while. Tried to go to Crystal City by back roads, made it to Shirlington, and through some neighborhoods, then had to turn around and come back 4 Mile Run Trail to Colombia Pike and back home. about an hour ride, and 12 miles covered. Very warm out. Had the Camelbak that had been in the freezer all day. Cools off my back, and gives me ice water for the entire ride.

Need to do more biking. Next time, hope to meet a friend or two to ride on the Mt Vernon Trail. Did that a lot last year. A ncie ride. The trails in the area are a great benefit to being here.

July 10

Walked an hour in Capitol Hill today, jogged a little around Lincoln Park. Not too warm-- a nice day. Trying to walk and jog a little more, get back to the level I had in February, then surpass it.

Dan went to tennis tonight. He plays volleyball several hours on Tuesdays and tennis on Thursdays. He also has occasional tennis, volleyball, and walleyball on weekends. He is very consistent.

5 July

Tonight we went to a restaurant in the Chinatown area of Washington, DC with a work colleague of Dan's and her husband. They are very nice, absolutely charming, and we had a great time with them. Unfortunately, Zengo, the restaurant, was not what we had hoped for. It is Mexican/Asian fusion. We are very adventurous when it comes to food, so we were willing to give it a fair try. The food was over-priced, the selection, chef, and waiter were all way too affected, and the food menu, as well as the wine menu, were very limited. It is one thing to be snooty if you are truly providing the very best food and drink around. Not in good taste or necessary, but understandable. Let's just say they should be VERY humble and friendly, because the food ain't cuttin' it. I'm not judging, I'm just sayin'...

We have dined at CityZen, Le Paradou, The Inn at Little Washington, Clyde's, Ruth's Chris, 1789, L'Auberge Chez Francois, and other very nice restaurants in DC, as well as amazing restaurants in Dallas, Texas--Hattie's, Strasbourg, France--La Cloche a Fromage, Stuttgart, Germany--Glemseck, and elsewhere. And we are fat. Well, I am, anyway. Dan is 1/2 Samoan, so he carries it well. Trust me, we KNOW excellent food and service when we have it, and Zengo is a waste of time and money. We had much better cuisine at a fraction of the price at El Original Mexican Restaurant, in Hubbard, Texas. If you find yourself on Highway 31 going through Central Texas between Corsicana and Waco, you really should stop in Hubbard and have a meal at El Original. Amazing fajitas for a steal of a price.

At least the company was great-- we had a good time visiting and laughing at Dan stories I told them. Try one of the restaurants I named above, or go to Indigo Landing in Alexandria, Virginia. Great food, great views, and you will be very pleased. Do check out the prices and attire for the venues mentioned here. They vary drastically from the extremely affordable to "we are going to have to volunteer in a soup kitchen for a year to work off the karma from spending this much on a single meal for two people..."

Happy July 4th

Had a lot of chores to do today, and got them all done. Very happy about that. Cleaned the condo, had coffee with Scott, exercised an hour:
walk 15 minutes, jogged 2 miles @ 6.0 mph/20 minutes, and walked 25 more minutes. Just getting back into exercise after a hiatus.

Will have some friends over for board games and to watch fireworks on TV and from the balcony. Have a nice sweet white wine to go with a very nice cheese, some salmon pate, red wine, dips, various crackers, and scones with chocolate sauce for dipping. Should be very nice.

It was very nice. Had Bob, Scott, and Christy over. The cheese and souterne wine were incredible. Watched fireworks from the balcony. Couldn't see the National Mall because of a building in the way, but had it on TV. Also had many, many fireworks going off in the neighborhood. A breathtaking amount of money spent on some pretty high-quality fireworks that went on for several hours. Very impressive. Much more relaxing than fighting the crowds on the Mall. A perfect evening.

July 1 - Walking

Dan and I went to Europe for a week or so. Food in Stuttgart, Germany and Strasbourg, France was incredible. Will talk about specifics in a later post. Did a lot of walking there, as well.

Tonight need to post that Saturday and Sunday, walked 75 minutes in neighborhood, and Monday evening walked 30 minutes, jogged 10 minutes, and then went inside (was getting rained on) and did 45 minutes on the crosstrainer at level 14.

Tonight, walked with Kim-- always a joy to be around-- on the National Mall. We chatted, caught up on our lives, and walked 1 hour, 20 minutes.