Weekend Getaway: Washington, DC

In an effort to spend more time together (which is surprisingly really hard to do these days), beau and I decided to take a weekend trip away to the nation's capital. We booked two nights in a hotel in Maryland - about a 30 minute drive from D.C. a couple weeks in advance and excitedly waited in anticipation for this time away from home. I haven't been to DC in 10+ years (I attended a pre-college program at the University of Maryland College Park during the summer of my junior and senior year of high school and we always took trips to the museums in DC).

 After work Friday evening, we sat down and had leftovers for dinner, packed up a few last minute items and got on the road around 7:30 pm. Despite my fear of being stuck in traffic, the ride south was pretty easy and smooth. We arrived at our hotel at around 10 pm and tucked in for the night. 

Saturday morning, we woke up pretty early. It was almost like clockwork. Clearly sleeping in wasn't in the stars for us, even if we tried. That was okay though, as we had plans to see a really cool art exhibit at the Hirshorn (Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors) and knew we had to stand in line for tickets. We arrived at the museum at around 9 am, and no-lie, the line to the museum spanned 2.5 really long city blocks. We decided to give it a shot anyway and stood in line for an hour. Within the first five minutes of getting in the queue, we moved about up about the length of 1-1.5 blocks, so that was amazing to us. We were sure we would get in at that rate. But at about 40 minutes in, and only moving up a few feet as patrons seemingly lost their patience and got out of line, I decided to take a walk down to the entrance to see exactly how many more people were ahead of us. Needless to say, there were a LOT! I mean, the line ahead of us stretched about one long city block down (0.2 miles), then wrapped around the gate to the museum, and then around the circular shaped building. That was enough for me to give up on seeing the exhibit. With that many people in line, we were not guaranteed to get in. Plus, it would be a huge waste to our day. So, we excused ourselves from the line and made our way towards the Washington Monument. (Btw, the line was about 2.5 blocks long BEHIND us!!!)

We spent the rest of the day walking around the city, stopping at all the monuments and memorials. The distance between each seemed a little daunting, especially as we ventured over to the Thomas Jefferson memorial and still wanted to get to the White House and the Capitol Building. But we toughed it out and got our steps in! My legs almost failed me by the time we got to the Capitol. A part of me was a little happy that they had closed the steps off, because I honestly don't think I would have made it.

We took a little rest break at the Capitol then started making our way to the car. We passed by the U.S. Bontanic Garden just a few blocks ahead and had to stop inside! I am glad we did. It's what #urbanjungleblog dreams are made of! We finished the evening off with dinner and an Asian fusion place back in Maryland, played a few rounds of a card game (it's our thing) and then went to bed. The next day, we took it easy. Check--out was at noon, so we slept in (and honestly spent a good chunk of time trying to find a brunch spot that wasn't fully booked for Mother's Day), had brunch, then drove home.

This kind of trip is not everyone's cup of tea, but we enjoyed it. We love going to places we've never been before to explore. The break away from the stresses of life is also nice. I find that I am much more pleasant when I'm away, and Beau's mind is more at ease. Also, I'm pretty sure I lost a couple inches in my trouble areas from that walk!

Korean BBQ

The food culture in America, especially in larger cities like Philadelphia is so great. It is comprised of a blend of cuisines from all around the world. I used to be the person who stuck to what I knew. Wherever we went, I would order a chicken dish... like, I was THAT plain. Even though I am a Jamaican and we eat pretty peculiar dishes like pigstail, tripe and beef liver and kidney I would eat those things, but stay clear from everything else that was unfamiliar. Calamari?- no way! sushi?- definitely not! I think it was after I began dating Beau that I became a little more adventurous. So much so that I now crave sushi, and I am willing to try things like escargot when we go on super fancy dinner dates. 

I have tried many regional cuisines since we started dating, but one cuisine I have yet to try was Korean- specifically Korean barbecue.  After viewing a few Youtube videos with Korean foodfare (eg. clothesencounters), I decided I really wanted to try it. Hubs found us a deal to Miga in the Fairmount Park section of Philadelphia. We went on a Sunday evening and I was pretty excited to go. The menu was a little daunting because they did not have normal meats like beef or pork, they were listed as bulgogi and galbi -- and what actually is that?! We decided on the Korean bbq for two and had our ingredients mis en place in no time. 

We started out a little dainty, placing one or two meats and a few vegetables at a time. The waiter then came over and seized our utensils-- tongs and a pair of meat cutting scissors-- and threw a couple more things on the fire, chopped up the large pieces of beef into smaller ones and started brushing the sauces on. ------------I guess we weren't doing it right!! 😂--------------------- After that , we got a little more comfortable with how everything worked and made sure that guy did not have to come back again. We ate and were strangely satisfied, even though it didn't seem like a lot of food at the time.

Overall, it was a good experience. I can finally say that I tried Korean barbecue! But will I ever go back there again? Probably not to this specific locatio-- for two reasons only: (1) the portions of the sides seemed so meager. I'm talking like, ONE piece of bell pepper and a very sad 5 stalks of broccoli; and (2) I felt like it was missing something. Maybe the company of others friends/family, or maybe additional sides (like you see in googled images of Korean bbq). Whatever it was, I do believe our experience could have been a little better. I will probably eat these words in a couple years if  someone mentions going out for Korean barbecue and I end up going, but for now, it's up there with Hibachi, where the first time experience is fun and exciting, but it's not something you would want to do on a monthly basis. Maybe once a year or every six months so the experience and excitement is fresh again.

Have you ever dined at a Korean BBQ?

Article 13: Art Installation

The Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts kicked off on Friday night with an eye-catching exhibit called Article 13 at Penn's Landing.  Here is a little blurb on the show/exhibition:

"Equal parts installation, spectacle, and documentary, Article 13 is a large-scale story made out of small stories in a constant state of evolution, based on current events related to immigration. A collaboration between Compagnie Carabosse (France) & Teatro Linea de Sombra (Mexico), Article 13 is a memorial to the thousands of migrants who have disappeared and at the same time it gives back human face, flesh and identity to the anonymous ones lost in search of a better world.

The memorial, made of sand and fire, personifies the scope of the phenomenon of immigration through the non-traditional presentation of statistical data, economic evidence, geopolitical aspects, the forms of those who have disappeared, and how things relate to each other. Along this path of inhabited installation, audiences are touched by words, snatches of conversation, and accounts given by migrants; providing seemingly lost perspective that these people — before they were statistics, or a number of 'disappeared' in the media, or even dangerous suspects — before all else, are human beings." (source)

Immediately after entering the gates to the outdoor exhibit, we saw these wooden statues 'walking' through bits of sand, surrounded by candles. Through the speakers, we could hear the voices of men and women with accents specific to the native lands telling their stories of wanting to make a better life for themselves-- having a dream and wanting to fulfill it. This resonated with me as I myself am an immigrant and the daughter of one. My mother told me stories of leaving Jamaica when I was 10 months and coming to America to make a better life for herself and her children. I am sure that most migrants share this story of hope and desire. This is also a relevant topic since immigration is such a hot button topic these days.

As we walked into the main exhibit, we were coming upon the finale (gahh! finding parking downtown is the worst!). Every section of the lot had a fire pit of some sort set up. The performers all had a routine that no one seemed to understand initially, but then it began making sense. They doused the clothing in water, slapped it on the fire pit, walked around and showed it to everyone, and then laid it down on the ground. I saw this as symbolism for those people who risked their lives trying to cross the waters-- trying to cross the borders, but they didn't quite make it. The performers made it a point to remember those people. It was not enough to remember those who have made it, but to also remember those who had similar dreams, but were not able to make it a reality.

    

The exhibit runs until tonight, April 10, 2016. It is completely free. If you are able to see it, then go.  It begins at 9pm.

Premier

Last weekend we drove down to Ocean City, MD with our church to attend Premier Winterfest. Winterfest is sort of like a convention for young Christians (mostly teens and young adults). It was my first time attending something like this, although I vaguely remember going to Summerfest when I was in high school. Our church went last year and many of the young people came back on fire for God. It was no different this year. I too am refreshed from this experience. It was so beautiful seeing a huge auditorium full of teens and young adults raising their hands up in worship to the Lord. I wish I had this attitude and spirit when I was that age. Who knows where I would be now. I do enjoy the process I went through to get where I am now though. Everyone has to have their own story... their own process. Still,it was also a great time to fellowship with some of the younger people from our church. Beau thought it was a good idea for us to interact with them on a one on one level and I can truly say that I enjoyed it.

That weekend was also the first time I got to fully test out my DSLR. I can honestly say that I got some beautiful shots from it, but there is still so much to learn. Here are some photos from the event: