I realize that many people don’t consider Columbus Day a reason to celebrate, but I always looked forward to it nonetheless simply because it meant a 3 day weekend and an extra Monday off of school.

I’m not quite as fortunate this year. I’ll be spending the day without students, but doing my best to focus on professional development.

What was fortunate was that this past weekend, Scott’s parents drove south and joined us for a a few days. After seeing my Dad and step-mom a few weekends ago, it was fun to welcome the other side of the family and continue to show off the amazing place we currently call home.

The ‘rents didn’t arrive until late Friday night, so we made our plans for Saturday and Sunday. Lucky for us, we have been privileged to work with the Food Should Taste Good group over the past few months and scored a couple of passes to The Taste of DC – a culinary festival of epic proportions. Boasting over 40 restaurants and 20 food trucks, we managed to navigate the crowds to some of the best cuisine this city has to offer.

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Our first stop was the Food Should Taste Good booth, where there were free samples galore. I had no idea (even after tasting and loving so many flavors) they even carried as many varieties as they do. Kimchi? Buffalo Wing? Harvest Pumpkin? Always impressed with the product, and excited to keep trying new flavors…

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We wandered around and found several awesome plates, though we filled up on one area before really exploring all 5 blocks of Pennsylvania avenue. I will admit, this was my very first food truck experience – and I walked away a happy and satisfied customer. My favorite? Meggrolls version of the eggroll. Though I would choose to live on guacamole first, I would second that with eggrolls.

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It was a rainy Saturday so we didn’t stay too long at the festival. We discovered that Scott’s dad had never seen the White House, so being as close as we were we traveled the few blocks down to get a good luck at her in all her white beauty. I still marvel at the history and grandeur of it every time I visit.

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Still full from our afternoon at the Taste of DC, we stayed in and munched on Kettle Corn and apple cider donut sundaes while watching Winter’s Tale. Did anyone see this? I was massively disappointed, but had heard it was not favored after it was released.

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Sunday morning meant a stroll in Old Town before settling on brunch at one of our favorite spots – Virtue Feed and Grain. Though we have done dinner here and loved it, Sunday was our first ever brunch. It was delicious, and I actually stepped out of my Benedict comfort zone to indulge in on a Frittata Ranchera. Amazing.

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After brunch, we took in the sights at National Harbor. Always love seeing the statue coming out of the sand, and who doesn’t love a freestanding Peep store?

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Sunday evening was spent relaxing and watching one of my all time favorite films – The Count of Monte Cristo. We ordered pizza and just relished in curling up on a perfect weekend night.

Scott’s parents left this morning and though Scott has the day off, I’m off to work. He’s already promised to make dinner tonight, so I figure the day is already a success :)

Happy Monday, all. What did you do this past weekend?

Al