Washington D.C.

Nine months after our trip to France, my in-laws had completely recovered from their seven days and nights with the little ones. It was time to hit them up for another kid-free weekend. We had good reasons for going out of town-- a long overdue trip to see my sister-in-law Caroline, and a new play at The Kennedy Center directed by none other than our own Kathleen Amshoff.

Caroline will turn 25 on Saturday. By this young age, she has gotten an undergraduate degree from Wake Forest, a masters degree from American University, and now she has one of the most coveted art gallery jobs in the country, working in the development office of the National Gallery. Every morning she walks through this lobby to get to her office:


Here's a view of the National Gallery and its ice rink and sculpture garden with the US Capitol in the background:

Not bad, eh?

We shuffled behind Caroline as she shepherded us to some fabulous restaurants in several different DC hot spots. We watched her sweet talk a cop into letting her park in the perfect space right in front of the gallery on a busy Saturday afternoon. We got to know her very considerate and generous boyfriend, who sacrificed his entire weekend for a couple of tourists from Texas, and seemed genuinely happy to do it. Caroline is thriving, and it was a thrill for us to be a part of her world for the weekend.

Caroline and Brian outside one of her favorite cafes:

Caroline and Ward at breakfast on Sunday morning:


On Saturday evening, we watched American Scrapbook: A Celebration of Verse. Here we are in front of the Kennedy Center:

Here is one of the many posters hung in the Kennedy Center's breathtaking lobby that read "Director Kathleen Amshoff." (It's a little blurry; trust me, it's there, right under the word "verse.")


If I had seen a show like this one when I was as young as this play's target audience, I may have become a true poetry lover. Alas, when I was in junior high, this play's director was still in the early stages of her craft, forced to work with sub-par actors, like myself, in history fairs and the like.

Kathleen is one of my oldest and closest friends. There is no way I could articulate what her friendship means to me without catapulting this blog into the realm of the intolerably cheesy, if it isn't there already. So I will just say, I love her dearly. Many months ago when she told me she would be making her Kennedy Center debut, I knew we would be there. I'm sure she will appreciate me saying -- what is the point of selling out and dedicating your life to the pursuit of the almighty dollar if you won't spend your money on trips to see your starving artist friend when she makes it big?

And make it big she did. Truly entertaining show in a world-class venue. It doesn't get any better than that.

Kathleen and I are in the GWU Inn after the show:


What a weekend! While we were gone, Amanda and Elizabeth got the royal treatment from their grandparents. Lucky kids; lucky parents.