I moved from Maine to Virginia/DC a few years ago - which already leads me in another direction to ask the question of when can a person say they live in their current city, without having to say, "I'm originally from Maine or California or the Moon?" Seems the conversation always circles back to where you began in life, not so much of where you are today. Anyway, back to my story. When I moved, I left behind most of my immediate family, co-workers, friends and a few very close girlfriends. One of those gal pals is the Accessory Queen of New England...the Chick from Chickieville...Simply Jules Accessories President/CEO - Julie, Julie, Julie. But, for some reason I cannot explain or have forgotten in my Alzheimer moment, she and I call each other Chickie. Images of cute, yellow chicks come to mind? Sometimes it is just The Chick, Chick-a-licious or Chicka but NEVER Chicken. That takes on a whole other meaning.
So, The Chick came for a visit a couple of weeks ago. This is significant for one main reason - it's her first visit in a very long time. She has three gorgeous children, two jobs, a husband...need I say more? Not much "Chick" time, but that all changed when one of those great birds in the sky flew her straight to the Nation's Capitol. I convinced Hubby to spend a nice, quiet weekend with the Pup and Kitty in Prendaville (after I also provided him with a Honey Do list that would require hammers, paintbrushes and even a power washer) and I was ready to "Paint the Town" with my Chick. Before Hubby left the city, Chick asked for some Ibuprofen, Tylenol, whatever I might have on hand. I knew Hubby had some pills, so I grabbed some Ibuprofen out of his nightstand and fed them to The Chick. This piece of information is important. We shall come back to this throughout this story.
The first night, we explored Penn Quarter in D.C. Walked around, stopped at a wine tasting, went to a couple of happy hours and had some yummy munchies. Was a little disappointed that the City wasn't a little busier, given it was a Friday night, but a good time was had by all the Chicks and we continued our own wine and cheese tasting at the apartment. The next morning, The Chick was commenting on how well-rested she was. This is significant because she sometimes has interrupted sleep or just wakes up very early. So, Day Two had begun. Now, The Chick likes to shop. Me? I have to be in the mood. On a weekend, I would prefer to run, shower, eat, drink some red wine for lunch and continue the food and wine theme throughout the day. I should add that the food part is usually very healthy. I happen to be one of "those" women who love what's good for you - fish, avocado, eggplant, tomatoes, chicken breast, peppers, etc....Yummo...all doused in olive oil. We love olive oil. On just about everything. I would bathe in it if I could...again, that is another story. Back on track. The Chick - Shopping. So, off we go on a Saturday in the City. But before we left, those pills I discussed earlier? I took some and so did Chick.
We didn't get too far from the apartment when we ran into an Asian street festival. Three hours and two sundresses later (and a kimono shirt for me), we were on our way to Union Station to peruse a few shops and find a place for lunch. YES, FOOD and WINE! Did I mention that I was feeling quite tired and even had a few moments of vertigo? Thought it just might have been the late night, etc. Not like me to be unmovin' and ungroovin' throughout the day. So Union Station was good - found a kick-a-- pair of black, open-toed high heeled shoes, and few other articles of clothing at one of my favorite stores - Black and White - yes, black and white for my wardrobe, although my opinions and life revolve around shades of gray. We made it back home, oh - after we stopped back at the festival for one last look. So, we wore some of our new clothing...I actually wore a GOLD and black dress...and we went back out on the town. In D.C. On a Saturday night. A busier night but still kinda quite for D.C.! I mean, for real? We still had fun. Chick found a new 65 year-old friend but he also comes with free drinks and special deals at happy hour, so that made me happy.
Day Three - it was the Chick's birthday today! Woooo! We spent the morning in the City and drove home to NoVa to spend some time by the pool and to go to a wine festival! Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate and Chick had to borrow galoshes and an umbrella, but we (plus Hubby) still went the to the wine festival. We are like the postman - rain, sleet, snow or shine - we deliver (or in this case, imbibe!) Did I mention that Chick took more Ibuprofen before we left the apartment? The drive is, unfortunately, about an hour on 66...for those living close to the Beltway - need I say more? Chick was ready for a nap when she reached Prendaville.
Back to the wine festival. So, it really was raining quite hard and the festival was in a field, so it was muddy, sloshy and..well, wet. Which really meant less people and more wine for us. What more could you want?? Wine tastings in two big tents, SHOPPING (Chick was thrilled) from everything from wine t-shirts to new windows and lots of samples of cheese, chocolate and crackers. FOOD and WINE! We found this one Virginia winery that had pepper jack wine. No joke. We took a swill of cheese whiz (which the guy put on our hand) and we ate the cheese and drank a shot of the wine. Really??? Sound like a type of drink we might all have tried at least once? Except this was cheese whiz and hot wine. Only in Podunk, America.
Back to Prendaville, a fire pit by the pool - the rain did stop just in time for that - and a restful night was had by all. Unfortunately, Monday came too soon and it was time for Chicka to fly back to Maine - the way life should be. Fortunately, she did NOT take the magic Ibuprofen before she left. She was stuck in New Jersey for a few hours due to weather. She might not have made it home still. As you may have guessed, the pills were not just regular pills. Nope. I took two on Monday as I went to lounge by the pool. Hubby asked how many of those we took over the weekend. Just before I passed out, I learned they were indeed night-time sleeping pills.
So, I basically drugged my Chick in the City. And myself. We still managed to stay awake (for the most part) and had a blast. And maybe the next time she is here, we will try that "other" lick the hand and drink the liquid shot.....
