Adventures of a Wanderlust: Washington D.C.

Last weekend was yet another new adventure - my first trip to Washington D.C! I was very excited to go for several reasons... it was one of two cities in the US that I hadn't been to yet that I wanted to see, and also because it meant a great weekend with friends that I haven't seen for 5 months. The occasion was Barak's brother-in-law's (Todd Anton) graduation from USUHS Medical School!

The weekend started off on a high note when we found out Friday night that Barak has been accepted to medical school himself - at the University of Louisville in Kentucky! It worked out perfectly where I was sitting in a hotel room with Barak's parents and a few siblings late Friday night. I decided randomly to check Barak's e-mail (I'm checking it for him while he is in India) and there it was... an e-mail reading "Admission Offer" in the subject line. I screamed and told everyone else, which resulted in a gigantic party and cell phone fest to spread the great news! And the best part was that we all knew before Barak did! We had to call him in India, and ended up interrupting him while he was teaching 40 Indian kids... I think something was lost in translation as he tried to explain to them that he just found out he got into a school to study medicine, but the entire experience was definitely memorable! I am so thankful that it worked out that I got to celebrate the big news with Barak's family... it was very special.

The next day, we attended Todd's ceremony, which was very cool because it is a military medical school so almost all of the graduates will be going on to serve in one of the branches. And after the ceremony, a group of us walked around the city for nearly 6 hours sightseeing and just spending some quality time together.

It was an unforgettable weekend! I am so proud of Barak for his faith and perseverence through the medical school process! And I am also very excited that he will be in Louisville, which is not too terribly far from Charlotte. And while I continue to have my own little random adventures here, he is currently having a major adventure of his own in India, which he is documenting at: www.lightningdavis.blogspot.com.

One of the best e-mails I've ever read... "Admission Offer!"

Beth, Misty, David, and Deborah celebrating the news and calling other friends and family before Barak even knew he'd been accepted!

We finally figured out how to call India and Bill is delivering the news!

Saturday morning - Claire & Nic waiting for Todd to appear at the graduation ceremony.

All the doctors are in the house!

The Antons - Claire, Nic, and Captain Todd Anton, MD.

Our city walking tour began with a stop at one of the street vendors for hot dogs. My biggest question is how does every single vendor in all of DC carry the exact same food items?!?!

The Washington Monument

A portion of our group in front of the Lincoln Memorial. (Misty put is best when she said we were like a giant amoeba moving around the city!)

The Californians...

And Kentucky in honor of Barak! We figure we will all get to know that place pretty well now!

The White House!

Washington Monument again.

Misty & me (we were trying to get us with the White House in the background, but I kept missing.)

Saturday night dinner - this was the biggest bottle of Chiant I've ever seen! Bill and I split it... just kidding

Part of our group in front of Bucca di Beppo

Bill & Frank Johnson racing up the steepest escalator I've ever seen coming out of the Metro station. This resulted in one bloodied hand and I'm assuming it was prompted in part by the aforementioned giant bottle of Chianti!