February 2020 // Washington D.C. 
I went to D.C. for the first time! I was there for work and managed to check some spots off my bucket list.

My plane was delayed an hour, which was just the time I needed to finish my favorite book of all time: The Circle Maker. Our lake neighbor, Debbie, lent Sam the book, and I read it with the promise of giving him the CliffsNotes. The gist is if you believe God is for you, you'll pray big, audacious prayers. The author, Mark Batterson, is a pastor in D.C. His church used to meet in Union Station, and eventually, he bought a run-down house nearby and turned it into a coffee shop. My first two stops: Union Station and the coffee shop, Ebenezers.

Been There Done That:
See + Do 
Union Station
White House
Washington Monument
Lincoln Memorial
Capitol Building

Eat 
Ebenezers Coffeehouse: the cutest little spot! I got a yummy, high calorie white chocolate mocha and sat down to do some wedding planning on my phone. The book shelf caught my eye. I saw my new favorite book's follow-up devotional, Draw the Circle, so I thumbed through the pages and decided it would be a nice gesture to buy Debbie a copy. Then I thought "I wish I could get Mark to sign it". When I got in my Uber, I looked again. Turns out, it is signed! God wink.
Le Diplomate: delicious french fare. My go-to when I'm on work trips is french fries, oysters and an extra, extra dirty martini with blue cheese olives. They also gave me to-die-for bread.
The Monocle: for 50 years, this place has served the Capitol crowd. I got my go-to again, but instead of fries, I got shellfish bisque. And oh my gosh. So good.
Clyde's in Chinatown: fun vibe. The most notable part was that there was a Capitals game, and fans were everywhere.

Stay
Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill: this is only significant because both nights, they turned off the water from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. When the National Association of REALTORS® heard, they lobbied the hotel to give us $15 vouchers to the hotel market and to have a gallon of water put in our rooms at night. There was lots of chatter about what everyone bought with their "free money". I got a Starbucks coffee, Sour Patch Kids and gum.