How did I get so lucky to come out here during such an epic snow storm? Seriously, I had no clue that it was going to be like this at all when I bought my tickets, and by pure chance I flew in when it was perfectly clear, only to see the weather dramatically snap in less than 24 hours. Rad. Last night, we played in the snow. Dave and Ryan and I left Virginia in the early evening, braving severe conditions to go out and party. (such sacrifice)
We met up with Mike and Caroline at The Front Page — a bar I remember quite fondly from the days I served as an intern on Capitol Hill. It has not lost an ounce of its charm.
We mozied after a few pints, and since snow had basically shut down motorized transport, were able to mob it through the middle of the streets, flinging snowballs at one another. (I accidentally hit Ryan in the back of the head. my bad dude.)
Mike took us to a bar called Bricks Keller. Out front there was a cool little square with a statue of Taras Schevchenko, Ukraine’s most famous poet, and, after Lenin, the man whose statues most often can be found in the country.
What came next was truly wonderful. As if checking out a snow-covered Schevchenko with my Peace Corps buddies wasn’t enough of a nostalgic feast, the bar served my favorite Ukrainian beer – Obolon.
And so there we are – Mike, Dave, Ryan, Caroline and I – chilling in this cool rustic bar, weathering the snow, remembering good times, when, out of the blue, as a complete surprise, three of my old Peace Corps buddies mobbed in (Mike had coordinated this). Travis, Dunn and Nate. Hooligans all of them – but wonderful friends for sure.
How could this get any cooler? Well, it did. My childhood friend, an absolutely wonderful person, Veronica Brown came with a few of her friends, rounding a straight-up posse of friends at this bar. I was happy beyond words.
Now, the adventurous part. We left the bar and messed around with a little snowball fight for a few mins.
Helped some dudes get their truck out of the snow …
And then, at about 2:30 in the morning, when it was just Dave and Ryan me left, we started the four-mile walk home. In the blizzard.
The walk was epic. From Dupont Circle to Arlington Virginia – we got to trudge through the mall again …
… And walk down the center of the Memorial Bridge.
… To … I kid you not, Highway 50. Where we just strolled right in the smack center of a four lane road.
It was gnarly. It was beautiful. It was a Winter Wonderland.
