DC in December

Uh, so apparently it's December now? I'm not really sure how we got here, but I don't really remember October happening. Perhaps it's because Halloween was canceled. At any rate, I'm ready to usher in the season of wreathes, cookies, open bar holiday parties, and good cheer. Thanks to the Internet and the fact that my family doesn't really do that many gifts, my Christmas shopping is effectively almost done. Now is the time to sit back, put the Chieftains "Bells of Dublin" on repeat and try to start the screenplay I'm supposed to have completed the first act of by now (I blame the last of October for why I'm not further along).

I spent the triumphant end of November and start to December in our nation's capital (with 'our' here meaning any of my readers who live in the United States). I went down for the weekend to visit my aunt and uncle who live just outside the DC metro area. It was all too short a visit, but lovely to see them and catch up. And overall it was a very relaxing weekend, or at least as relaxing as any weekend that involves 8 hours on a bus can be. Here are a couple of photos of the weekend (taken by and selected for this blog by my usual photographer).

Two very cute cats enjoying their privileges. 

Mount Vernon as viewed through some sort of glass surface?  If instragram has taught us anything it's that slight opacity does equal artisticness. 

This is Gobbler, one of the two Thanksgiving turkeys officially pardoned by President Obama. He seemed pretty ornery despite this treasured status. These turkeys were not the only animals at Mount Vernon. We were also treated to Aladdin the Christmas Camel. Fun fact, apparently Washington was a fan of exotic animals during the holiday season. His camel's modern day counterpart did not seem especially happy to be wintering in the DC area. 

Mount Vernon as viewed through myself and my aunt and uncle. I'm not sure why I look so in pain here, but rest assured by trip to Washington's home was quite pleasant. 

This tulip poplar was planted by GW himself in 1785!

To get the true creepiness of this concave image of Washington, you need to know that in real life it's a good 10 feet tall.

This takes me back to when I was in town for the inauguration almost 4 years ago. It was sort of like this only I was another quarter mile back and there were a few million people (and one super tall guy) in front of me.

All in all, it was a lovely weekend, and we were very appreciative of our gracious hosts. Now I'm back in town and ready to really do December up right. Happy holiday season kick-off readers!