Me & Barack

Me & Barack

Okay, so one day I'll start posting about something besides the famous people I meet but not today people, not today. I met Barack Obama!!! There is a lecture series for interns every summer and he was the speaker on Tuesday. His speech was amazing. He conveys such integrity and honesty. I might agree with him on everything...like really truly everything. Anyway, after his lecture I ran, jumped, maybe stepped on a couple of children to get to the side exit and caught him on his way out. He shook my hand. You are all wecome to drive to D.C. and shake the hand, try to soak up the magic.

P.S. When I worked for NOW I did Election 2004 research. There was a state senator in Illinois that had announced he was going to run for Peter Fitzgerald's seat. He had some funny name, Barack Obama. I told my boss he didn't have a chance in hell. :)

Vintage Virginia

We had a good time last weekend at the wine festival, although it was hotter than when we went the first time and we had a dog to pick up from the groomer's, so we spent a lot less time there.

We liked several of the whites that we tried, but we ended up buying only the Barboursville Viognier (the influx of good and cheap Australian, Spanish, and South African whites colored our perception of value this time around). We passed on Barboursville's very good Octagon VI (probably the best red in VA). The rest of the reds were highly questionable, especially the Cabernet Francs. Apparently, many Virginia wineries grow Cab Franc for their Meritage blends. Unfortunately, many also choose to put out a 100% Cab Franc, and they are universally terrible. Perhaps you've heard of "fruit forward" wines, and perhaps you've also heard a wine described as having "hints of tobacco." Now, just for a moment, imagine a tobacco-forward wine. That was the only way to describe one of the Cab Franc's we tried. Sarah threatened to hurt me if I made her try another one.

Yes, we are quite spoiled and bourgeois, especially by the very good wine store that I ("have to") walk by on the way from the Metro to Home.

Me, Amy, & Emily

Me, Amy, & Emily

So, Wednesday night we went to see the Indigo Girls for Nicholas birthday. It was a really great concert and Amy even played "Romeo and Juliet" which she rarely does live so awesome all around. BUT...the really cool part was the next day they came to the Hill to lobby for low power FM radio and I went to the little briefing. I got there early and sat in the second row. Then Emily comes in and sits IN FRONT OF ME. They played Closer to Fine, Yield, and Galileo six feet in front of me! It was amazing. They were totally unplugged, no mics or anything. It was totally great to see them up close and personal. Afterwards, I got to thank both of them and chat with Emily about advice for one of my closet friends who wants to become a musician. It was just so absolutely freaking cool.

Summer of Fun

Sarah, Maggie, and I went to Harper's Ferry last weekend and hiked up a huge hill to get to what is supposed to be one of the finest views within two hours of DC. It was a lot of fun, even though we got rained on. Maggie was intrepid as we hiked the 5 mile trail. She nearly pulled me down the hill she was so excited to be out in nature.

Tomorrow we are dropping Maggie off to get groomed and are going to Vintage Virginia, the wine festival featuring Virginia wineries. We went a couple of years ago. Some of the wine is decent, some not so much, but at 20 bucks a head, you can't beat it for something to do on a Saturday.

We have Harper's Ferry pictures, and should have some from the wine festival, which we'll post soon.