This was a great week in Washington, especially for eating.  I had a nice visit with my mother and brother who stayed here for the weekend, got to watch multiple political debates (which I thoroughly enjoyed), and got to eat some great dinners.

In terms of the meals, this started with my roommate and me cooking a pasta dish with mixed seafood. We fried the scallops, calamari, shrimp, and mussels in olive oil, added some spices (I can’t disclose which ones, it’s a TWC-RAF special recipe) and cooked whole-wheat pasta. We got everything at the grocery store, Harris Teeter, down the street at huge discounts. Knowing how to shop as an intern in Washington is important; you only buy things when there is a discount. After saving $20 and only paying $30, we decided you feel pretty good. But I digress… we added some vodka sauce, which is half tomato sauce and half Alfredo sauce, to the pasta and cooked frozen mixed vegetables on the side. It ended up exactly how we’d hoped.

Of course, when my family came to visit, we went out to eat in the city! The restaurant we chose was called D.C. Coast.  If you get the chance to dine there, I recommend it.  My brother ordered a crab cake that was cooked to perfection, and my mother got a steak, medium rare. I had to try them both to make sure they were safe before I let them take a bite. Both were absolutely delicious. I ordered clam chowder and a wedge type salad because I wasn’t super hungry, and those are some of my favorite things to get. Everything was spectacular.

We did some fun sightseeing stuff while they were here. For example, we went to the Museum of Crime and Punishment. This was really more for my little brother (12 years old) who is obsessed with police. I’ll have to admit, however, they had something for everyone. It’s a really fun museum and it lasts a long time. You could easily spend six hours just walking around and reading everything, but we only spent two. They have a fun arcade type area about halfway through where you can drive a simulated car like you’re an officer in a car chase, and they had a weapons simulation. I decided to it with my brother. He got 7 bad guy kills out of 7 shots… and apparently I hit 3 civilians and missed the other 4 shots. I know who I’m bringing on a police raid. They have an exhibit where you stand in a lineup to learn what's involved in identifying a suspect, so we naturally took a photo...

Jackson, wearing green, posing as suspect number four!

After the museum we were in Chinatown where there is a movie theater, so we decided to go see Taken 2. I loved it, but really Liam Neeson, how many times can your family get taken?  Since the movie was over and we were past dinner we thought that we should pick another restaurant right near the theater. We found a great Mongolian barbeque place that I had never been to. Come to think of it, I’ve never been to a Mongolian barbeque at all. The rules were simple, you sit down, grab your plate, and go over to where the chefs are and pick what you want cooked from ingredients out in front of you and they’ll cook it. It was delicious and hit the spot, but I think I maxed out my sodium limit for the week with that one meal.

Sunday night my friends and I cooked tacos and turned on a movie. Tacos are good because they are relatively inexpensive and last a while for leftovers. I was eating tacos for the next three days.  We had all the ingredients anyone could want, meat, cheese, tomato, lettuce, salsa, peppers and onions, guacamole, queso dip, etc. This was one of the best meals I’ve had in a while. It’s definitely easy to eat well in Washington if you try.

Wednesday evening was the Senatorial debate between sitting Senator Scott Brown and his opponent Elizabeth Warren. I asked one of the lobbyists here at my work if he would be watching it and I informed him I would be as well. He then asked me to take notes and do a write up on key points and then compose an analysis. I did just that. I really enjoyed watching the debate, and having to do a report on it made me focus a lot more closely than I normally would have. It was a really healthy exercise for me, and a great opportunity to practice my writing.

I can’t believe I’m composing the end of the fifth blog, and have been in Washington D.C. for 6 weeks. The weeks go back so quickly, and the weekends even faster.  This just goes to show how busy we are.