And so, we commence the start of the end of the trip. Sort of like starting a war for peace, but not. I’d packed most of what I needed to pack the night before, so this morning wasn’t too heavy. I finished up the last few things, took out the garbage, cleaned up, and hit the road. Another Airbnb in the books. This was a pretty good one.
I hit Weird Brothers one more time for an espresso & coffee, then I sat for a few minutes before I started drinking the day through the fire hose. I don’t love the expression but it’s sometimes appropriate. Today’s plan looks like such. Head over to the office, walk to the Regus location where we have space reserved, do 3 hours of client meetings, then hit the road and drive straight through to home, in the hopes I can make the 4:00 school basketball game.
Big plan, especially the 4:00 part.
After coffee I drive over to the same building I’ve been at, which is not where I’ll be today but they have a secure visitor area and I have my bike in the car. I can deal with the 10 minute walk in the cold, so as not to have to worry about anything. I use the bathroom then hoof it over to the Regus office where we have rented a room for 3 hours to do a few client meetings starting at 8:30.
It’s a picture perfect day out.
The morning session goes off without a hitch. We have some good conversation with the customers, and we wrap it up right at 11:30 when our timer expires. The 3 hours blaze by in no time. And when the shot clock goes off, I throw on my coat and blast out the door.
I then hit the road for 4+ hours and listen to more Reamde. This has been the mortar between the bricks of my trip. I found myself getting pulled more and more into this book, listening while doing stuff around the studio, while packing or loading the car, always while driving, and of course on the 2 main legs of the trip. It drew me in more and more, and I now find myself immersed in the story.
I stop once for gas and a bathroom break, but otherwise I blaze from Virginia to Maryland to Delaware to New Jersey to home in good time. I get home at 3:40, drop a few things, use the bathroom, make an espresso, then head out the door to watch a basketball game and resume life as normal.
I am treated to a 54-32 win by the good guys. And that is how this story ends.
(Or not, some ruminations below).
Reflections on 2020 & the Year in Travel
Travel for work. Travel for fun. Long trips. Short trips. Planes, trains, automobiles, Ubers, ski lifts, subways, bikes, and who knows what other types of travel we can throw in there. This is life, what we have in store both from a work and non-work perspective is what keeps the words and pictures of this blog flowing. I do this mostly for myself and my wife, and my mom since she’s 1 of the few people who read all of what I write. I guess 1 day the kids will find this but right now they have no interest in this sort of thing.
What does 2020 have in store for me? For us? Time will tell, but as I sit here right now, the first 3 months of the year have a lot in store. I just buttoned up this first trip of the year to Virginia. Next week I’m off to Georgia and the week after it’s California. Both of these are work trip. In February I have Arizona and apparently Vegas, 1 for us and 1 for work. So far, March is only Tampa but that’s too far out to say. Then of course there’s spring break to throw in there and one assumes California again before the summer, plus possible trips to Minnesota as well as Orlando in there.
This doesn’t even take into account the ski season which we need to get on, stat!
Travel is a dual-edged sword, one that I’m ok walking as I have the freedom to WFH. If I had to go into an office I wouldn’t be ok with this. But I’m given a lot of freedom in my “9-5 work day” so it’s easier to deal with. It allows me to get out and see places I would normally never go to, like Reston, Virginia. That said, it does add up. I’m writing this paragraph on my work computer on a Saturday evening. I’m sitting here because I just finished up doing some things I wasn’t able to get to this week. I didn’t get to them because I was away for the most part of 4 days. So it gets hard to balance all the things at times.
I posted earlier in this trip about my anchors, which are biking, coffee, and ramen. I won’t go into them but I will say that these things, in addition to having some firm “rules of engagement” so to speak, are what keep me on-point for these trips. I try to eat well and have all my details buttoned up tight. One of the new guys said to me Thursday, “Man you really have your shit dialed in.” I like to think I do. Not drinking helps. I’m not sure what the point is if you go out and drink until 3:00 am. I’m not 30 years old anymore. The idea of going 1000 miles away to get drunk with strangers is a pretty stupid idea, if you ask me.
A friend asked me today if these trips are of any use at all, and I said they are. This Virginia trip was very useful. And the next 2 fit the same mold as this one, but for different reasons. I’m not sure about the Vegas one but that one is pretty much required, as it’s a sort of all-hands gathering for the company. Again, I reject the idea that flying 5 hours to get shit-face drunk makes any sense at all. So while they do that, I’ll probably take in a show or 2 while I’m there.
Anyway, welcome to 2020. I’ll be going places, and I hope you come along with me.
The Reviews
I’ve never done this with a blog post yet, but I think this is something that helps bring it all together. Here are the places I went while I was here, and the reviews I left on Google.
Shin Se Kai Ramen and Sushi – I arrived here at 5:00 right when it opened so I did not know if it was barren or the timing was just off. The miso ramen was good, maybe even pretty good. I think it is worth stopping here but I would not say this stands out among the various bowls I have ever had. Good enough, which works for me.
Weird Brothers Coffee – The espresso was passable and the coffee was good enough. I felt the vibe of the place was a tad on the drink-and-go side as opposed to hang-and-enjoy vibe. To be fair, every place inside a 50 mile radius of DC has this same vibe but in the end, the espresso tasted as if the machine needs a bath and was not one of the best. I would go back again, because it’s decent and far better than the industrial places. But in terms of craft coffee I think it was lacking a bit.
Jackson’s Mighty Fine Food and Lucky Lounge – It’s food. In this area, I think you need to do better than that to add the word “fine” in your name. I heard from a coworker who also went there for dinner that they will never eat there again. My food was not bad, but with so many other places in this area I cannot see going out of my way.
Cafein – Espresso was ok and the overall feel of the place was like a strip mall coffee shop, which is pretty much what this is. Of the 2 roasters I went to, this was the lesser of the 2. Neither wowed me so maybe the DC area is just not teeming with craft coffee roasters at this time. You could do worse but it didn’t blow me away.
Cheng’s Asian House – A tad run down but the beef noodle soup here was on point. The side of spinach was ok, and honestly enough to feed a walrus. The broth in the soup made my night, and the beef was so tender I’m not sure I’ve had a beef noodle soup this tasty that was not homemade, like ever. Would certainly go back!
Umai ramen and rice bowl – Of the 4 places I ate in the Reston area this was by far the best. The ramen was so on point here I would consider proposing marriage to it if that were a thing. The broth was fabulous, which is a word you can only use in the context of something that is truly such. The egg was cooked to perfection and the pork was just mouth-watering, leave you begging for more caliber. It’s almost worth coming back here on a trip just to eat here. Simply that good.
Traveling Normandy 