How would it be...

...to have residential tourists (I know it can't be just me and there has to be others out there who loves to do this on vacation) wander through your neighborhood and find your home so charmingly picturesque that they photograph it as though they were seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time. On second thought, maybe that would be annoying.

I really want this to be my front door. I don't quite understand how you get couches and beds into these old skinny doorways and up those old skinny stairs, but if I could claim this address, I'd find a way.

Residential Adventure | Adams Morgan

One of my favorite things to do in cities is wander through residential neighborhoods, see how people really live, get off the beaten tourist path. When I built a few play days into my DC trip, I was googling for events and festivals when I found an excellent cultural tourism website. This website breaks the district into neighborhoods and suggests the highlights of each. One neighborhood that I'd heard great things about, including from my friend who lives there currently and a friend who did live there for about a decade, was Adams Morgan.

It's a funky-eclectic-artsy-yuppie hot spot known for quirky boutique shopping and public murals. My only regret with this excursion is that I went too early in the day and the neighborhood was still sleepy. In hindsight, I should have planned this to be my dinner/club destination. Oh well, I still got a sense of it and that sense tells me I would be very happy living here. Because really, who doesn't want an Egyptian cat pharaoh mural thing coming out their bedroom window?

Tehehehe. Madam's Organ is the young professional's waterhole in Adams Morgan. I dig it.

A Sunny Day in Annapolis, Maryland

During the work-half of my week in DC I took a day trip to Annapolis. I had business with a college there and it was my first time to that city. After our work was done, we ate lunch on the water at The Severn Inn and wandered about the historic district. We could not have asked for better weather...or fresher mozzarella!

I love squishy row houses and brownstones, tree-lined streets, and brick sidewalks. I can't imagine how much it would cost to live in said squishy spaces, but seriously, how lovely is this?! It feels like another world and in squishy east coast neighborhoods like this I half expect some bespectacled founding father to trot past in his carriage on his way to sign something really important.

Remember that gorgeously sunny weather I was telling you about? This is what that sun looks like streaming through the turning leaves of fall.

Swank Swanky Swank | Washington DC

There are few things in life more swanky than business travel. Well, in my life anyway there are few things more swanky than business travel. There's dropping $300/night on a hotel in Dupont Circle and then there's crashing at your cousin's place. On my recent trip to DC, I was lucky enough to do both. For the first half of the week I was on my consulting dime and that dime took me to the Hotel Palomar, a Kimpton property. The niche for Kimpton is: "Every Hotel has a Story" and the story that my hotel happens to tell is: "Art in Motion."

Is the hot pink body pillow a bit unconventional? Yes. How about the cheetah faux fur throw? Definitely over the top. The massively fuzzy cheetah bathrobe and matching slippers? Indulgent to be sure. My favorite part is the nightstand that lights up and the fact that all the lamps dim, including the spotlights in the big bathtub. Did I feel like a 70s pimp with my padded leather headboard? You bet. And why not? I love exploring new hotels and when you travel a lot, why not have fun with it? This place was recommended and arranged by my contact at the company for whom I do the consulting work, so roll with it.

Up Next: Washington DC

Stay tuned. I'm sorting through my DC photos and will soon start posting memories of that trip.

I can't even count the number of times I've been to DC and yet, every. single. trip. offers new surprises and experiences. I love that city.