The Road to the Final Four: Part 1 - March 30 ~ April 2

The Road to the Final Four: Part 1 - March 30 ~ April 2

Car packed with suitcases, Jeff's piano (he won't leave home without it), some pantry staples (I won't leave home without them), and three boxes of Mom's painted china items, we left our house bright and early Saturday morning - 15 minutes ahead of schedule ... Amazing!  We stopped for a quick breakfast and then headed south.  It was a mostly uneventful drive, and we arrived at Nichole's pretty much on time.  Vicki wasn't there at the time, so we had a house tour led by Nichole, met friends and other family, and settled in with a beverage and a few snacks.

Nichole's new home is quite lovely.  Located in a community with a golf course, recreation center, and swimming pool, it overlooks the 14th tee with a wooded area between the house and the tee.  It is a center hall colonial style with an open concept first floor.  You enter the home and to the left is a dining room area that is open to the kitchen.  To the right is a "parlor" type area that they plan to use as a "library/reading nook."  At the back of the house is a kitchen/family room open space with sliding doors to a lovely deck that overlooks the wooded area and golf course.  There is also a laundry room of the kitchen.  Also on the first floor is Nichole's office (she works from home) and a bathroom.  Upstairs there are four bedrooms.  The master bedroom is enormous and has its own bathroom.  We saw two of the other bedrooms as well as the shared guest bathroom.  In a very large loft type space, they have set up a living room area.  The girls are deservedly proud of their new home and are working on furnishing it. 

Vicki arrived and shortly thereafter my nephew, Sean, and his wife, Megan, also arrived.  We had a lovely visit with them and spent some time chatting with the whole family before leaving for our next stop -- an evening in Ocean City.  My brother, Jim, did not make the trip as planned, and he was sorely missed.  We enjoyed a nice dinner in Bethany Beach.  Sean and Megan are great conversationalists, and it was fun to get to know them a bit more.  After dinner we drove further down the peninsula to Ocean City, checked in, and headed down to the bar for a few drinks while we watched the end of a men's basketball game.  Sean is a Duke alum, and a major Duke fan (in fact his wedding color scheme featured "Duke blue").  Duke's game (like UCONN's was scheduled for Sunday).  We closed the bar and finally headed up to our rooms for a good night's sleep.  

After breakfast on Sunday, we said our goodbyes and off we went for Washington, DC.  The UCONN women were playing at noon, and I managed to tune the game in on my Tune It In app so that we could listen.  Shortly before the end of the first quarter, I picked up my phone and typed in sports bar.  I said to Jeff, "You know, there's a sports bar about a mile from here.  Should we stop and see if we could watch the rest of the game?"  Silly question ... of course, he wanted to do that!  

Watching the game at the 404 Sports Bar

The place was pretty much empty, so we managed to tune in the game, ordered lunch, and watched our ladies do what they do, beating Louisville (revenge is sweet when you beat the team that beat you during the regular season) in a "nail-biter" - final score 80 - 73!

Thanking our bartender, Amanda, profusely, we paid our bill, made our way back to the highway, and found our way to the Line Hotel in the Adams-Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC.  

The hotel was built as a Christian Science Church in 1912.  Preserving the church's neoclassical lines must have been a challenge, but much of the church's striking features, including 60-foot vaulted ceilings, grand copper entry doors, intricate millwork, and ornate brass detailing, has all survived its transformation from church to hotel.  The hotel has a neighborhood vibe, and one of its goals, according to one staff member I chatted with, was "to become the neighborhood living room."  And this they have accomplished in the grand open space "lobby" (picture right above) which has two bars, a coffee bar (called the Cup We All Race 4), and a restaurant called Brothers and Sisters.  

A grand chandelier was created from the pipes of the organ of the church (photos above).  Hymn boards can be found throughout the hotel and help to direct you to different areas.  A truly unique and very comfortable hotel.  I would definitely stay there again.  I loved this piece about the hotel from the Chicago Tribune.

             

Veronica Swift (seen chatting with Jeff above) joined the "Airmen of Note," a subset of the Air Force Band for three songs - a "teaser" for a full blown big band concert celebrating the music of Glen Miller, that she is doing on Tuesday.  As always, it was fun to hear her perform.  The woman vocalist from the Airmen of Note was also wonderful, closing out the set with a jazzy rendition of God Bless America in honor of the veterans who were standing by listening.

We sat in the bar for a bit enjoying a glass of rose (me) and a bourbon manhattan (Jeff) and then decided to take a walk to a local jazz venue (Columbia Station)

It was a very cold walk -- winds were howling, but we managed to find the place.  The jazz was not my cup of tea (close to "run screaming from the room jazz"), but we ordered some drinks and some food and settled in for a bit.

Then back to the hotel for a good night's sleep!

We woke Monday morning with no particular agenda in mind, so we checked out of the hotel and drove to Alexandria where we took a short walk and then found a place for an early lunch.  Jack's Place was a tiny "hole in the wall" breakfast/lunch place that was quite delightful.

After lunch we took a drive past Sean and Megan's house in Arlington.  We loved it from the outside, and look forward to visiting them in the future so that we can see what they have done with the inside.

Sean and Megan's house from the front

Sean and Megan's house through the trees up on the hill - lots of glass.

Then on to Mt. Vernon - George Washington's Mount Vernon to be exact (and you DO need to be exact with your GPS or you'll end up in an apartment complex in the town of Mount Vernon.

Trees growing up against the wall of the Slave Quarters

Planting cabbage!

The view from the porch - breathtaking!

Sun on the window(left) and the kitchen (right)

More shots of the kitchen

After a tour of the house and a lot of wandering of the grounds, we headed for our hotel in Woodbridge, Virginia.  Dinner at Famous Dave's and then a good night's sleep.  Tomorrow, the journey continues!  Boarding the train and heading further south.  Final Four here we come!