Potomac Overflowing!!!!

After the 5k as we trudged the 2 miles out of there we noticed that the Potomac was overflowing in places!!! :-o :-o :-o It hasn't rained in a few days, either! So odd!

They look scared!!!!!!

Uh oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My First 5k!!!!!!!

Saurabh and I ran our first 5k race today!!!!! It was the First Annual Semper Fi 5k Run/Walk held at Hains Point. I picked this race because of the location. I love Hains Point. It's really pretty and it reminds me of the first time I went there, with Aunty Chandra and Uncle David. :) Smita came along as our cheering 'squad'.

We left home at around 6:30 in the morning and took a cab there. We got there by 7, picked up our tags and then hung around until the race started at 8:00 AM. We ran the whole thing and I think I finished it in 37 minutes 51 seconds (according to the clock photo Smita took). Still got to wait for the official time though. It was a lot of fun!!! :)

After the race, we walked about 2 miles to get out of Hains Point and get a cab home. Tiring!!!

I never thought I'd ever run a 5k. And now I did! :D

Just About to Start!

Close to the Finish Line

Raced Out!

Look What We Saw!

...while waiting for the race to begin!

Mallika Sarabhai

We won tickets for the Mallika Sarabhai performance at the Lincoln Theatre today. The opening act was quite uncoordinated, to say the least. But, the main act with Mallika Sarabhai and the Darpana Dance Company was EXQUISITE!!!!! The coordination, expression, strength and choreography was absolutely spellbinding and enthralling. There were 4 perfomances by Mallika and the dance group. Each equally magnificent!!

At the end of the performance, I paid my customary visit to the restroom and when I came out Mallika Sarabhai was out meeting with the audience. After hanging out long enough I got a photo with her! :D

PS: I am aware of the excessive use of superlatives in this post.

Ben's Chili Bowl

Saurabh and I stopped by at Ben's Chili Bowl for a quick bite before the Mallika Sarabhai show. Ben's is a famous landmark in U Street and in DC. Most people have heard about it and most people visiting want to go there to eat. Bill Cosby and the Obama family eat free there ;). They are famous for their chili dog and the half smoked, both made with a combination of beef and pork. I have had a bite of the half smoke and it is everything it is built up to be! :) When in DC...do go visit Ben's and get yourself a half-smoked. Oh, be prepared for a looooooooooooong line!

Half Smoked (fatter ones) and Regular Hotdogs (thinner ones)

People who eat free!

Express Made a Boo Boo Today

Saving The Ghosts of the Forest

I went this evening to the Grosvenor Auditorium at the National Geographic Museum to listen to talk by Dr Lisa Dabek on Matschie Tree Kangaroos (Dendrolagus matschiel). She works on studying and the conservation of the Papua New Guinea's elusive tree kangaroo.

I enjoyed the talk for several reasons. It was incredible to learn about the Cloud Forests in Papua New Guinea, how untouched they are. She called the cloud forests a soft or gentle forest. They have a carpet of moss and the plants are very gentle. With no large mammals, the forest is very safe to walk around at day or night. The forest also doesn't have any primates, really, so the Matschie is their 'primate'. The forest is a high forest so it is cold and wet rather than hot and humid like its tropical counterparts. These forests are also extremely inaccessible due to the altitudes and the fact that they are untouched. Flying into a nearby village and hiking up for 2 hours gets the researchers into the forest where they can set up camp and base for their research. The photos looked extremely gorgeous.

The Tree Kangaroo, the other reason I enjoyed this talk, looked so adorable. Even Dr Dabek described them as plush toys up in the tree. They are small and spend most of their time high high up in the trees of the forest. This makes them really hard to spot, especially with their colouring. Their reddish colour blends in with the moss that covers the tree. The sharp eyes of the locals and their hanging tails help in the spotting of this animals. These animals can jump to the forest ground from high up in the tree. That seems to be their way of escaping the Harpee eagle, their only non-human predator. To radiotag these animals or to attach a crittercam on them, one of the locals climbs up in the tree and prods them. While, others are waiting down to capture the kangaroo when it leaps down.

Dr Dabek had a photo of the 4 month joey in the the pouch. The joey looks like a foetus since it still has no hair developed. It was pretty cool getting to see a photo like that.

I am really glad I decided to go for this talk :)

Birthday Cupcake at AFDIL

At the beginning of every month, the baking club at AFDIL has a volunteer or 2 that bake cupcakes for the people who have birthdays that month and a few extra for the non-birthday people. This time for my birthday month there were 2 bakers, Megan Van Kirk who baked snickerdoodle cupcakes with cinnamon buttercream frosting and Jen Kappeller who baked chocolate cupcakes with peanutbutter frosting and Reese's Pieces on top. I picked the chocolate cupcake.

All Fired Up!

The Finished Products - Before being Glazed. We can pick up the final product in a week!

For my birthday last year, Noella had given me a gift card to All Fired Up. It took me a year to use it, but I finally did. The really cool thing about All Fired Up is that you can take food and drink with you. We took a bottle of Plum Wine we had bought during are winery tour at the Linganore Winecellars. We walked to Cleveland Park, stopped at Vace Italian Deli and bought a couple of slices of pizza (Mushroom and Onion) and a Tomato Mozzarella Sandwich. Another thing I like about this place is that they let you stay for as long as you want and use as much material as you want. You only pay for the piece.

Well stocked with food and drink we went to All Fired Up, picked our pieces. Saurabh and I both picked an Asian Rice Bowl and I also picked a teapot shaped teabag holder that I will give to my mom. This pottery painting business was EXTREMELYYYYYY fun! We spent 5 hours there!!! Well, Saurabh got done an hour and a half before me. But, in my defense, I had an extra piece! :D

About an hour or so into painting, one of the employees came to our table and told me that my friend Noella wanted you to enjoy this along with your wine. Noella has tiramisu and chocolate cake sent for us from Cafe Romeo! :D :D :D :D :D

It was a fantastic evening and a great way to spend time with someone! :D

Us - just beginning our artistic evening!

Me and my 'Artistic' pieces

Blue Duck Tavern

Saurabh took me for my Birthday dinner to the Blue Duck Tavern at the Park Hyatt. The food was mostly excellent! We started with the Oven Roasted Bone Marrow (with Bourbon Crust). This was divine!!!!! I highly highly recommend it! :D The garlic they served alongside it, though, I didn't quite enjoy. For the main course we got the Whole Roasted Fish of the Day, which was Red Snapper and the Muscovy Duck Breast,Spicy Duck Meatballs, Gumbo Jus. Most likely the best duck preparation I have ever had! For once, it wasn't made with a sweet sauce. The breast and the meat balls were perfect! We had the breast cooked medium-rare. The fish preparation definitely had potential. It was a little fishy for my liking but the flavours were good. Saurabh really enjoyed it. With the entrees we ordered a portion of their Potato Puree with Fresh Garlic. That was basically a fancy name for mashed potatoes, however we did quite enjoy it. Finally, for dessert we got the Warm Chocolate Soufflé Cake, Caramel Cream, Cocoa Nib Tuiles. This, they brought to the table, then lit it on fire and served it to us. We also got a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a candle in it for my birthday. The ice cream complimented the cake really well since the cake was rich. I thought the alcohol flavour was a little strong too, but once I got past it I really enjoyed the cake. :)

A good birthday dinner! :D :D

Bone Marrow

Duck!!!!!!!
Roasted Whole Fish (Forgot to take a photo before we ate most of it)

'Potato Puree'

Chocolate Soufflé Cake and Vanilla Ice Cream