whew, bags are packed, flight confirmed, ride lined up, this time tomorrow i will be snoozing in a nice hotel in the heart of washington, d.c.

z and i have some exciting things lined up: the national gallery, some of the smithsonian, a few monuments, and hopefully a nice dinner at season 5 top chef contestant, spike mendelsohn's restaurant, good stuff eatery, where i might just have the obama burger, yum.

my youngest niece might join us friday on our sight seeing tour. i think she's been there before, since her sister who's getting married lives there, but i don't think she's been to the national gallery.

anyway, i'm excited. it's been a long time since i've flown, although i've noticed that homeland security really took the fun out of it.