Hello Everyone. Christmas week is upon us! It snuck up on me pretty quickly this year, but I’m very grateful to have been able to spend the holiday season with friends and family at home. It’s always nice to be home in Washington this time of year as I truly think it’s the best time of the year to be in our nation’s capital. I’m writing to you this week from my brother’s house here in New Hampshire where I’ve only just arrived this evening. I figured it would be good to spend a few days in New England before heading off to old England for the New Year.
It’s been a fun and festive week here and I hope you are all enjoying the season however and wherever you celebrate it. We’ve certainly been busy and I’d love to tell you what we’ve gotten into this week. Last Tuesday my folks and I took a wonderful candlelit tour of the Tudor House, one of Washington’s oldest homes, the oldest parts of which date back to the late 18th century. We drank cocoa, ate mince pies and pound cake and heard the story of the family which called Tudor House home for 6 generations. Many of the furnishings are original to the house and the whole house was decorated for Christmas which was really special. After our tour we had a great dinner at Farmers, Fishers and Bakers on the Georgetown Waterfront while watching ice skaters cruise around the rink.
Wednesday we got up early and headed up to Columbia, Maryland to check out an afternoon matinee at Toby’s Dinner Theatre. We started with a really delicious buffet brunch and then enjoyed a fabulous production of the Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life performed in the round. The actors were great and the adaptation was incredibly well done. This was definitely a highlight of the season and I will absolutely be returning to Toby’s in the future. After the show we took a spin around Historic Ellicott City, a town I’ve really enjoyed visiting over the last couple of years. The town was decorated for the season and it was fun to wind around the hills and rivers for an hour or so. We wound up the day with a few craft beers at the nearby Sapwood Cellars Brewery.
On Thursday I spent the day cleaning and packing and then headed over to my friend Sandy’s house for dinner. Sandy was my date to my senior prom and has become one of my very good friends over the last thirty years. It’s always great to spend time with her and her husband Tom and they grilled up some really magnificent New York Strips with baked potatoes and Brussels sprouts and a delicious spiced ginger cake for desert. We chatted into the evening and it was so great to catch up with them.
We didn’t have much planned for Friday as my mother had her weekly errands to run and I had plenty of things on my to-do list as well. We rallied in the afternoon to head down to Lost Generation Brewing Company, one of DC’s newest breweries, down in the Eckington neighborhood. I was very pleasantly surprised by their beers and it’s located in a cool old building which I will get the story on next time I visit. We scooped up a pizza on the way home and watched Miracle on 34th Street in the living room to wind up our week.
Saturday evening we went to the Keegan Theatre in Dupont Circle to watch a play called An Irish Carol. This was only loosely based on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in that it was the story of a miserly old man converted by the joy of the season. The whole play took place in an Irish pub on Christmas Eve as people dropped by to see the owner who had descended into depression and despair over the decades he had owned the place. It was very well done and I really liked this small local theatre as well.
The next morning we got an early start and headed a couple of hours south to Hanover Tavern in Hanover, Virginia for lunch. The Hanover Tavern is one of Virginia’s oldest dating back to 1733 (although it was rebuilt in 1791). It was once owned by the family of the wife of Patrick Henry (of “give me liberty or give me death” fame), and has hosted everyone from Charles Dickens to P.T. Barnum in its walls. We had a delightful lunch and everyone working there was really pleasant and welcoming. It was definitely worth the effort to get there and I can’t imagine this will be my last visit. After lunch we continued on to Richmond where we checked into the Marriott right in the heart of downtown. We rested for a few minutes and then walked across the street to the majestic and historic Carpenter Theatre to see the Richmond Ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker. We were all truly impressed by every aspect of this show from the costumes to the sets, but the dancing was excellent and there was even a live orchestra. It was a wonderful show in a beautiful old theatre.
Before leaving Richmond on Monday we popped over to the Hotel Jefferson for a coffee. The Jefferson is one of Virginia’s grand old dames and is magnificent at any time of year, but decked out for Christmas it’s even better. We wandered around checking out the huge tree and all of the great decorations and then sat in the Palm Court to enjoy a hot cup of coffee and ponder the old days when there were pools with live alligators living in them. The drive home was pretty easy and we got back in the early afternoon so that I could enjoy music night with my friends’ band and a few special guest stars. My friend Joe makes some delicious egg nog which really topped off a great day.
Tuesday was a busy one as I raced around trying to finish up as much as I could as I’ll only have one day when I get back from New England before taking off for London. In the evening I went down to Nanny O’Brien’s in Cleveland Park to catch up with my old college friend Chris. It’s always good to see him and hear what he’s been up to. This year he took his wife and three kids to Europe for a couple of weeks which sounds like it was quite an adventure.
And then today we cruised up the east coast to see my brother here in New Hampshire. There’s snow on the ground and we’re expecting more over the weekend and it’s very Christmassy and he has four trees up in his house. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a white Christmas and I’m looking forward to the next couple of days hanging out with the family and enjoying cooking together and games and music. We’ll be heading out on the town on Friday to see A Christmas Carol which will round out a busy season of shows and performances. Other than that, we’ll be taking it easy for the few days that we’ll be here.
And that’s what I’ve been up to this week. I’m sure you’ll see that I’ve also been finally getting to some of my Arizona photos that I’ve been promising for the last six months. I’m going to try and get a few more sets published before I take off for Europe next week, but we’ll see how it goes. I’m definitely starting to sort out my trip and am looking forward to catching up with dozens of old friends while I’m there. I’ve got lots more planning to do which is made more difficult by the rail strikes going on in Britain at the moment, but I know it’ll be a wonderful trip and I’m very excited to be heading overseas again. I’m going to wind this post up now and go hang out with my brother. It’s been a year since I’ve seen him so it’ll be good to catch up on all he’s been up to. He does have a lovely home and it’s good to be here.
I wish you all a Happy Hanukkah, a Merry Christmas and, if you don’t hear from me, a very Happy New Year. Fear not, we’ll definitely get back to some regular adventures in 2023 when I get back. I’m looking forward to it. Take care and stay warm out there and thank you, as always, for reading.
-Mike