I arrived safely in DC on Tuesday, and Barbara picked me up from the airport with my suitcase that's heavier than me (I'm not even sure how.. there really wasn't THAT much in it!) and my laptop case (yay, I have a laptop!)...

I came to Barbara and Bernard's house where we all happily reunited and where I gladly found that their crotchety old dog, Barley, still remembers me well (it's been about two years since I've been here) and their younger puppy does not remember me at all.

Mike (from Lynchburg) eventually made his way here on his Yural Patrol, on/in which we went to see Josh Rouse perform at the Birchmere. Great concert, very enjoyable album. I can't think right off the top of my head who opened, but they were really good, too, and I picked up their EP (only thing they had) and will post again when I've got that in hand.

Barbara and Bernard have about a billion guest rooms in their magnificant home in the woods, so Mike crashed on the main floor and then got to play with their 300-year-old Dutch Clock the next day, which was exciting for him since he likes working with clocks.

Barbara and Bernard also keep hours much more similar to what I kept when I could as a civilian -- that is, when whatever employment or scholarly pursuits I had at the time did not interfere with my preferred schedule. Although I yawn a lot and nap a lot, I have otherwise mostly fallen into that schedule (pretty immediately) because this house will do that to ya. Being here, I think, is the first time in a very, very long time that I haven't woken up before 8 (at least to realize I'm not working and roll back over). I slept in until 9:20 this morning (when I woke up to work out) and I think it was more like 9:45 yesterday. I will sleep in until someone wakes me tomorrow, which I'm very much looking forward to. Of course, I usually don't stay up quite this late (even on bar-closing nights) and I usually don't eat quite so heartily (we've had steak and potatoes twice since I got here)...

I went to lunch at the Pentagon City Mall today with a Naval associate I met through some fun-interesting circumstances, and then got a little driving tour of the Navy Annex, Pentagon outside, Tidal Basin, Arlington National Cemetery, and some other items-of-interest which can be seen from local roads and highways. Just a short drive-through, but it was a good start on hopefully seeing the sights for reals later on this visit.

When I got back from that, I took Bran for a walk and had the most peaceful and wonderful day in the woods and on *gasp* HILLS. We don't really have those in FL, though Jacksonville is far more textured than south Florida. It's been nice being up in the hills again, though -- I keep accidentally calling them mountains. I'm not sure if that's because compared to the flatlands of Jax (where elevation is found mostly on bridges), these seem like mountains -- or because to me, Virginia is mountainous country and I am in Virginia and so these must be mountains.. probably a bit of both. Bran and I played and ran on the hill through all the leaves and trees out in the woods, and suddenly I realized that I'd lost the path entirely and wasn't quite certain of where I was. It was maybe 3pm and still very plenty bright outside, and I had my cell phone, and I was still very near to civilization.. so I wasn't concerned at all. It was a great day to meander through those woods with an adorable cocker-poo puppy and enjoy nature and solitude all at once.

Eventually, though, Bran abandoned me and made his way back home somehow -- at which point they became concerned about why he had returned home without me, and called me, and knew exactly where I was when I described it, and came out and found me within a few minutes. I wasn't far, just lost.

Anyway, then I took a nap and we had steak and potatoes and watched my bootcamp graduation DVD (Thanks Beth and Josh, again!) and the Over the Rhine DVD (and again!) and sorted out some of the CDs that Barbara and Bernard, as people-of-influence-and-even-some-designated/professional-responsibility within the local music scene here, have been given. They gave me one stack to listen to to see if they should give them a listen and another to sort into keep and trash piles for myself.

Tomorrow should be mostly more relaxing and then Beth Patterson and Ron arrive in the evening. It will probably be either tomorrow or Saturday that I go and view the Cherry Blossom Festival (if I make it out there) and the other sights from the drive-by ... then on Sunday I've got a church invite in the morning and Beth's concert at the Olde Brogue, I guess all day.

Jeff might come up and see me from Lynchburg, and I'm hoping that Lindsay and Andy and perhaps also Ash can .. I'm waiting to hear from Caren about if she'll be able to catch me at all, and I'm also wondering about some other folks ... I didn't make much effort to call any of my Burg friends and loved ones except for Mike, Lindsay, and Ash about this trip --- anyone else, I'd love to see you if you're going to be in the area, and I may make it to the Burg in August timeframe?

There are local DC folks I'd like to see as well and a couple of other events or places that are tentatively on my wish-list. Mostly, though, this is about relaxing -- and beating the burnout. Already I think that both of those are significantly accomplished, though there's always room for more.