Some of you may be wondering why my presence at Steemit has been a bit scant this week. I had to run to DC for meetings, and that usually spills over into lunch, dinner and...inevitably, drinks. After working a full day, networking a full evening, you find it is time to go to bed only to start the vicious cycle over again the next day. So, since I've been gone, I thought I would throw out a quick recap of my trip. Hopefully it won't bore you to tears.
I stayed at the Marriott Gateway Crystal City. It is a fairly nice hotel located very close to the city. There are underground tunnels that have a variety of shops, restaurants and even a Metro stop for quick access to other parts of the city. I have stayed at numerous hotels around DC, both in the city as well as the outskirts. The Gateway is one of my favorites. Aside from staff that are friendly and attentive, the rooms were all redone in the past few years, offering a relaxing, comfortable environment for the brief periods I actually spent in my room. Below is a photo of the room I stayed in on this visit. I usually request a King, but they don't always have that available when I check in early. I checked in at noon o on this trip.
My room overlooked Crystal City, with a microscopic sliver of the Potomac visible between the buildings. I was on a high floor, but there are enough tall buildings nearby to obstruct whatever view might be there. I wasn't pining away at my window, so no biggie. As a Marriott Platinum member, there is one perk above all others. The concierge lounge. The Gateway has an "M Lounge" which generally tend to be the nicer lounges. No exception here. The lounge is nicely appointed and opened most of the day. There is always coffee and drinks available, as well as an assortment of snacks. But the best part is breakfast. They have a full breakfast buffet that includes bacon, sausage, eggs, eggs to order, fruit, breads, muffins, salmon...did I say bacon? They have bacon, too. Good bacon. Breakfast at the M Lounge is free for Gold or Platinum members.
The best restaurants are in the city. However, on this trip, it seems I was limited to eating around Crystal City. A bit disappointing. One of the top rated restaurants is Epic Smokehouse located on Fern. It was forgettable. Probably the worst brisket I have had in my life. The restaurant is overpriced and the food just wasn't good. I can't believe this place is rated so high. I had lunch at Urban Thai on 23rd and it was amazing. I love that place. They have the world's best Tom Yum soup. I hit Potbelly's for a sandwich, which was delicious. I also hit a Mediterranean restaurant that was decent enough. Nothing special. Eating in DC is a foodies mecca. Unfortunately, I didn't hit any of the exceptional places on this brief trip.
During the day, I worked from a building near the Pentagon. My office was on a low floor, with a decent, partially obstructed view of the Potomac. But my buddy has an office on a higher floor with an exceptional view. His office faces the side of the Pentagon that was hit on 9/11. You can see all of the major landmarks along the Potomac, which I had to snap a few photos of. The first is a the top of this post, with two more below.
Last night was particularly fun. With a morning plane to catch, I managed to end up at a friend's house. We stayed out too late. I guess I should have seen that coming. When your buddy collects bourbon as a well financed hobby, you are going to pay the price for sampling. I keep my drinking in check. I don't do drunk. But I had to sample some of the rate finds. I had some 15 and 16 year George Staggs, 10 year Van Winkle (no pappys...or he was hiding it...), Blanton's, Buffalo Trace and some special blend Crown Royal. I didn't try all of these, trust me. As tempting as it might be. But I should have gone back to my hotel long before I did!
Now that I'm back, hopefully I can knock out the overview of my China trip I have been planning to do, catch everyone up on the beer-making process (getting ready to move it to secondary fermentation) and catch up on watching/reviewing some movies. Hope you enjoyed the reader's digest version of my trip!
Wow.... what an exciting trip. DC is beautiful, I'm can see clearly you had a nice time at DC..
Please when next are you paying a visit to DC, I want to go with you. Lol
looking very nice
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Yea Crystal City/Pentagon City is a bit lacking on the good eats front. A few decent local lunch/fast food spots but overall lots of national chains or just lackluster places.
And your buddy has a fantastic bourbon collection!
Yeah. And he was holding out. lol.
I was camping out in Kentucky a couple years ago. Some guys at the campground invited me over to hang out. One had homemade bourbon, in a Mason jar no less! Smoky, caramel, and smooth as Bailey's.
Now, I'd never liked bourbon. 'Course, my idea of bourbon was the Jim Beam in Coke I had in college. ... When I tried these fellows' liquor, I was like, "Ah! So THAT's why people are into bourbon!"
Quality makes all the difference.
Exactly. Good bourbon is a treat.
Sometimes food can be so disappointing in some places especially when they have already been oversold by high ratings and high price tags. I have experienced that a few times and I hate it especially since I am a foodie and know good food.
I am very impressed by that collection from your friend. I have friends who would be dying to sample such. They don't even have a no getting drunk rule.
Glad you got to visit the area, but you're right that the NOVA area around DC is overpriced and kind of blah. I live about an hour out of DC more out in the VA country and we have a lot of great breweries out here. There's a new farm brewery right down the road from me that flavors their beer with herbs, fruit, and veggies they grow on site. Where are you planning to go in China? I lived there for a year.
I went already. I have been posting about the trip. I have one final post to do that summarizes the whole trip. We enjoyed it.
I'll check that out. I thought you were saying you were preparing for your trip, not preparing to write the overview. It's an interesting place, that's for sure.
So that's where you've been! @coldsteem Guess we'll have to forgive you since it was "work related." Travelling execs do get a couple sweet perks for your sacrifices -- two of the best being frequent flyer miles and hotel points. Access to the Marriott's concierge lounge (or most any hotel chain's) is a fantastic benefit! Being able to swing by there anytime of night or day for a water, snack, drink or meal comes in handy. Have you dined at The Capital Grille? I highly recommend it. You and your buddy had a ton of bourbon bottles. Geezo! If you feel a bit under the weather, remember the saying "hair of the dog!" Cheers!🥃
Nice. I was supposed to go to capital grille with a friend last year, but our schedules never worked out. Now he has moved. :(.
Good to see you. Sounds like a movie Mr Steem Goes to Washington. Well almost. No wonder you haven't had time, what with business, networking, sleeping. When do you find time to eat? And glad to hear the Thai was good. I love Thai. Thanks for the update.
And the sequel. Mr Steems survives his trip to Washington. And has more work to get done upon his return. :)
Sounds really nice. That breakfast sounds mighty tasty!! I could definitely go for some yummy bacon! :)