Hiking Shenandoah: Winter Edition

Last weekend a friend and I joined a group hike out to Shenandoah National Park. The intention was to hike to some frozen waterfalls but unfortunately there had been some snow the day before and all the roads in the park were closed due to ice. So we made the best of the situation and drove partway back to another hike, the name of which I do not recall (and probably didn't pay attention to in the first place). It was pretty challenging, especially considering I've had a pretty sedentary winter so far but very pretty. There were some long icy stretches that were hard in my trail runners but overall I was glad it had recently snowed, it made everything so much prettier!

I love how the ice formed around these branches

Our hiking buddy, Vida

Snow!

A few days ago we got the first substantial snow of the year in DC! It's been five years since I've really seen it snow and while I didn't want to confirm everyone's stereotypes about Californians I was pretty overjoyed. It makes cold weather so much more worthwhile when its pretty outside. DC is not very well equipped to handle snow so all the busses were shut down which meant I couldn't get to work. So instead I went on a walk through Rock Creek Park. I wasn't sure how long the snow would stay so I wanted to enjoy before it turned to gross slush and ice. (Eventually it did turn to ice which made my morning commute take about twice as long since I'm not adept at walking on it). It was so cold outside but totally worth it, everything looked so much calmer than usual and it was easy to forget I was in a big city!

Skiing

Union Market

A friend who lives in the Noma area of DC invited me to brunch today at Union Market, an indoor artisanal marketplace I have never been to before. I feel like I've been kind of stuck in a rut as far as exploring new parts of the city so I was glad of the opportunity to try something new.

I'm going to be totally honest though, on the way over I was having my doubts. The neighborhood did not really feel "brunch-y"...

...so my hopes were not high. However when I finally got there I was very pleasantly surprised. Union Market is full of cute specialty shops and delicious food. After exploring for awhile I got the most delicious breakfast sandwich of my life from a biscuit shop (the picture of which did not turn out). There are little tables set up throughout to eat at.

The vendors were all very friendly and passionate about juice or cheese or knives or whatever they did. I definitely enjoyed walking around and sampling everything.

Trendy people at the oyster bar

Fancy knives

Fancy cocktails

A chandelier made out of water bottles!

Fancy Syrups

All these bitters (plus the fancy drink-making tools they were surrounded by) made me wish I knew more about making fancy cocktails

Finding our way around...

 I'm so glad I got introduced to this new place. While its a little far for me to go regularly, I'm sure I'll be back!

Home for the Holidays

It was really nice to go home for Christmas. Even compared to cloudless days in DC, I think the sun shines brighter in California. It was so relaxing to be able to take some time off work and spend it with the family. It's possible I may have spent the largest chunk of my time on the couch catching up on Downton Abbey before the new season premiers but we still managed to get out and see things, including the Dickens Fair; a re-creation of Charles Dickens' London the Cow Palace in San Francisco. This time we even got to go with our very own British person.

Albert got a bow tie for Christmas from Audra and Ben! Now he is a real gentleman

Catching up on Downton with Blanketman

Candlemaking at the Dickens Fair

A Victorian Laney

Waiting for Mom to come home

We've never quite understood his obsession with maps

Lots of IPAs

And a "Rain Sombrero"

We finally bought my Mom a pressure washer. Best gift ever.