Day 122 - 06/22/2007

I rode to work again and again took 50 to work. I think I'll be going this way from now on as it actually seems safer than going Stonecroft. For the vast majority of the trip, I ride on sidewalks or paths whereas when I go via Stonecroft I'm on the road. It's definitely a more relaxing ride, that's for sure.

I chatted with Tammy at the gym about the vulture that was hanging out outside the door and it turns out that there's another one as well. It seems that they're nesting in the bushes, so they'll be a fixture until November (at the earliest) when the fledgling takes to the skies and leaves home. (Apparently vultures are protected and therefore can't be removed unless they're sick or something.)

This afternoon Mike came in and gave me four tickets to the Nats game, plus the parking pass. He was going to take the other two. I was the only person to respond to his message. Sounds good to me. I was looking forward to the game with whomever went, but now that I can bring D and the kids, I'm looking forward to it even more.

After work I rode home on 50 (vs. cutting down Lee Road like I did earlier in the week). Surprisingly enough, it actually not too bad. Traffic was moving slow enough along the most dangerous stretch (between Lee Road and Walney Road) that it wasn't a problem. The worst part of it was crossing the ramps to/from 28 (and even these were pretty easy as traffic was light). I'm thinking more and more about making this the preferred route vs. Stonecroft. Not only is it faster, it seems safer.

D and I met the Barnes, the Craigs and the Rynexes at McCormick and Schmicks in Reston. We had to park on top of the parking deck (al fresco, under the stars you could say) as the parking garage was packed. We met at the bar for a round of drinks before heading to our table. I switched to Mojitos (even though they weren't as good as Brian's) after the first Guinness as I didn't want to feel too full for dinner. We got the Big Chill as an appetizer and it was great. There was smoked salmon, ahi tuna, shrimps, crawfish, oysters, clams, smoked mussels, lump backfin crab meat and cocktail shrimp. We also got the kalamari and spinach artichoke dip (with crab meat) since the Big Chill just wasn't enough for the eight of us.

For my entree I ordered the Sockeye salmon from the Copper River. The water talked it up so much so I switched from the ahi tuna (which is what I had originally ordered). I should have stayed with the ahi tuna. Lesson learned.

For dessert we (as in the eight of us) shared a slice of white chocolate cheesecake. Charlie ordered it, but we joked to the waiter to bring out eight forks, so he did. I'm glad he did so as it was pretty darn good.

We finally got the hint that it was time to go as the staff was readying the tables for lunch the next day. When we got up from the table, the room was empty, save for the waitstaff. We finished our conversation on the sidewalk and we each went our separate ways.

It was a great evening of good friends and (for the most part) good food. I'm not sure where we're going next month, but I'm sure it will be just as fun.