GW Party

So the Halloween party was a success!  It was at a night club in Northeast D.C.  Since neither one of us had really never been to "club", it was a new experience.  They checked my bag, but they didn't check Chris's... I don't think they knew what to do with a male fanny pack.  Everyone loved the outfits, even the homeless man we passed on the way thought it was funny. 

Here are some of our favorite costumes of the night:

- Highlighters (my favorite)

-The "dude" from The Big Lebowski (Chris's favorite)

-Protesters

-Beer Pong Table

-The guy from "I'm on a boat"

- Dry Cleaning

Who knew Law students could be so fun ;)

ps... Are you supposed to tip bathroom attendants?  I don't.  I mean really...  I think I can get my own paper towel, thank you.

Sweet fanny pack...

We acted as true tourists and asked people to take our picture.  You can't really see it, but I have some great "first family" jewelry on.  That's right people... Obama, Michelle, and the girls... all on a necklace and earrings ;)

Pic of the party from the balcony

The security guards at the "bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms" thought we were very strange taking this picture...

Cheesy pic at the metro

A thought on being a tourist in your own town…

As mentioned in the previous post, Lauren and I have decided to attend my law school Halloween party on Thursday night as DC tourists. We have put together the gaudiest outfits we could, the main source of our “flair” being a little touristy shop in Old Town Alexandria and a street vendor in downtown DC. Although, as I pulled the outfits together, I began to think we might have gone just a bit over the edge. That is, people may recognize that we are wearing costumes intended to poke fun at the kinds of tourist we see every day. Much like one wouldn’t dress as a tacky farmer in Manhattan in fear of upsetting the actual farmers, should we really be dressing as tacky tourists in DC? After all, we do have to ride the train from Alexandria to the bar where the party is held (about 25 minutes), and thus will share the ride with a couple hundred people between stops (no doubt some of which will be tourists). What if the very type of people that we are trying to poke a little fun at happens to stand next to us on the train ride? Or, worse yet, what happens when we pass a street vendor on the way to the event, looking like two walking billboards for what they are selling? Will they find the humor in us mocking exactly the items they sell every day to make a living?


Then I realized that there is no need to worry; I am still probably one of the touristiest people in DC on any given day. Each morning I am the one that almost falls each time the train starts and stops (I don’t know how everyone manages to read a book while standing on the train, holding onto nothing for support, while I appear to be having a seizure trying to keep my balance while wrestling with my backpack, books and umbrella). I am the one guy who stops in the middle of 23rd street every day (and subsequently gets honked at by oncoming taxi drivers and nearly trampled by Starbucks donning businessmen) because if you look straight down it you have an uninterrupted view of the Lincoln memorial. I am the one who gets excited every time I get a glimpse of the Washington Monument, or the White House, or the Capital Building while everyone else walks past as if they are just passing a fire hydrant. I am still that guy who asks, “Excuse me, do you know how to get to the nearest Metro stop,” and, unfortunately, I am still the one who gets off the train and walks about two blocks in the wrong direction before he realizes that the street numbers getting smaller means you are walking East not West.


So really there is no need to worry about offending anyone but ourselves. Thursday night Lauren and I will really just be dressed as a slightly more obnoxious version of the tourists we still are at heart. After all, we are still just a couple of Kansans spending a few years in a crazy city. And I hope that “touristy” feeling never wears while we are here. I enjoy being amazed by our surrounding each and every day and continue to enjoy all a new city has to offer us. It will be pretty interesting, though, riding the train Thursday night as it is not yet Halloween. . . I wonder how many people will realize we are in costume?!

Halloween

Chris and I are going to his Halloween party at George Washington.  We have decided to be D.C. tourists.

I heart D.C. shirts... check.

I love Obama stickers.... check.

Fanny Pack (thank you North Face)... check

Big Tourist Cameras hanging around our necks.... check

American Flags sticking out of all parts of our clothing (people really do this)... check

Are we missing anything?

Our New Place

I am finally getting around to posting pictures of our apartment.  Enjoy :)

Home

It was so fun to go home for the Iowa State game at Arrowhead. David and Lynda (Chris's parents) were so generous and flew us home for a quick weekend. Chris was like a kid waiting for Christmas on the plane to KC. He was sooo excited!

Some of the highlights:

-Getting to see a WIN :)
-Spending time with our family
-The Williebago
-Rocking the bus with Ryan, Donnelly, Chad, and Katie
-Mi Ranchito after the game.... yum.
-Getting to see Vanessa before the big weekend!
We have the best friends and family!