2019 Year in Review

Whew!

2019 was a busy one.  Here’s a recap:

January:  Went to Ojo Caliente Spa with a group of friends.

February:  Howie died.  ☹ 

March:  I took my 100^th Pure Barre class!  My sister-in-law and niece came for a visit.  We had a great time!

April:  We celebrated our 9 year anniversary and had dinner at a restaurant with a beautiful view:

May:  Hubs had to go to D.C. for work, and I tagged along for a few days.  We saw all the things. 

June:  My sister came and we went to all the bookstores and also the convention. 

July:  I got promoted.

August:  I started my ‘get healthy’ journey.

September:  We traveled to Denver and went to a football game and a concert.  We also had our circuit assembly and my husband went to D.C. again for work. 

October:  Balloon Fiesta.  And my brother came to visit!  We had a lot of fun.

November:  We spent November preparing for December.  We found out that hubs was matched with a service dog.  He also went to Boston for work.  I did Black Friday shopping again!

December:  December was all about the new puppy.  Hubs was in San Francisco for 2 weeks.  I flew out for a few days.  We saw Hamilton!  We drove home, stopping in Las Vegas on the way. 

Other things to note: 

*I lost 38 pounds.

*I read 94 books.  I didn’t hit my reading goal (100 books), but I came close!

*I started hiking and hope to do WAY more of it in 2020!

*I saw a couple movies in the theater:  Avengers Endgame, Downton Abbey.  I may have seen a couple more, but those are the two I remember.

*I don’t put pictures of other people up on this blog any more.  That’s why you won’t see many ‘people’ pics.  Just FYI.

Visitors (5): 

Uncle Bob

My sister-in-law and my niece

My sister

My brother

New family members (2):

1 great niece

1 nephew’s wife (niece-in-law?)

New pets (1):

Xy Xy

Places traveled (I track all the places we go.  It helps to look back on when I’m having a bad day or feeling sorry for myself for some petty reason.  Traveling is my therapy):

Espanola/Taos, NM (Ojo Caliente)

Washington D.C.

Denver, CO

Centennial, CO

Englewood, CO

Placitas, NM

Jemez Springs, NM

San Francisco, CA

Sausalito, CA

Penngrove, CA

Petaluma, CA

Santa Rosa, CA

Las Vegas, NV

We got to add quite a few more red pins to our travel map!

Las Vegas

On our way home from California, we stopped in Las Vegas for the night.  It’s about the halfway point, so we figured why not. 

Oh my.  I’m glad we went….but I have no desire to ever go there again.  EVER.  So. Many. People.  I mean, I guess I showed have known, staying on the strip on a Saturday night was probably not the best idea.  It was convenient once we got there.  But again…so many people.  

We got to see the fountains at the Bellagio which were super pretty.  We ate some amazing food.  And then got the heck out of there the next morning ha ha.

Again, I’m glad we went, but I’ll be perfectly fine if we never go again ha ha.

Hamilton

When hubs was in San Francisco before I got there, I got a text from him that said ‘Hamilton is here in San Francisco’.  They’re doing a run in SF, and it’s been there almost a year. 

We’ve been wanting to see Hamilton for YEARS, but it was no where near us and the tickets are outrageously expensive.  The price range for Hamilton tickets are $300 - $900.  Each.  I’m not kidding.  And not only that, tickets are incredibly hard to get.  It’s always sold out.  I mean, it won 11 Tonys.  And a Pulitzer Prize.

So he decided to call, just for kicks.  Just to see if they had any tickets, and if they did, how much they were.  And THEN he was going to see if they had any tickets in the disabled seating section because of Xylo.

A short while later, I got a text from him that said ‘so…we have Hamilton tickets.’    WHHHHAAATTTT?!?!?

My first thought was oh my, do I need to get a second job to pay for them?  And then his next text was ‘they were $75 each’.  ?!?!?!?!?.  I was actually speechless.  Apparently he called the Orpheum theater directly, asked them about disabled seating, told them about our service dog and that we would need some extra space, and they said they had 2 tickets available with plenty of extra space.  For $75 each.  I am still shocked.  I’m wondering if they give discounts on the disabled seats???  Because these were GOOD seats.  We were on the aisle.  We had one ‘attached’ seat (like a regular seat), and then right next to that was like a nice chair that could be moved to give Xylo space to lay on the carpeted floor between us.  I couldn’t believe it.  I still can’t believe it!

Taken from our seats:

Anyways.  Back to Hamilton.  We got there, got some drinks (theaters now allow you to have drinks in the auditorium, they sell them in sippy cups), and got settled.

The show was amazing.  I found myself leaning forward and holding my breath almost the whole time.  And I even knew what to expect as far as the songs and the order of the songs.  I’ve been listening to the soundtrack since 2016.  It’s the story of Alexander Hamilton’s entire life.  And the cast of historical characters:  Aaron Burr, a politician, army officer, and vice president to Thomas Jefferson (oh, and the guy that killed Hamilton).  General George Washington, before and during his presidency.  Thomas Jefferson, before and during his presidency.  James Madison, before his presidency.  Hercules Mulligan, the tailor/spy.  Marquis de Lafayette, the French aristocrat and military officer.  King George.   The Schuyler Sisters:  Angelica, Eliza, Peggy.  And Maria Reynolds.

Hamilton the musical is such a big deal because it is unlike anything you’ve ever seen in a live Broadway production.  This is why:

1. It’s the historical account of the founding fathers, a bunch of white men, performed by a completely diverse cast of people of all races. 
2. The cast doubles up on parts.  One actor plays Thomas Jefferson AND Lafayette.  One actor plays James Madison AND Hercules Mulligan.  One actor plays John Laurens AND Phillip Schuyler.  One actress plays Peggy Schuyler AND Maria Reynolds.  Brilliant.
3. The music is all hip-hop/R&B/pop/jazz.

It is extremely fast paced but it doesn’t feel rushed.  The 2^nd half is pretty emotional, (Hamilton’s affair, and the death of his son).  When Eliza finds out about his affair and sings ‘Burn’, her voice cracked a few times and she was singing her heart out as she was literally burning his letters up on stage.  I teared up a few times.

I’ve listened to the soundtrack so many times, but it has so much more meaning now that I’ve seen it:

*Before it starts, King George makes the announcement about turning off all cell phones, and then says ‘thank you for coming to watch MY show’.  Ha ha.

*There’s a part in ‘It’s Quiet Uptown’, the song right after Hamilton and Eliza’s son is killed.  Eliza hasn’t forgiven Hamilton for his affair AND his dueling advice to his son Phillip that ultimately got him killed.  They are walking around, Hamilton grieving and begging for Eliza’s forgiveness.  She finally takes his hand.  And his reaction to that is about what did me in.

*King George plopping down in his chair on the side of the stage in GLEE so he can watch the mess that is the Adams Administration.

*King George asking the audience to sing along with him (la da da da da, ya da da da da ya da da, etc.)

*Hamilton getting all worked up, then turning to the audience and saying ‘Oh I’m sorry am I talking too loud?  Sometimes I get overexcited and shoot off at the mouth.’

*Hercules Mulligan throwing flowers at Alexander and Eliza’s wedding.

*Thanking the audience for coming to the Cabinet meeting, and then the use of rapping microphones during Cabinet Battle #1.

*The attitude and flamboyance of Thomas Jefferson.

*The amazing stage presence of Hercules Mulligan.

There were just so many moments!

The choreography is amazing.  Part of the stage is circular and in constant motion for most songs.  Which means not only is the cast moving, but the stage is moving as well.  And there are no ‘prop’ people.  The cast moves the props off and on the stage.  But they do it so subtly (yet quick) that it just seems natural.

My favorite song of the musical is Wait For It, sung by Aaron Burr.  He is singing about his determination, despite Hamilton’s rise to power.  Burr is convinced that his time to shine is coming, so he’s hanging on and waiting.  Wikipedia worded it so great “the song finds sympathy for Burr’s chronic caution; with a legacy and reputation to protect, he can’t risk as much as the ambitious Hamilton, and what will become a murderous rage begins here as mournful jealousy over his rival’s ability to openly work for what he wants and believes in”.  After this song you kind of feel yourself rooting for Burr (briefly).  Google this song…it is amazing. 

Lin Manual-Miranda was quoted saying that Wait for It and The Room Where it Happens are two of the best songs he’s ever written.  The lyrics are what make this entire musical.  They are amazing.  If all history could be taught in this fashion, we would all learn (and retain) a lot more. 

It was hands down the best musical I’ve ever seen.

California

Ah California.  We had a great time, although it was exhausting.  I ADORE California.  But you could not pay me enough money in the world to live there.  😊  There were sooooo many times when we just said ‘how do people live like this?!?’ (traffic, crowds, cost of living, gas prices, etc.).

I flew into San Francisco on Wednesday night.  Hubs came and got me at the airport and I met Xylo for the first time.  We made our way back to Santa Rosa, and got in around midnight.

On Thursday, I dropped hubs and Xylo off at the training center, and then I worked.  I hired an assistant!!  Woo hoo!!!  So Thursday morning was nothing but back and forth between HR and my new employee. 

And then I went shopping.  California always has GREAT shopping.  There was an outlet mall not far from the training center.  They had a gigantic Coach Outlet (which I skipped because we have one of those here), a Kate Spade outlet (which I went into but was underwhelmed), and a Michael Kors outlet.  Where I made 2 purchases (another blog for another time).

I met Josh, Xylo, and 2 of his trainers for lunch.  Then I picked up Josh and Xylo when they were done, and we headed south to San Francisco because WE GOT TICKETS TO SEE HAMILTON.  And again…another blog for another time.  It deserves its own blog post.

On the way to San Francisco, there was a ginormous traffic jam (of course).  Our GPS had us take a detour, so we listened to her.  And I’m SO GLAD we did, because she directed us through Sausalito.  What a charming place!  We didn’t have loads of extra time, but we stopped, parked, and took Xylo down to the little beach area for a while.  It was beautiful!

And then we went to Hamilton!!!!! (more to come)

It was another late night.

On Friday, I dropped off hubs and Xylo again, then I drove to the coast (Muir Beach specifically).  I didn’t go down to the beach, I drove up in the cliffs which was terrifying actually.  It was extremely foggy and I was soooo high up.  And no guard rails!!  Yikes.  It kind of freaked me out.  I wasn’t worried about my driving, I was worried about other peoples driving.  On the way back I opted to take the more inland route.  It was a bit further, but I had the time.

I’m glad I went because the coast was beautiful.  And terrifying ha ha.

I picked up hubs and Xylo and we went out for a drink.  And then it was time to party!

We attended the graduation for Xylo and another dog.  It was so nice.  They had it catered and had an open bar.  The instructors had a speech for each dog/client, and also a slide show of pictures throughout the 2 weeks.  I got a little teary.  It was wonderful to see how much love and time and energy is put into these amazing dogs.

We got home around 8:30 or so and started packing up and even loaded up the car for our first leg of our trip home.

It was fun.  San Francisco (and the Bay area) is now my 2^nd favorite place in California (San Diego will always be #1).  But San Francisco is beautiful, as is the surrounding areas (wine country).

Until next time California!

Colorado

We took a short little vacation to Denver last weekend.  We left on Saturday around 8:00, and arrived around 2:30.  Denver is not a bad drive, about 6.5 hours.  Here is my recap with a few travel tips thrown in.  😊

We first checked in to our hotel.   We stayed at the Hyatt House Denver Tech Center in Englewood.

TRAVEL TIP:  Price check, price check, price check.  We were going to try to find an Air BnB, but in this case the hotel was cheaper.  And it was a GREAT hotel.  Our ‘room’ was more of an apartment, with a separate bedroom and a full kitchen.  It’s so nice to have a large fridge/freezer/microwave when traveling.  I had packed a bunch of snacks (yogurt, fruit, nuts) so it was convenient to throw those in the fridge and put my ice packs in the freezer so they would be ready for our drive home.

ALWAYS check the amenities of the place you are staying.  Like free wi-fi.  A lot of hotels advertise free wi-fi, but they only offer the free wi-fi in the lobby, and then charge you for wi-fi in your room.  Check the details of the breakfast.  This hotel served a hot breakfast every morning complete with an omelet bar.  There are a lot of hotels that offer free breakfast, but most of them are cold cereal, fruit, pastries, and make-your-own waffle type breakfasts.  And there’s nothing wrong with that!  But if you’re expecting a hot breakfast and find cold cereal, that might be a tad disappointing. 

After we checked in to our hotel, we found a local tavern that hosts Husker fans every game Saturday.  It was so much fun!  It’s nice to be in a roomful of people rooting for your team.  I had their version of a Runza.  It was not the same.

Sunday morning I found the nearest Pure Barre and took a class.  It was a pretty full class (compared to what I’m used to).  It felt good to MOVE after driving for 6 hours on Saturday.

After Barre I went back to our room and hubby informed me that he got tickets to the Bears/Broncos game at 2:25 p.m.  YAY!!!  I showered, we relaxed for a couple of hours and then got back in the car and headed to Mile High Stadium.

TRAVEL TIP:  If you’re going to a large event, like a football game, do NOT attempt to find parking near the stadium.  It will be impossible and lead to loads of frustration.  So we drove to the nearest ‘box store’ parking lot in proximity to the stadium and parked there.  And then from there, we took a Lyft to the stadium.  It was soooooo nice.  Free parking at Target, and then a $5 Lyft ride to the stadium, where we got dropped off pretty much at the front door.  After the game, we did NOT attempt to get a Lyft back to Target.  Lyft’s prices go by supply/demand, so their prices skyrocket after events like football games and concerts.  So we started walking away from the stadium towards Target (it was 2 miles maybe?)  About halfway there, we found some Lyft scooters.  Basically, if you have the Lyft app (which we do), you scan the barcode on the scooter and off you go.  It was fun, and slightly scary at times ha ha.  So for about a mile, we rode the scooters back to Target.  The scooters charge by the minute.  I think our rides ended up being $4?  Totally worth it!

Now let’s talk about the football game.  Oh my.  I have NEVER in my life been so stress out about any football game.  First off, we paid a LOT for our tickets so I was really, really, really hoping for a Bears win.  And all looked great up until the last 2 minutes.  There were SO many things that had to happen just right.  First, the Broncos attempted point after kick to tie the game.  The kicker missed, but there was a penalty against the Bears.  So then, the Broncos decided to go for 2, which would put them one point ahead of the Bears with 30-some seconds before game end.  And they made the 2-point conversion.  At this point, I was heartbroken because I figured it was over for the Bears.  The Bears had just a few seconds to get the ball down the field in field-goal range.  At 2nd down and a bunch of yards, the Bears QB couldn’t connect with anyone.  At 3^rd down, he connected with his receiver who got down the field a bit further.  And then the clock ran out.  And Broncos players and coaches started running onto the field thinking the game was over.  BUT…the Bears had called a time-out with one second remaining on the clock.  ONE SECOND.  One field goal attempt.  A 53 yard attempt (not easy).  Everyone lined up, the kicker kicked and I swear it felt like the football was going in slow motion.  And he made it.  Game over.  BEARS WIN!  It was fun because we had Bears fans right behind us AND in front of us so we were all celebrating and high-fiving as the disgruntled Broncos fans were making their way around us trying to leave.

What a game!!!

After parking our Lyft scooters (you can just leave them wherever) and retrieving our car at Target, we headed back to Englewood and found a meatball restaurant for dinner.  Yes, a meatball restaurant.  It was delicious! 

Monday was Ikea.  We took our time in the morning, had a long breakfast, packed up our stuff and the car and checked out around 11:00.  And then drove to Ikea, which was only about 5 minutes away.

I don’t really have any Ikea tips, except HAVE A LIST.  And try to stick to it ha ha.  Ikea is like a wonderland of good quality cool stuff for cheap.  The Ikea employees are extremely helpful.

We pretty much stuck to our list.  We got a white shelving storage unit for my mother-in-law.  Light blocking curtain panels for our sunroom for the super hot summers.  A couple more bookshelves for the library.  And misc. odds and ends.

After Ikea, we packed up the car.  My trusty CRV.  I should have taken a picture with the Ikea boxes, bags, and our luggage all piled up.

And then we headed back downtown (ish) for the entire reason we went to Denver.  Of Monsters and Men!!!!  I got the tickets a couple months ago, pretty much as soon as they released their tour dates and cities.  They are an Icelandic band and they put out an album every 3-4 years.  So this is only their 3^rd album.  I kicked myself for not going to see them in 2015, so I did NOT want to miss them this time around.

They played at the Mission Ballroom, which is a relative new concert venue in Denver.  It was a really nice place.  It was a sold out concert, I’m guessing there were maybe 3,000 people there? 

TRAVEL TIP:  Again, when going to a large event like this, don’t count on parking near the venue.  I found a really cool parking app which lets you reserve a parking spot in a secured parking garage for WAY cheaper than event parking.  I paid $5 to reserve a parking spot at a parking garage about 6 blocks away from the venue.  I reserved it from 4:30 p.m. until 1:00 a.m.  When we got there, I just whipped out my phone, held it up to the little scanner at the garage and the arm magically lifted and let us through.  IT WAS AMAZING.  Especially when we got to the venue and saw they were charging $20 to park in the lots nearby. The app is called ‘BestParking’.  I’m a fan.

The venue was really nice.  There were bars and bathrooms everywhere, so there were NO LINES EVER.  It was general admission.  Meaning…there are no seats.  On the balcony level though, there are ‘tiered’ steps to sit on though if that makes sense.  So that’s where we sat.  Which was nice because we got to sit down for the majority of the concert.  It was mostly the older people in the balcony so we fit right in ha ha.

The concert was AMAZING.  It exceeded my expectations.  They sang every song on my mental list that I hoped they would, with the exception of one on their new album (Stuck in Gravity).  They sang maybe 20 songs?  They played for an hour and a half.  It was just amazing.  They didn’t do a lot of talking in between.  They speak English (obviously), but with heavy Icelandic accents.  After each song Nanna (the female lead) would say ‘thank you’.  It was so cute.  😊  They did introduce about every other song.  One of my favorites, Lakehouse (from their 1^st album), they introduced by saying ‘this song we wrote reminding us of summers in Iceland’.  And another one they introduced by saying ‘if you’re an awkward dancer, then  you will dance great to this song’ (Wars, from their newest album).  😊  They’re just such a great band.  It was an all-ages show, so it didn’t get crazy or anything.

They didn’t go on until about 8:45 and ended around 10:15.  We waited until a lot of people had cleared out before we left.  So we got back to our car around 11:00.  And then we started the drive home.  We had to drive home after the concert because hubby had to be in Santa Fe on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m.  I did the driving so that hubby could sleep.  I took my time (no speeding!), stopped for gas 2 times, ate a gross Arby’s sandwich at 3:00 a.m. (I was starving and it was my only option!), and listened to ‘Into Thin Air’ on audio.  Hubby slept.  We rolled into Santa Fe around 5:00 a.m.  I found a grocery store parking lot, parked the car, and looked at my pictures and videos on my phone while hubby slept.  I woke him up around 6:30.  We found a Starbucks, got cleaned up (thank goodness for disposable washcloths), had coffee, and then I dropped hubby off at the Santa Fe office and I headed home (he caught a ride back to ABQ with his co-workers).

It was a great trip.  Kind of a whirlwind, but we packed a lot in.  It’s so important to get away every now and then!

Washington D.C.

Our first out-of-state trip of the year is in the books.

In May, hubby had a conference in Washington D.C. and I tagged along so we could hang out at night.  Then we tacked on 4 additional days to hang around and see all the things.

Monday:  Hubby had his conference and we just hung out afterwards.  We stayed at a hotel downtown (paid for by hubby’s conference).  One of the perks is that it was right across the street from Carnegie Library and a NICE park (good for the dog.)

And what hotel in Washington D.C. is complete without political cartoons on the wall?

Tuesday:  Hubby had his conference.  We had one ‘obligation’ thing to go to and that was having drinks at the FTC.  It was nice, they had snacks and drinks and we mingled on the balcony of the building, which overlooked the Capitol building.  Afterwards, we had an underwhelming dinner at a nice restaurant (Capital Grille).

This was our view sitting at the restaurant afterwards...there were still a few people mingling on the FTC balcony:

Wednesday:  Hubby had his conference until noon, then we left our luggage at the hotel and caught a Lyft (more on that later) to the National Archives Museum.  We got to see the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.  Very cool.  They’re in this huge room with dim lighting with security guards everywhere.  No phones.  If someone even takes out their phone (not to take a picture, but for something else), the guards will escort you out. 

We did lots of walking after that and then picked up our luggage and headed to our Air BnB.  After we got settled, we ate at a FANTASTIC Italian restaurant called the Red Hen.  I am STILL thinking about the bread cooked in the brick oven.  YUM.

Thursday:  Holocaust Museum.  First off, there’s a couple of things to know about the Holocaust Museum.  During tourist season (spring/summer basically), you MUST have a ticket.  The museum was free (all museums are free in D.C.), but you still had to get a ticket to prevent overcrowding.  When I went to get tickets online, they were sold out until the end of June (we went in the end of May).  So I did some digging and poking around on their website and discovered that if you are a firefighter or a veteran, you don’t need tickets.  All we had to do is go to the front desk and show my husband’s veteran card and they printed off tickets for us to the permanent exhibit.  If you don’t have a ticket, you can see the temporary exhibits, but not the ‘main’ stuff.

The Holocaust Museum is heartbreaking, disgusting, and unforgettable.  I recommend that everyone go at least once.  And probably only once.  I won’t be going back.  But I am SO glad that I went.

We spent the morning there, and then started walking the National mall.  This is where all of the monuments are.  However, the monuments are MUCH farther apart then you would think.  We ended up walking all of it, but it was tiring.  We stopped a lot (for the dog too) and drank a lot of water.  We’re not used to the humidity!

We started at the furthest monument, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.  It’s off the beaten path from the other monuments, across from a large water basin.  On our walk there, we noticed dark clouds rolling in.  But we didn’t really think anything of it, because they seemed to be moving away from  us.  We got to the Memorial (which is a circular dome with a pointed peak on the front and a giant statue of Thomas Jefferson in the middle).  See:

We were inside when all of the sudden everyone’s phones started making that annoying blaring sound whenever there’s a weather alert (including my phone).  I checked, and there was a tornado warning.  As soon as I checked my phone, it started DOWNPOURING and it was pretty much raining sideways.  The wind was insane.  We all crowded into the tiny gift shop that was off to the side of the memorial.  The ceiling tiles were being sucked up (and then would slam back down…it was a dropped ceiling).  And in about 10 minutes, it was over.  Once the rain stopped (about 5 minutes after that), we went back outside and saw all of the downed trees and debris everywhere.  I checked the local news later on that night and there was a tornado that had touched down.  Yikes!

But, we didn’t let that stop us.  We continued walking the mall and headed to the war memorials.  World War 1, World War 2, Korea and Vietnam.

We then walked along the reflecting pool and headed to the Lincoln Memorial, which is the largest Memorial.  It’s the one with the GIANT statue of him sitting down.  And when you’re on the steps you get a great straight shot view of the Washington monument and reflecting pool.  It was also the most busy.

We snapped a few pics of the White House from afar (see first pic...that's as close as we got), but it is a bit off the beaten path.

Friday:  The Supreme Court.  We had done/saw everything that I wanted to see, so hubby wanted to visit the Supreme Court.  We did a self-tour of the building, and then stood in line to get into one of the lectures inside the courtroom.  The judges weren’t there or anything, but we got to sit inside the courtroom and listen to a lecture about the history of the Supreme Court, the justices, the building, etc.  It was really interesting!

After that we headed to the Library of Congress.  It was AMAZING.  So incredibly beautiful.  It houses 38,000,000 books.  That’s INSANE!  We got to see the reading rooms, Thomas Jefferson’s library, and the Gutenberg Bible.  We took a guided tour.

The Capitol is right across the street from the Library of Congress:

Saturday:  One more trip downtown, and then back to visit with our Air BnB hosts (who were JWs!) and then packing up.

Sunday:  Traveling home.  D.C. to Chicago to Albuquerque.  It was a long day.  But we made it home around 9:00 p.m. AND we had the next day off (Memorial Day) so that was really nice.

A few random bits/travel tips:

*Take advantage of the free guided tours if they’re offered and if they’re small.  At the Library of Congress, our tour group was maybe 10 people.  We got to see all of the highlights and ask questions with the super knowledgeable guide (a former retired professor).  We also took a guided tour at the Holocaust Museum for one of their newer exhibits.  It just adds a lot to the experience and it’s FREE!

*Lyft.  We didn’t take the metro once.  Our Air BnB was about 2 miles from everything, so we took a Lyft.  Hubby pulled up the app and punched in where we were and where we wanted to go and within 5 minutes (usually), our driver showed up.  It was super time effective.  Sure, the Metro would have been cheaper, but it also would have taken WAY longer.  I plugged in some of our routes on the D.C. transit site, and to get from our BnB to the National Mall would have taken 45 minutes.  WHAT???  Taking a Lyft was about 10 minutes at the most.  And they are inexpensive.  I added up all of our Lyft rides (which were a LOT…we used them 2-3 times a day) and our grand total spent for 8 days (hubby got to D.C. one day before I did) was $115.  Not bad for transportation.  That included our trips to the airport both times (the airport is in Arlington, VA) .  We avoided the hassle of the metro (with a dog) and saved LOADS of time.  It was just so convenient.  I’m a fan!

*The drivers in D.C. are WORSE than the drivers in Albuquerque.  I never thought I would find a place where they’re worse, but yup.  They’re pretty bad.

*Air BnB.  Stay in one if you can.  It’s WAY cheaper than a hotel and so versatile.  The one we picked out was basically a 1 bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and a washer/dryer.  I did all of our laundry at night so when I came home I had only one small load to do.  It was great!  And it was nice having a kitchen.  We made breakfast each morning, so we saved some money on eating out.  We would sleep in, have a late breakfast and then skip lunch and then go out for dinner.  It worked out great.  And it was much cheaper than the hotels downtown.  Everything in D.C. is expensive.  So to find an Air BnB with a full kitchen and laundry was great.  And it’s completely private.  We didn’t talk to our hosts until like the 2^nd to the last day.  We also spent a lot of time there.  We slept in every single morning and watched late night TV.  It was clean and comfortable and homey and in a beautiful neighborhood.  Worth it!

*Other ways to save money:  split meals.  We did this.  Not every time, but we tried.  Or we ordered off of the appetizer menu.  And we STILL had leftovers.  Bring your own water bottle and fill it up before you leave the house.  I brought one and the 3 of us shared it and I filled it up at one of the many water fountains along the Mall.  I used a collapsible water bowl for Watson that clipped onto my purse which worked great.  We all stayed hydrated!  Bring snacks.  I always pack a gallon-size ziplock bag full of individual bags of trail mix, yogurt covered raisins, granola bars, etc.  This saves a boatload of money at the airport and also when you’re out and about doing lots of walking.  It prevents getting hangry too!  :)

We had a great time.  Although we both decided that as much as we loved visiting, you could not pay us enough money to live there.  As my Dad would say "there's fifty-million-hundred-thousand people here!".  :)