There and back

As previously mentioned, I spent last weekend in Washington DC for Andrea's "surprise" bridal shower and bachelorette party. I was in cahoots with Purita, Andrea's matron of honor, who helped organize an elaborate scheme to surprise Andrea by having me and Christy, her bridesmaid from Florida, fly in for the weekend. Purita asked Andrea to pick her up at the airport Friday night, where she was instead greeted by ME! The look on her face was priceless! (I'm a bad friend as I've never once been out to visit her and she's lived there since '98! I should also note that this is only my second trip ever to the east coast, so it's not like I get out there very often.)

We stayed in DC at an awesome place called Hotel Monaco in Penn Quarter. It's a pet-friendly hotel that offers "Guppy Love, a complimentary goldfish to keep you company during your stay with us. Our housekeeping staff feeds and takes care of the goldfish - all you need to do is enjoy." We didn't take advantage of that service, but we were very tempted.

Andrea's shower and bachelorette party were supposed to be a surprise and we were going to play off Christy's and my arrival as a girl's weekend since we couldn't attend the festivities that were supposedly scheduled for next weekend. However, one of Andrea's friends had spoiled the event surprise, but she was still surprised with her out of town guests.

Purita threw Andrea an awesome shower at a tapas place around the corner from the hotel. They brought out course after course of yummy dishes, which we then topped off with delicious cake!

After the shower Purita and I strolled around the neighborhood while Andrea and Christy got ready at Andrea's for the bachelorette party. We saw the Capitol building, a teeny tiny piece of the White House from far away, the FTC and FBI buildings, among others. We also strolled through a park filled with sculptures.

That night we all gathered again for her bachelorette party, which started at Ruby Tuesdays with some appetizers (and a full glass of beer knocked over into one of the girl's laps by the waiter) and then were onto Coyote Ugly (yes, the same chain featured in the movie). We never got Andrea on the bar, but we still made sure she had fun. (Let's just say it involved Lifesavers and dollar bills.)

In addition to hanging out with Andrea on her stomping grounds, I'm excited to have made some new "besties." Purita and Christy - you rock!

"I love that bar. I'd sleep there, if I had the guts to walk around barefoot. Just a small town girl trying to make it in the big bad city." - Lil, Coyote Ugly