Leaving on a jet plane.
Good Neighbor Tim was told the plans and promised to keep an eye and an ear on the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle is staying someplace close that she loves.
My dear wife Karen and I boarded the big bird at Hancock International on Friday morning.
Runway speed.
Liftoff was smooth. The 70 or so minutes in the air to Washington, D.C. for the weekend we’ve been planning since our wedding anniversary in October were bumpy with turbulence. Beverage service was limited to water only. The free WiFi promised did not allow me to connect to WordPress. Toooooooo slooooooooow. But I had brought the paper copy of my Sports Illustrated Golf Plus Masters Preview with me in my carry-on.
Best baby ever.
And a mom and the best baby ever were sitting immediately in front and to the right of me. The cutie never made a peep, choosing to watch me with big and curious eyes.
First cherry blossoms, at Regan International.
Heading toward the Metro at Regan International, we accomplished goal No. 1 for the trip. Through the window of the terminal, we spotted that cherry blossom tree. We will be taking a walk around the tidal basin for much more tourist sight-seeing. Already we took two walks around our hotel two blocks from the Verizon Center last night, and my iPhone 6 was quite busy. Expect a week’s worth of posts from this trip. The architecture of our nation’s capital is amazing, I was reminded. I moved from just across the Maryland line to Syracuse 32 years ago. My eyes were opened at the combination of the old and the new.
Karen and Carolyn.
Karen and I met friend Carolyn for dinner and drinks. She moved to northern Virginia, where she’s from, at the beginning of the year, after five years of working closely with Karen at the big daily and then SMG. We spent wonderful hours talking about life and her new job down here. Sweet.
’til next time, Carolyn.
Karen was quite sad saying so long after we walked Carolyn to the Metro station.
Today we’re meeting my friend since August 1975, Greg, for lunch. We attended SUNY Morrisville and were roommates at the University of Maryland together, and he’s lived down here since graduation. We’ve remained close since. I can’t wait.
Tonight, the Neil Diamond concert. Goal No. 2.
When’s the last weekend getaway you took, and where to? What were the best parts of the trip, and why? What old friends have you seen lately, and what did you do?
Mark Bialczak 
What a fun trip, Mark! I love D.C., and especially with a camera in hand. 🙂
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I’d love to see your D.C. in Photos, Rachel. 🙂
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Been far too long since I had a good weekend getaway, ok it was San Diego last August but that is long enough. I am in need again.
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Time to treat yourself again, TheJackB.
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Have soooooo much fun!!
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It was a great trip, Nancy. I am going to post a lot of photos all week from it. And work hard to catch up with my WordPress reading, too. 🙂
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That’s a great trip Mark. I hope you guys have a wonderful time.
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Mark this looks to be a promising week of fun for all of us! My last weekend getaway???? Probably my aunt and uncles….. and we have a blast every time we get away…. and we eat. And eat. And eat. And go see stuff in north eastern Ohio. Then we have to eat some more. 🙂
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So happy for your getaway. May your visits be fun and your landing a smooth one.
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Thank you, Apple Pie. On to see Neil Diamond.
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I want that baby. Great pic of Karen and Carolyn. So photogenic. More chapters in your awesome life, with Mr. Diamond.
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That baby was the damndest thing. No noise on a plane. I couldn’t believe it, Kerbey. Yes, that photo of my wife and her bud is pretty cutie-pie as well. 🙂 So good, so good.
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I missed out on my yearly trip to New Jersey to meet up with friends, hopefully later this summer I can make a mini trip there or Philadelphia.
–Waves hi from just south of y’all! 😀
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Hi toward Richmond, Sheena!
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Neil Diamond–woohoo! For your sake, praying for no power outages. Glad the flight went well and of course the baby bonded with you 🙂 You make friends easily and it was probably a Sagittarius baby, yes?
Speaking of weekend, trips, guess who is going to NYC with 9 of her closest friends (ok, only two of them are good friends–the others are friends of friends) end of May? That would be ME 🙂 Can not tell you how excited I am to get away. Holler if you have Big Apple suggestions. One of the travelers used to live in NYC, so she is making most of the plans.
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Broadway plays, as many as you can! Look for the movie stars who are playing real theater on Broadway.
That is so cool, Liz. I am so happy for you. Needed, needed, needed. 🙂
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have a wonderful trip and i know you’ll have stories from beginning to end. san diego was my last trip and it was wonderful to share it with old friends, both from here and there )
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Yes, your post from San Diego made me smile all day long, Beth. 🙂 Our trip is doing the same so far. Yay!
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I met up with an old friend from uni last year, we’d lost touch after uni. It was amazing to get back together it was like 10 years hadn’t passed. Hubby and I are planning a weekend getaway in late May. Can’t wait. Thank you for sharing your trip.
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It is great to meet up with a friend where the first sentence it’s as if you’ve never left. Thanks for sharing your story, somemaid.
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The cherry blossoms are lovely! I lived in D.C. briefly, years ago, when I was interning for CNN. Hope you and Karen have a wonderful trip!
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It’s been fantastic so far, Kimi. Yes, D.C. is rocking. I bet you took it by storm during your CNN internship days, too. 🙂
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Seems like this would be a great time of year to visit DC… I was there 25 years ago…. unbelievable that much time has passed… I really wasn’t that excited about going beforehand… but when I was walking around I had this incredible sense of being surrounded by POWER… it was emanating from the buildings, statues, streets, landscape, people… I’ve never gotten over that sensation. My strongest memory was visiting the Vietnam War Memorial… I had tears in my eyes and I overhead one young man snarkily comment to another “I guess you had to be there…” I wanted to hit him. Like many other places I have visited I hope to return some day, but if not, I have wonderful memories that are just as good! Enjoy every moment (I know I don’t have to tell you that…)
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I have that same feeling of power coming from the sources, Ros. I know what you mean. And I would not have blamed you for cracking the disrespectful youth a snarky comeback 25 years ago. I would be so tempted today. We’ve had a full time already, and wlll continue to soak it in, thank you.
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Enjoy those cherry blossoms bro Mark. I’ve never been there in spring, so I’ve never had that pleasure, or maybe in this case, AH–choo, POLLEN. It is beautiful in autumn, when the trees are turning. You and Karen have a wonderful Easter celebration there in our nation’s capitol, and listen close to Neil. I always loved his music.
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We saw a handful of cherry blossoms today around the White House and Washington Memorial, sis Angie. No sneezing. They’re out, but not full. More tomorrow! Now on to the concert. Yay!
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I’m way behind in everything bro. I hit a button and messed up my post page, so it is reduced to about 1/4 inch, and of course it is impossible to contact support to find out how to fix it. I did a post blind this afternoon, and it turned out, which is about the best I can say for it. If I could have seen what I was doing it would have been better, but then hindsight is so much clearer that foresight. How was the concert? Stupid question?
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The concert was amazing, sis Angie. I will get to your posts, promise. I am having a hard time catching up reading what I’ve missed from the getaway.
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Bro Mark, with all that’s going on around here I’m having trouble keeping up with everything! It’s beginning to take all of my concentration to ignore the noise, and they have added the dentist drill now that gets inside my head and can’t be ignored. I’m sleeping better at night, which is good, but then can’t wake up in the morning until about noon, which is bad.
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Get sleep whenever you can, sis Angie, that’s what I say.
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Goodness. I don’t think we’ve had more than overnight getaways since we moved into our house…
The Mister’s job has spectacularly odd shifts. Then that schedule has to agree with his school schedule. Then those both have to agree with the girls’ school schedule.
(You should have seen my sister-in-law and I trying to plan time with my nephews here. My son and my oldest nephew’s spring break matched, but not The Mister’s, not my girls’, not my youngest nephew, either! — Crazy stuff!)
We’re hoping some time this summer appears!
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I hope you can get the Rubik cube of a schedule worked out, Joey, to get a little bit of a deserved break!
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Love DC. I hope you can visit the memorials on the National Mall. Korean War, especially.
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We’re going to do the tourist-y mall visit tomorrow, Jim.
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I didn’t realize you were coming for the Neil Diamond concert. (I forgive you.) The other day I peeked in at some of the cherry blossom events that are going on this weekend. It looks like you will have plenty of cool stuff to do, as if it isn’t just cool enough to walk around and look at things. Have a great time!
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Are you going to be in town Sunday Hippie? We’re going to be around tourist-ing the tidal basin, monuments, etc. markbialczak@gmail.com.
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Hey, Mark… I’ll be doing the family thing tomorrow. I heard tomorrow’s supposed to be warmer and less windy than today, so it sounds like a beauty day for tour-isting. Looking forward to the pictures. Have a great time. 🙂
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It was marvelous, Hippie. We walked and walked and walked. I’ll be posted pictures all week from our trip. I hope you had a great family Easter, my friend. 🙂
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Glad you’re able to get out of town Mark, and meet up with friends. As I was reading your post, all I could hear (in my head) was Sweet Caroline bomp bomp bomp! ❤
Diana xo
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Good times never been so good, so good, so good, Diana! ❤
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Washington, DC is a gloriously beautiful city – so walkable! You are going to have a blast, I know. Enjoy those cherry trees!
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We hear 65 and sunny for our Easter Sunday at the Tidal Basin, and Reflecting Pond, Barbara! I love that place so much, and I haven’t been back in 32 years. Today, my friend visit and I think a walk down Pennsylvania Avenue before the concert!
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Every year we go to Lego Land in San Diego for my daughter’s birthday. This year is will be May 9-10. And, Mark, you’ll be happy to know I have tentative plans to meet up with Stephanie over at Little Miss Menopause this year. If it all works out, you’ll be the first to know.
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Lego Land is a great trip for your daughter’s birthday, Marissa. I love San Diego, too. 🙂 Can I tell you that untl this minute I didn’t know you also had a daughter? I only knew of the sons and the School of Rock. One track mind for me, much? 😦 … Yay! Another blogger meeting. I can’t wait to read about it if it all works out, my friend.
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Oh yes, my daughter is actually in School of Rock too but she’s only 7 (will be 8) so she’s in Rock 101!! Really! Yes, Mark, it’s amazing how many of my FB friends I see pics of and wonder, ‘so how many kids do they have again?’
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Yay! I’m glad your daughter is in the school at age 7, too, Marissa. Long live rock! 🙂 ❤
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Seems like an awesome trip, Mark. Cherry blossoms, meeting a friend, visiting a Neil Diamond concert – and this is just the beginning… 🙂
Our last trip was to Dublin and Skerries, our major goals: celebrate my birthday in Skerries (incl. visiting the Skerries Mills for the umpteenth time), fulfil a grandmother’s dream of her first trip to Ireland (she enjoyed every minute: among others the Skerries Mills, Molly Malone and the odd pint of O’Hara’s).
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That’s a wonderful trip, meeting your goals and your grandmother’s dreams, Karen. An odd pint at O’Hara’s sound like my type of accidental discovery. Dublin and Skerries now make my bucket list, thank you, my friend. 🙂
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Good to know, my friend.
My recommendation: The O’Hara’s is best served at Peter’s Pub in Dublin. It is dark and smooth as velvet. The best stout ever… 😀
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🙂
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