all of yesterday seemed like a tucker family vacation.

the day began with breakfast; a frenetic egg and toast combination with a splash of coffee for good measure and caffeine. it was good, in a protein sort of way.

the thing is, i have this huge sense of rushing and time-thwarting. i have only a few more days left this break, and it feels like i'm committing a sin if i don't make the most of it. if, that is, i don't frolic in merriment. i feel in the wrong if i'm not having as much fun as God, i'm convinced, wants me to. so yesterday was about getting as much fun in me as possible.

hm. pretend the above paragraph actually fits in with the rest of the narrative.

breakfast eaten, room cleaned, face scrubbed, i was now mentally prepared to face the seeming onslaught of laughter and glee.

it arrived in the form of erica.

the plan was simple: two girls, our nation's capitol, and an art museum. all before 5:00. (it being 3:00, we had to hurry. yeah, i realize i went from breakfast to 3:00, but i woke up late. and i cleaned a little.) (shut up.)

we patronized the metro. we taunted and mocked it. and we called it sweetie.

during the ride, we talked of many things. fools and kings. and becky.

[side note. becky, i realize we haven't talked a lot in our careers of knowing one another, but i think it's a shame. you are fantastic, and i like you a lot. i hope you're well.]

and lindsey.

[side note. lindsey, i feel i've not talked to you in far longer a time than should be allowed. i miss you a lot. and actually, have no current address for you. please don't talk to me about my shoddy comma usage. and get out of my garden.]

we got out at the smithsonian and climbed the stairs into a shocking blue sky. it was uncannily warm. this brought the conversation around to global warming. until of course, the incident occurred...

sigh. okay. something you all probably know about me: i'm the real live clumsiest girl on earth. this was manifested in a spectacular fall i made in front of a huge crowd of japanese tourists. i sprawled, i hit, i ripped a hole in the knee of my left pant leg, a hole in the shoulder of my right jacket sleeve, and scraped both knees and my dignity. and my glasses went flying. and erica shrieked. and i laughed a good while. (erica does a mean, mean impression of me while trying to regain my balance. apparently, i could've taken flight.)

so, i now have actual street cred. washington: 1. liz: 0.

anyway......

the national gallery was wonderful as always (gilbert stuart is great), but short-lived. fie. i hate government employees.

food was needed. so, we traipsed to the sculpture garden wherein a throng of people were percolating into a skating ring. it was idyllic at worst. adjacent to this portrait of perfection was a heinously overpriced restaurant. so i spent ten dollars on a sandwich and root beer, and felt the miser inside wishing ill on the employees of the establishment.

"i am the egg man, i am the egg man, i am the walrus. coo coo ca choo." i don't know if the word is actually "egg man," but that is how it sounds during dinner in an overpriced restaurant.

after dinner, we braved the metro once more. erica is ashamed of me for this, but i attempted conversation with the guy across the aisle from us. i don't know his name, but i know that he is from portland, and is headed now for the dominican republic with the peace corp. he's doing this now because he knows that if he waits, he'll probably never do it. i admired him a lot for this, and so i offered erica's services as a pack animal. (his bags looked heavy.) nervous laughter ensued on all parts. he got off two stops later, and i'll never see him again.

we met a core of fabulous people at barnes and noble to play trivial pursuit. (yes, we're those people.) actually, conversation supplanted pursuit, and we got little further than making fun of rob. not really, but i can't quite remember what was said apart from krista's scary resemblance to the painting of the monkey. oh, and lucas gerace stopped by to talk, which was weirder than weirdness.

the the super group with cooper trooped to mollie's, where lemonade was sipped and trivia was pursued. and then trivia was abandoned for conversation again. and then conversation was abandoned for lying there, flirting with sleep, listening to them all talk. (but that was just me.)

and 5:00 this morning found me climbing the stairs of my parents' house to the guest room, because my own bed is covered with laundry to fold and sort. a distant maternal voice called, "do you know what time it is?"

i did.