July 24:
Nick was up early to head off to lecture, so I headed out to explore the city. I cleverly hid my camera and guidebook in a large purse and went for capris over shorts. That, plus the absence of a fanny pack (I will never understand why they are popular; you might as well walk around with a big sign that says "I am a tool.") almost let me blend in with the locals. I just needed to carry a pair of heels in one hand while walking in flip-flops and I could have been on my way to my overworked, underpaid government job.

So anyway, there I was, just another face in the millions, feeling quite comfortably anonymous as I wandered around the Mall. I popped into the American History museum on a whim, came around the corner. . . and ran into my assistant volleyball coach from Colorado College. I haven't seen the man in 3 years. He doesn't even live in DC- he was in town for a wedding, was flying out that afternoon, and thought he'd see a couple sights before heading to the airport. Somewhere in the background, I could almost make out strains of "there's so much that we share that it's time we're aware. . .it's a small world after all. . ."