My holidays

We had a great time over the holidays. We spent nearly ten days in D.C. largely with my parents which has not happened since before we were married.

I, of course, ended up pulling an all nighter trying to get my brother's sweater finished in time (pics to come). Fortunately he spent the morning with his girlfriend's family in upstate New York so I was able to get a few hours sleep after breakfast.



Mom took great pleasure in freaking everyone out with presents they didn't expect which led to some great photos.

My "baby" brother


Marius and Mom


While Kevin and Jaime-Lyn were still in town, a trip to Peking Gourmet Inn for peking duck was required (and I swear you will never have better peking duck). This is a place that opened in the 70's and started its own farm to supply produce at a quality they couldn't find easily. The walls are coverd by a who's who of D.C. and many say that they are past their peak. Critics say that their success has changed them. Granted, it's changed them so that you often have to wait an hour even with a reservation and the entry is packed solid with people. However, the crab rangoons which are crab meat with the slightest hint of cream cheese to help hold them together are unequalled particularly when you eat them with the garlic honey sauce they're served with. I grew up eating these and it came as a bit of a shock to me to order rangoons at another place once I was in college. The ones made a Peking Gourmet Inn are another creature entirely.

Some people claim that the duck is dry these days (this is one of the few places where you can walk in and order peking duck on the spot). I go to this place once a year at a minimum and we even held our wedding rehearsal dinner there and I have yet to have a dry duck. These folks know what to do with a duck. The fat is almost entirely melted away and the skin is left crisp and wonderful while the duck is moist and tender. I'll admit that some days it has been more moist than others but it certainly would never qualify as dry. The server then carves these wonderful birds into perfectly beautiful thin slices of skin or meat and they will even help you assemble your first pancake if you're a novice. The garlic sprout stir-fries (stir-frys?) are also winners most nights (and the sprouts come from their farm).





Once Kevin and Jaime had returned to NYC, Marius and I took off to explore Monticello, which we learned I had never visited despite living only a few hours from there most of my life. We got lucky and had beautiful weather.





The rest of the time we spent hanging out with my parents and visiting a few friends. Most of the time was just spent like this.



All in all, a great holiday.