The Weekend

This weekend we flew out to D.C. to find a place to live.  That is a long flight, yo.  But at least it was a direct flight both ways. We left LAX Friday at 4:53 p.m. and arrived at Dulles Saturday at 12:30 a.m.  The flight there actually didn't feel that long.  There was some extremely light snow greeting us which of course made me practically giddy.  It was cold - and that is how January is supposed to be!

We snagged a rental car and headed to our hotel - near the other airport in the D.C. area.  We checked in and checked our room for bedbugs (not present, for the record).  I went in the bathroom and saw on the wall the biggest cockroach I have ever seen.  It was about three inches long and fat and sooooo gross.  I asked T to come take care of it.  It was so huge it would have made a horrible crunch sound and left a horrible mess if we tried to kill it with a shoe.  We were trying to decide what to do when it crawled behind a mirror.  No way could I sleep knowing that was in the room with me.  So T, being the wonderful dude he is, went to the front desk and got us a different room.  And all was well.

We got up the next morning at 7 (4 SoCal time) to a wonderful dusting of beautiful snow.  Our first apartment appointment was at 9 and we just kept going the entire day.  I thought apartments in SoCal were pricey, but D.C. is even more expensive!  I guess I should clarify - we didn't look at any apartments actually in D.C., everything we saw was in Virginia.  I can't even imagine how expensive they would be in actual D.C.!  But maybe the D.C. and SoCal apartment prices even out because every apartment we looked at came with a fridge, stove, microwave, washer and dryer, and dishwasher.  In SoCal you are lucky if you get a full size stove and that's it!

There was lots of note taking and comparing.  We found a place we liked.  We both thought it was overpriced for what it was (okay but not amazing), but a good price compared to others, and it was in a good location.

Our last stop for the day was a place T found but had not made an appointment with.  And we loved it.  From the first step inside we were impressed.  All the other places were nice, but this was the first place that actually impressed us.  It was huge (twice the size of our current place) and has several large east facing windows.  There was so much natural light, even on a cloudy day at 4:45 p.m.  The ceilings are ridiculously high.  Everything is practically brand new.  The kitchen is open and not a tiny alley. 

So after much discussion and number crunching we went back on Sunday and signed.  Yes, it is expensive, but only $30 more than the other place and we definitely would be getting our money's worth here.  Yay!!!  We have a place to live!!!  This place is like a trendy New York loft or something. Here are some photos shamelessly pulled from their website:

Part of the lobby

Club room and pool

Gym and golf range (the same one Tiger Woods uses, if you are interested.  I'm not.  But it looks fun to try.)

Kitchen and living space.  LOVE those windows.  If we weren't already planning on going to the National Mall for the 4th of July we could seriously watch the fireworks from our balcony.

Bedroom

We're excited to live here.  Plus there are some great extras: a 24 hour concierge, key fob access required inside the elevator to select a floor, covered parking, shuttle to / from the metro during peak hours, plus the girl we met with was the nicest ever.  She reminded me a lot of my favorite cousin M.

We checked out where T would be working then we took the metro into D.C. and checked out where I would be working then walked over to the White House.  We saw a sniper patrolling on the roof of the White House.  We wanted a picture of the West Wing (like the wonderful TV series!), but it was obscured by a temporary fence. 

We also saw two secret service agents with serious guns leaving the White House and let me tell you, those dudes definitely look like they mean business.

While riding the metro we realized it was "No Pants Subway Day!"  It was a fun surprise.  Those people must have been cold (it never got above 34 degrees our entire trip) but they sure didn't show it.

T drove us everywhere.  We took the GPS, but T knew for the most part where we were going because he worked in the D.C. area for a summer a few years back.  T was pretty much amazing this whole trip.  I heart that guy.

Our flight back to SoCal left at 10:10 p.m.  You wouldn't think the airport would be crowded that late, but it was as busy as SLC in the day time!  The flight back seemed much longer.  We landed at 12:40 SoCal time and finally got into our own bed at 2:30 a.m.  It was definitely a busy weekend.  We saw 10 apartments and made a decision in one day.  If that's not productive, I don't know what is.

We're so excited for our new east coast adventure!