Weekly roundup: the shutdown edition

After a long (and much needed) hiatus during which I moved, bought a house, started a new job... yada... yada... yada... I welcome you back for another installment of the weekly roundup we all know and love:

Friday potluck!

This week is we're going to party like it's 199...5. Government shutdown 1995.


THIS MUST BE A VERY BAD JOKE?

Since I've moved to DC, we've had a mass shooting, a federal government shut down, and all national parks and monuments are closed.


Read: almost every public space in and around DC is closed. Runner friends, this includes closing almost all local parks and bike/run/hike paths. Local run clubs are scrambling to re-route planned weekend runs, at least two races are being postponed until November, and an upcoming Ragnar race has to be re-routed, but the Marine Corps Marathon and the Army 10 Miler will go on, as scheduled.

Granted, bike path closures are not nearly as bad as pulling funding from Head Start and WIC, but the point here is that the District is a mess.

A tropical storm might be headed straight for my old home in Pensacola, but the Gulf Coast never looked so good...


SHUTDOWN PICKUP LINES

Thankfully the days here in DC are not entirely dark.
The funniest thing to come out of the shutdown? Shutdown pickup lines.

Some of the best (or worst?):

• You must be furloughed from the Center for Disease Control, because your smile is infectious.
• Are you furloughed from the Library of Congress, cause us getting together is overdue.
• Baby, you've chained up my heart tighter than the Lincoln Memorial.
• The only thing nonessential about you are those pants.
• My resolution continues ALL NIGHT.
• Congress might be closed, but we can always have a caucus at my place. 

IN MY KITCHEN...

If you can't beat 'em... whip up some pancakes?

Fluffy whole wheat pumpkin pancakes (modified from the original in Epicurious)

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground flax seed
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups whole milk
3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
3 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Nonstick cooking spray

Directions:
Whisk first 6 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Whisk milk, pumpkin, egg yolks, oil and vanilla in medium bowl to blend well. Add pumpkin mixture to dry ingredients; whisk just until smooth (batter will be thick). Beat egg whites in another medium bowl until stiff but not dry. (Whisk by hand for an excellent arm workout!) Fold whites into batter in 2 additions. Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Working in batches, pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls into skillet. Cook until bubbles form on surface of pancakes and bottoms are brown, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining batter, re-spraying the pan between batches.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Baby, I let the government shut down, so I could spend the whole day with you. #shutdownpickuplines @MattVas

HAPPY FURLOUGH FRIDAY, FRIENDS!

More postcards from DC

On my last day in Washington, D.C., I had just enough time for a nice, long sightseeing run. I spent about two and a half hours on the move, covered 10(ish) miles, and stopped at half a dozen museums and memorials.

I started on Capitol Hill.

The Capitol

I wove through the streets of downtown DC, until I spotted a 5k on Pennsylvania Avenue. I paused to watch runners cross the finish line near the Woodrow Wilson building.

5k finish line

I ran through Pershing Park and past the White House. (Fortunately no guards thought my smelly sweat was a threat to national security.)

I stopped to take a photo with Einstein, who sits quietly in a tiny park just north of the National Mall.

Einstein memorial

I headed toward the river, stopping to chat with a couple of runners. At their suggestion, I looped under and back up over the Memorial Bridge to cross on the bridge's south side - which offers better access to the Mount Vernon Trail.

Memorial Bridge

I ran toward Arlington National Cemetery (no running on the grounds, of course, out of respect) and spent some time at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial.

Then I turned back toward the Potomac and ran part of the Mount Vernon Trail on the Virginia side of the river.

View of Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument from the Mount Vernon Trail

I crossed back over Memorial Bridge, stopping to pay my respects to President Lincoln.

Lincoln Memorial

By this point, I was parched. Fortunately there are dozens of drinking fountains and concession vendors along the Mall, so finding water was a breeze - a $2.25 breeze - but a breeze nonetheless.

I wrapped up my tour with a stroll through the sculpture collection in the National Galleries.

Sculptures in the National Galleries West Building

Have you ever gone sightseeing on the run?
What museum or monument would be first on your list of places to see in DC?

Postcards from DC

I'd like to thank the Capitol Hill Running Club for a warm welcome this morning. I have been to the National Mall plenty of times, but never at dawn... In the early morning hours, the droves of tourists are gone, and in their place are a few dozen dedicated runners.

It was beautiful.

Sunrise over Grant

Jefferson memorial, as seen across the Tidal Basin

The Capitol... quiet before the workday begins

I'd also like to thank the Capitol Hill Runners for not shunning me when I whipped out my cell phone for some photos. (Ok, so the Mall wasn't completely empty of tourists...)

Run D.C.

There is a reason why Runner's World picked the National Mall as their Rave Run for July 2010. RW's reason to run this route: "Not many five-mile runs can boast such historic scenery as a loop of the National Mall can."

I was in D.C. for work on Monday, so I decided to give their theory a test-drive. After all, there is nothing I love to do more while traveling than run. It covers "exercise" "sight-see" and "act like a local" all in one activity. Over the years I have run in dozens of cities, but despite the fact that I've been to D.C. a handful of times in the past, I had never run the Mall before.

Sunday after my plane landed and I arrived at the hotel, I immediately changed into running clothes. I stopped at the front desk to double-check the route from my hotel to the Mall. While I was discussing running options with the front desk staff, two Navy officers overheard the conversation and offered perfect details about the route. They had run the same route that morning and said I'd love it. They were not mistaken.

The route from my hotel took me through the Capitol Hill neighborhood and around the Mall.

I have to admit that I slowed to a stroll through the United States Botanic Garden, the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, and the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden. But I doubled back and forth across the Mall, too, passing dozens of teams playing kickball and families having picnics.

The Reflecting Pool is closed for repairs, which made running the trail along it a bit tricky (pedestrian traffic was corralled between fences for the nearly half-mile length of the pool).

I started to run up the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial... err... until I saw the sign that said "no running." Oops!

The Capitol steps were equally off-limits, but for security reasons. But no worries. Running up Capitol Hill at the end of my trek was good enough for me. The wide pedestrian walkways and beautiful grounds around the building were a perfect end to a very memorable run.