My dad met me at Union Station, then my mom met me and him at the Takoma Park metro station.
One of the excuses for this trip was to set up the network at my parents' house so they could all use their new DSL connection. But it turns out there wasn't much to do--the DSL modem from their ISP came with built-in router, dhcp, ethernet switch, and wireless access point, so it was just a matter of plugging things in.
After they'd napped--I was tired, but afraid if I slept in the afternoon my sleep schedule at night would get even weirder--we met Helen on for a picnic on the grass outside the amphitheater where The Shakespeare Theater was doing a free showing of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
One of the picnic goodies was a packet of wasabi peanuts. I think the secret to enjoying them is proper breathing technique--breathing out through your nose in particular seems to be a mistake.
As we went in they asked if we had cameras. I didn't answer. These days, that's such an obviously ludicrous question--do they expect people to hand over their cell phones?
The play was very well done, of course--especially the sets, costumes, and lighting. The humor seemed overdone sometimes--I occasionally wished they'd let us decide what was funny for ourselves instead of hitting us over the head with it. And there are parts that just always seem to me to drag on, regardless of how well done. I've never gotten the play-with-in-a-play bit. But still, it was funny. A brawl in a "lake" (recessed into the front of the stage, it looked like it was probably not actually more than an inch or two deep) was especially good.
