The White House Tour

The last thing I needed to do in DC was see The White House. You have to get up at the crack of dawn and there's a lot of standing in line, security checkpoints and rules for everything (note: do NOT bring your purse), but it's totally worth it. Just to be in the same building as the President is really quite amazing. I checked his morning schedule to see if he would be there and he totally was. Probably just having some coffee waiting for Marine One to take him out to Andrews. At least that's what I've seen on the West Wing.

DC: H Street

I spent most of last week on Capitol Hill for meetings and a USAID training, luckily surrounded by DC-savvy locals that knew their way around the restaurant/bar scene. H street was a healthy walk from Capitol Hill but well worth it. From what they said, the area has really transformed over the last year. Now, it's re-paved, revamped, and revitalized. We started with a dinner at Sticky Rice, a Japanese sushi joint that even serves tater tots. My favorite was the Sticky Balls, a combo sushi roll with everything on it. Sooo good.

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Then we headed down the street and passed a lot of places I want to eventually check out, like Fruit Bat (a central/south american cocktail bar), The Rock and Roll Hotel (Warpaint was playing but I missed it), and the Country Club (an astro-turf decorated bar with indoor mini golf). We landed at the Biergarten Haus. To a Milwaukeean, this seemed like a home away from home. I thought it was a great hangout, it had more of a Bavarian feel and better beer selection than Old German Beer Hall in Milwaukee. They had hammerschlagen, but no, I did not see a shot-ski.


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MKE locals (in DC): Maggie Michael

Maggie Michael is a painter originally from the Brookfield area whom is well known in the DC area from her work at American University, the Hirschhorn, and high end DC galleries. Her pieces can sell for $7,500. And they should; they are complex and contemplative, ebbing and flowing, harsh, but fitting. She's an amazing talent (read more about her here). Here are some of my favorites......

DC: District of Chic

Fashion on Capitol Hill is often stereotyped as black and boring, but I love to browse the District of Chic blog to prove us all wrong. While walking in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, I saw a mix of East Coast Prep meets Executive Lawyer. Lots of wellies and Tory Burch happening 'round here. But the general DC area is a little more diverse and colorful. Either way, I am glad I brought comfortable/cute shoes because Capitol Hill is one long and arduous trek.

World AIDS Day, DC bound

It's World AIDS day today. There usually isn't a lot of media frenzy over this day of rememberance and advocacy, but it's important to realize the disease still exists. In 2009, there were 443 new HIV infections in Wisconsin, an 11% increase than 2008 (source). There is a difference between HIV and AIDS. HIV is the infection that over time will lead to a syndrome called AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) characterized by a low Tcell (CD4 count) and/or certain opportunistic infections. In Milwaukee, there's an excellent service organization called AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin (ARCW) that provides prevention, needle exchange, testing, medical/dental/mental healthcare, social services, housing and food pantry.

I'll be heading to DC today for a USAID project over the next week. I have a few great DC-related posts coming down the pike (along with some of my tourist photos).

I'll see in DC.