Saturday, June 26, 2010

Rooftop Party at Carillon House

So after spending the entire afternoon traversing the northwest regions of DC (we walked to American University and to their law campus and back), we had worked up quite an appetite. This act was planned, however, due to the fact that a rooftop party was scheduled by our apartment and we wanted to be hungry as to maximize this opportunity for free food. 


A local joint, Rockland's BBQ, catered and let me tell you... it was really good. Our new banker (which is literally ten steps from our apartment, bless Wachovia for locating themselves so conveniently to us) told us that these roof parties are pretty nice and we should get there on time. So typical me was stirring at 5:30 ready to be the most punctual attendant at this informal get together of sorts. Finally, at five till the party, we headed out of our apartment and made our way to the roof, being the first guests. This grand entrance put us at the front of the line for dinner because the caterers were just beginning to set out the food and the band was still in sound check. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery skyline as we waited for everything to be set up. I can't believe how grandeur our view is. 

We made our way through the line loading our plates with potato salad, BBQ pork, cole slaw, fresh corn salad, hot dogs, and beer. As we began devouring our food, the band started playing beautiful music... At this point, however, I must mention that the guitarist was none other than HUGH LAURIE... 

Yes, you read that correctly. Dr. House himself was running the show with his melodious bluesy and jazzy riffs. Quite the experience I must say so myself. By the time we stopped "gaga-ing" over the resemblance this gentlemen had to such a distinguished actor, a woman sat with us at our table. As she sat down, floods of people poured out of the rooftop entrance (I'm guessing 200-250 ended up showing up at this party) and I was glad to get some company that would ease us into some conversation. We ended up talking to her for nearly 3 hours and she was an extremely nice lady. Her son, a fourth year Georgetown Medical Student, was gone at away rotations and she was staying in his apartment for the summer. She told us she was from Florida and taught elementary school and that this was her third summer staying up here. She had previously taught Spanish over the summer at an extremely rough inner city school, a job she found challenging but even more rewarding. She was half-mexican and had enjoyed the opportunity to come to DC to expand her life experiences. She told us of lots of fun places to go and see and to be honest, we had the greatest time. 

Everyone we've met in DC so far has been so nice to us. We haven't been here a full week but we're already starting to feel a sort of attachment to this place. Everyone we talk to tells us that our schools are awesome and encourages us like they've known us forever. I've been really impressed and hope to continue to be as we live in this city for the next four years. The nice lady took a few pictures of us with the sky in the background and then we later took more pictures as the sun relinquished its position in the sky to an heroic moon. We then gathered food on plates to go and stuffed our pockets with a couple of expensive beverages as we made our way down to apartment 835, the place we love and call home. 

Blake

4 comments:

  1. Tuesday morning before we left town, I wandered from the hotel and paused on Wisconsin to consider which Starbucks to visit for my first fix of the day, the one a block towards you or the one to the left (down hill), I chose the latter. On the way, I stopped briefly at the Safeway to assess their wine section and look for another Schmitt Sohne Spatlese. But without success. Spent a few moments in Starbucks with a Bold Pick of the Day and my Kindle in order to follow the misadventure of Goethe's poor young Werther. On the way back I noticed that the street scene was composed of all kinds of people. Young professionals on the way to work, college people intent on their destination, school age kids waiting for a bus (summer school?), and older folks across a wide age range and some of them using mechanical assistance. A full spectrum of people. It was a memorable scene that I found edifying and grounding. Dorothy read your post above too and we are both thrilled you are living in such an interesting place with its unique blend of sights, sounds, tastes, and people.

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  2. I'm glad you had such a rich experience while down here. It seems as though this area has a lot to offer. Someone on the roof told us it was the safest and most pleasant part of DC. I'm glad we were able to choose such an area that houses so many different kinds of people in such an environment and that you were able to enjoy your bold blend, read, and observe.

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  3. bbq and house? your apartment beats my apartment hands down. they seem to only want to throw parties for the resident's dogs around here...

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  4. Your banker must have had a lot of rooftop party experiences. Well, with a cozy place like that, playing a country music will definitely start the mood of the audience.

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