Fall in Washington, DC

Washington, DC is probably my favorite place to visit! I hate to vacation in the same place twice because there's a whole world out there I still want to see, but I can go back to DC many times over and still experience new things.

I'm definitely not a political person - in fact, I'd rather talk about anything but politics. But, I have great respect for the founders of our nation and the war veterans who fought- and continue to fight - with their lives to keep us safe. My motto in life is "learn something new every day," and you can definitely do that in DC! There's so much to see, do, and experience that it can't all be done in one trip.

I can now say that I have seen DC during every season! I've played soccer when the ground was frozen solid (not one of my best DC memories...). I've toured the city during the heat of the summer, and my absolute favorite season is spring during the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. Gorgeous! Last month, I visited DC for the Obesity Society Meeting so I got some great photos of color-changing leaves.

DC is a great place for walking and I feel like life slows down there. It's funny because it seems like people are always working there, but for me, it's a great place to relax. During my most recent visit, I saw people in suits riding their bikes or the Metro every day - even Sunday! Do DC-ians ever rest?!

This is just some random tree I walked by, but it was so gorgeous I couldn't pass it up!

I love paths like this - rustic yet refined. *sigh* Maybe it reminds me of the yellow brick road from the Wizard of Oz, which is still my all-time favorite movie. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that I still get nervous when the Wicked Witch sends out her flying monkeys!

The Korean War Memorial - one of my favorites! If you're ever in DC, you have to see this one at night! It's beyond words!

The Vietnam War Memorial - a classic and a must-see for every visit. I get goosebumps watching people respectfully run their fingers over the names of complete strangers who died for them.

And what's a visit to DC without a photo of the White House?! I was actually disappointed that more of the trees surrounding the White House weren't vibrant orange & yellow, but what can you do? I'll take what I can get!

Anytime I travel, I look up a few bakeries in the area to visit. The one that caught my eye on this trip was Warren Brown's Cake Love. Remember Warren? He had a fun 30-minute show on the Food Network a while back called...Sugar Rush!

The bakery itself was very modest...and a little bit cluttered...so we went across the street to the Love Cafe for lunch and cake!

My advice: skip the lunch. After all, you're really there for the cake, right?


I took a slice of Neil's Hat Trick: white and dark chocolate cakes sandwich vanilla buttercream and fresh raspberries under a glaze of rich chocolate ganache.

Lourdes, a friend and coworker, got the Susie's a Pink Lady: fresh raspberry buttercream floats between layers of vanilla butter cake.

The cake was very rich so neither of us could finish our slices - and that's saying a lot! But they were fabulously fresh and tasty!

As we were leaving the Love Cafe, we passed by a man on the sidewalk. I have him a second look and said "...Hey...aren't you Warren??" Yes, Warren Brown was heading into the bakery as we were leaving! Serendipitous! He was super sweet and the three of us had a nice discussion about obesity, high fructose corn syrup, and the eating habits in America.

So we've come full circle. I was originally in DC for an obesity research conference, but took a detour for some yummy cake. Now, I consider this detour field research!