April '21 Washington DC Trip Observations

Our recent trip to Washington DC was the first time that we have traveled in over fourteen months. My trip observations include:

• Everyone in Washington DC wore masks constantly, including walking outside on the street.
• It seemed like there were fewer cabs. Ubers were more expensive and took a lot longer to arrive.
• I was dumbfounded by the number of bikes and scooters spread across the city and surrounding countryside!
• I was shocked at the number of people in the Dulles D Concourse on Monday night when we got off the shuttle bus.
• While working remotely from DC seemed like a good idea, it was awkward without my full desk setup and dealing with the three hour time difference.
• When we worked remotely in October, I took my entire home set up with us.
• I spend a good deal of my day in meetings and touching base with individuals and teams. Unless, I wanted to work until 8 pm, the time difference made this tricky with a narrow window for connecting with people. Standing meetings late in the day Pacific time were a particular struggle. As a result, I don't think that I would try to work remotely on the east coast for any length of time.
• After drinks on Saturday night, Sophie, her mom and her sister went to dinner at DAS Ethiopia Cuisine. Sharon and I have walked by this restaurant more times than I can count. We really need to eat there in the future!
• I often end up with a head cold on our longer trips to colder climates. On this trip, I started to feel under the weather on day seven, but by the last day of the trip was feeling stronger. The head cold didn't progress into a chest cold with a lingering cough. I have to figure out how to get out of this pattern.