Brunch is Big in DC

​Saturdays have become routinized for me since my move to DC.  Jog, buy romaine lettuce from farmer’s market, intermittent fasting while I grade papers, Netflix, and/or write.  But with the COVID-19 rates predicted to surge and the cold weather coming, I’m planning on becoming a hermit this winter.  So I’m trying to get outside while the weather still cooperatives.  With that in mind, I had enjoyed some witty banter with my good friend Misti, whom I know from CoSPers, so I proposed brunch.
 
After a jog, I rode my Bikeshare from my place down to Woodley Park and walked to Mission, where I met up with Misti for an outdoor Mexican brunch.  I had been craving a breakfast burrito, but after hearing Misti order breakfast quesadillas with chorizo, those seemed too good to pass up.  And I devoured them with gusto.
 
Of course, the food wasn’t the highlight of the outing; the conversation was.  Misti commented on how our young, Gen-Z waitress, Erin, probably uses Instagram regularly.  Erin’s utterance of having eaten some Swedish Fish and jalapeno-flavored kettle chips confirmed that assumption.  The dance music brought me back to my clubbing days in my 20s, and the Gen-Zs next to us in their costumes and heavy makeup added to it.
 
We saw a giant Great Dane named Clifford, who came up to us with his owner for petting, and a cute bird who pecked at the crumbs on the ground, both of whom I greeted with “Hellwooo, Chester.”  Conversational topics included author platforms (Instagram over Twitter!), how human energy is lacking on Zoom meetups, DIYs in the house, and the concept of a “handyperson hub,” as Peter McGraw discussed on his latest Solo podcast, and the fact that when they told us to “stay home” at the beginning of the pandemic, both of us thought, sure! 
Introverts, unite in your separate homes.
 
On the walk/bike ride home, I stocked up on carby treats for the winter: a whole-wheat everything bagel and piece of coffee cake from Bethesda Bagels (along with a coffee for the walk home), and two cake pops from Baked by Yael.
 
All in all, a kickass outing with a kickass friend.