Fish Heads, fish heads...

​I have to credit Heather for the title of this post.  When we were at the O Street Museum and I mentioned that fans of the band Phish are referred to as “Phishheads,” she started singing this song.  I had no idea what she was talking about, and she showed me this video.  I thought they were sung by Alvin and the Chipmunks, but upon research, discovered it came from a 70s duo named Barnes & Barnes.
 
I always love getting together with fellow CoSPers IRL; they are true kindred spirits, especially Heather, a fellow bibliophile, ailurophile, solo, and introvert who loves her alone time as much as I do, and that includes traveling solo.  But we had a good time.

After some confusion with the diagonal one-way streets that compromise downtown DC, we made it to the Mansion on O&O Street Museum, which is a visual cacophony of any kind of artifact you could think of.  Below is just a sample of what they had:

​They also had Disney memorabilia, Simpsons apparel, and a bunch of Beatles gear.  And some secret doors, four of which we discovered, which, according to the museum, makes us above-average sleuths.  I walked away with a Prohibition-era style sign that read “Bathtub Gin Joint,” which I’ll cut to read “Bathtub Gin,” which inspired our “fish heads” conversation.  There was also a book called The Bronx Zoo, a day-by-day account of the 1978 Yankees season as told by pitcher Sparky Lyle.  I’ve been keeping a daily journal of my academic year and hope to turn it into a memoir or piece of fiction, so this book would be a good exemplar.
 
We then walked toward Georgetown, the hoity-toity section of DC (high-end retail shopping and boutiques).  Within all the chic is a cat café called Crumbs & Whiskers, which had these beauties:

​The only thing I can say about this place is that if there were an image of heaven, this would be one of them in my view.  Soft cushions and cuddly cats.  Words can’t really describe it, so I’ll let the pictures do the talking:

​Just adorable.
 
From there, it was off to the ultra-chic 1310 Café & Bar.  I hadn’t had French toast in a while, and Heather added to the Francophile theme by topping it with French fries.  A light dusting of maple syrup on fries is actually okay.  We marveled at how well-behaved the kids at the table next to us were, when that’s not always the case.  We also discussed childfree restaurants, which I certainly appreciate.
 

​The last part of the day consisted of books and ice cream, two of my favorite things.  On our way back to Dupont Circle, we stopped at Second Story Books.  I had been at the one in Rockville, Maryland, which resembled a warehouse.  This one looked more like a bookstore.  Wanting to limit my cash, I walked out of there with nothing, as did Heather.  We agreed that while we’re bummed out that these independent bookstores are beginning to disappear, online purchases are a way to stretch our budgets.
 
While in Dupont Circle, Heather read a book of poems by Edgar Allan Poe while I finished Chelsea Handler’s Uganda Be Kidding Me, a true solo’s travelogue.  We then got ice cream at Larry’s Homemade Ice Cream before the parting of the ways.
 
I’m part of a number of different discourse communities.  In my work and music communities, someone always talks about their kids, which is par for the course.  But it’s nice to meet people who have the same lens on those things that I do.  Thanks for coming down, Heather!