We're in Our Roaring 20s Era 🎆

Ringing in the New Year has never really been my thing — I'm usually perfectly content watching the ball drop from my couch in my pajamas. But this year was different. This year, a certain special someone was flying in from out of town, and we had a whole adventure planned: a few days in DC, a Gatsby-themed NYE dinner cruise on the Potomac, and a multi-day hotel staycation back in PA to stretch the fun out just a little longer. Was it ambitious? Absolutely. Did it require a midnight airport run after a flight delay while I desperately fought off sleep? Also yes. 😅 But some things are worth staying up for — and this trip was absolutely one of them.

Let the Fun Times Begin!

Day 1 kicked off in the most chaotic way possible: his flight got delayed, which meant I spent a few extra hours at home pacing, desperately fighting off sleep before finally making the airport run. 😅 We made the obligatory Sheetz stop on the way back because neither of us had eaten, and by the time we actually checked into the hotel it was well past 2am. We were barely coherent — but hey, the trip had officially kicked off.

From the 'burbs to the District 🗺️

The next morning we woke up mostly refreshed. After getting everything packed up and ready to go, we made one important stop before hitting the road: breakfast at Turning Point. Priorities, right? With full bellies and bags in tow, we were officially DC-bound.

We timed our arrival pretty well — just in time to check into the Sonesta Dupont Circle before they could tell us to come back later. We dropped our stuff off, took approximately three minutes to appreciate the room, and immediately headed back out the door because there was a city to explore.

One thing I quickly appreciated about the hotel: it was a short walk to the nearest metro station, which made getting around super easy. We hopped on the subway and made our way over to the Smithsonian area — because when in DC, you have to. We also had to uphold a very important trip tradition: mini golf. We ducked into Puttery and played three rounds across three different themes. Genuinely a great time, and I will not be taking questions about how competitive we got.

After golf, we hopped back on the metro and headed toward Navy Yard. We had evening reservations for Winter Wonderfest at Nationals Park — it was the last night of the experience, so we figured it was now or never. Before heading in, we stopped at SeoulSpice for a quick Korean snack to fuel up, and then we were off to the ballpark.

Now, before I go any further — it was cold. Like, aggressively cold. We're talking teens with the windchill. The kind of cold that makes you question every decision you've ever made. Keep that in mind as the rest of this story unfolds. 🥶

We arrived at the gates, checked in, and stepped into what I can only describe as a legit winter wonderland. Twinkly lights everywhere, "snow" falling, the whole vibe. Really something to see. We signed the waiver (always a good sign) and headed down to the field.

Okay, this part I have to talk about. I have been to Nationals Park more times than I can honestly count — I'm a huge Nats fan. But this was my very first time actually stepping foot on the field. Walking down through the bleachers to the field entrance was genuinely such a cool experience. One of those moments where you just have to stop and appreciate it.

We walked around checking out everything Winter Wonderfest had to offer. It was pretty busy even for the last night, so we had to be selective — we only had about two hours of allotted time. We checked out some beautiful custom snowflakes on display, a lot of them with Nats themes (naturally, I loved that). The highlight of the night, though, was easily the ice luge. Arguably the best attraction there — no notes.

At some point the cold really started winning, so we made our way over to the 21+ lounge and claimed a spot at one of the fire pits. We may have also made some new equally-freezing friends in the process. Before we headed out, we made a stop at the dugouts for a few photos — another bucket list moment for this Nats fan. ⚾

We made our way back to the metro, returned to the Dupont Circle area, and by this point we were both very ready for a real meal. We stopped into Thai Chef Street Food for dinner, which hit exactly the right notes after a night like that. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and called it a day.

And it was a good one — but tomorrow was NYE, and we had a packed day ahead. 🎆

NYE - Hockey, dumplings, and a Great Gatsby night on the Potomac

The next morning we woke up rested and ready, which was a very good thing because we had a big day on the docket. After a solid night's sleep, we headed down the street to Le Pain Quotidien for breakfast — exactly the kind of low-key, cozy start a big day deserves.

Fueled up and feeling good, we hopped back on the metro toward the Smithsonian area. We had a little time to kill before our first activity of the day, so we did what any reasonable tourists do: wandered around and took in the scenery. The White House. The Washington Monument. The expanse of the National Mall stretching out in the crisp December air. Not a bad way to spend a morning. 😌

But we had somewhere to be. Our afternoon plans? A Washington Capitals game — on New Year's Eve, no less — against the New York Rangers at Capital One Arena. It had been quite some time since I'd been to a Caps game in person, so this felt like a real treat. Bag check went surprisingly smoothly (shoutout to the medical bag line — a hidden gem of arena hacks), and just like that, we were inside.

Our seats were up in section 432, which — okay, yes, it's high. But hear me out: the view was actually pretty amazing. We were almost directly above center ice, which made for a fantastic vantage point of everything unfolding below. Before heading up, we did a loop around the main level just to soak in the arena energy and sneak a peek at the ice up close. Grabbed a couple of drinks, made our way up the escalator, and settled in.

The game itself? Chef's kiss. The Caps kept control for basically the entire game, though the Rangers gave it a few shots. Final score: Caps 6  –  Rangers 3   We love to see it. 🥳

After the game, we waded through the sea of fellow Caps fans and made our way over to Chinatown for a quick post-game bite. The spot: Raren Lamen & Bar. We shared soup dumplings and stir-fried noodles — excellent, would absolutely get again. From there it was back to the metro and back to the hotel for some much-needed R&R. Because as fun as the daytime had been, the main event hadn't even started yet.

A little nap. A shower. And then it was time. 💅

Tonight's agenda: a 1920s Great Gatsby-themed New Year's Eve dinner cruise on the Potomac River. So naturally, we both got dressed to the absolute nines — always love a good excuse to go all out. We headed over to the Waterfront station and made our way down to the Wharf, where the cruise was departing from. We arrived just after 9pm with boarding scheduled for 9:40pm, which meant a bit of time waiting in line. Outside. In December. In a dress and fancy shoes. Not ideal, I won't lie — but my coat did its job, and honestly the people-watching more than made up for the chill. Watching everyone show up in their Gatsby finery and full 1920s costumes? Genuinely delightful. 😄

After what felt like an eternity, the line started moving. And once we stepped aboard — oh, I should mention — this was a yacht. Yes, I said yacht. We found a table upstairs, settled in, and almost immediately struck up a conversation with the lovely couple sitting next to us, who turned out to be originally from Ukraine, now living in the US. Just one of those sweet, unexpected moments. We hung out for a bit before heading downstairs for drinks and the dinner buffet — good food, not a massive spread, but everything was tasty and hit the spot after a very full day.

Then it was party time. 🎉 The entertainment was a mix of group line dancing — which we fully participated in — and a healthy amount of people-watching (one of my all-time favorite pastimes, if we're being honest 😄). We also snuck in a few slow dances, which was really, really nice. The kind of moment you want to hold onto.

The evening rolled on as the yacht glided around the Potomac. The views from the water were honestly spectacular — the city lit up, the river dark and glittering, the skyline doing its thing. As the clock crept toward midnight, we made our way out to the deck to count down together. And then — the clock struck midnight. A fireworks show erupted directly in front of the boat. We gave each other the biggest hug, wished each other a very happy new year, and I called my parents to pass along the love. We stayed outside for a while, letting the fireworks wash over us and snapping as many photos as the cold would allow before eventually heading back inside, a little chilly and very, very happy.

We headed back upstairs to relax and watch the party still going strong on the dance floor below. By 1:30am the yacht had made its way back to the dock, and it was time to disembark. We hustled to the metro — close to last train time, no room for dawdling — and luckily made it with time to spare. Back at the hotel close to 3am, showered, and fell into bed.

A NYE for the ages. This was an experience I will not forget for a very long time — and honestly, ringing in the new year like this has set a pretty high bar for every New Year's to come. (No pressure. 😊) 🥂🎆

The Morning After

As mentioned we made it back to the hotel somewhere close to 3am, which — after a Caps game, soup dumplings, a nap, a full NYE dinner cruise, and a midnight fireworks show on the Potomac — felt entirely earned. We slept in. Obviously.

The only catch: checkout was at 11am, and New Year's Day waits for no one. We didn't have to head back to PA right away (the hotel would hold our bags), so we took our time and decided to make the most of our last few hours in the city.

First order of business: breakfast. We walked over to Kramer's on Connecticut Ave — a bookstore and restaurant combo that is exactly as charming as it sounds. Highly recommend for a slow, cozy morning browse-and-brunch situation. It was the perfect low-key start to what had been anything but a low-key trip.

Earlier in the trip we'd talked about squeezing in a museum or two on the last day, so after breakfast we headed back toward the National Mall to do exactly that. First stop: the Air and Space Museum, which is, and I will die on this hill, the best museum in DC. Something about aviation history just gets me every time. We hung out for a good stretch, soaking it all in.

After that, we wandered the Mall a bit more — the pond outside the Capitol building had frozen over, and we stopped to take some photos. Very much a "we are absolutely tourists right now and we don't care" moment. 📸

And then — completely unplanned — we stumbled upon the US Botanical Garden. Now, I was not expecting much. But they had an exhibit that combined dinosaurs with trains. Just... dinosaurs. And trains. Together. In a botanical garden. I don't fully understand it either, but it was incredibly cool and I'm so glad we wandered over. The rest of the garden was indoors, which on a cold January 1st is a very welcome bonus.

Getting hungry, we headed back toward the hotel and ducked into a tapas place we'd spotted on our walk — Boqueria. We shared a veggie paella that was so good it deserves its own paragraph. (It was so good.) A quick Starbucks stop for some caffeine, then we grabbed the car and our bags and officially pointed ourselves toward Pennsylvania.

It had been a really great few days in DC — the kind of trip that makes you realize you've been underutilizing a city that's only a couple of hours away. We'll be back. 🏛️

Before dropping the boy off at the hotel for the night, we made one more food stop: Asoul Ramen for dinner. (Yes, we ate a lot. No, I have no regrets.) Then I headed home to refuel, throw some clean clothes into a bag, and decompress for a bit — because we'd be reuniting again the next morning. 🙂

Home Turf, Low Key Energy

Day 5 was intentionally slow. After the pace of DC, we both needed a minute to just... exist without an itinerary.

I swung back to the hotel in the morning with my freshly repacked bag and we eased into a lazy start. For lunch we checked out BurgerFi in Harrisburg — think Shake Shack vibes, solid burgers, would return. Back to the hotel after that for games on our Steam Decks and a nap (a theme of this trip, honestly), then dinner at Bon Bon Cafe, a local Chinese restaurant that hit the spot. We capped the night with bowling at ABC Lanes West, where I came out on top. 💪🏽🎳 That's all I'll say about that.

Day 6 was another slow roll. All the activity from the trip was starting to catch up with us, so the morning was spent lounging at the hotel without any guilt whatsoever.

One of the highlights of the day, though: I'd brought over some homemade Surinamese food from my mom for the boy to try — pom and pastei, two of the classics. The verdict? He really liked them. Honestly, the correct response. 😄

Later in the day we decided to venture out for one last outing: a Christmas village about an hour away. It was the last night of Koziar's Christmas Village, and — wow. Just lights everywhere, in every direction, as far as you could see. It was such a neat experience and genuinely something I'd love to go back to. We drove back hungry, found El Rodeo (a local Mexican favorite) still open, and called it a night.

It was our last night together for this stretch of the trip. A little bittersweet. 😢

The Goodbye (For Now) 🥺

His last day in town... We checked out of the hotel by 11am, loaded up the car, and made our way to Turning Point for one final breakfast — the same spot where this whole adventure had started back on Day 1, which felt like a fitting full-circle moment.

From there, we headed to Philly. He was flying out of PHL the next morning, heading to Canada for his sister's competition in Quebec, so I dropped him off at a nearby airport hotel for the night. Driving away was a little sad, not going to lie — but he called almost immediately and we talked for most of my drive home, which helped. 🥰

Bittersweet, but only temporarily: he'd be back stateside in just a few days, and we'd be meeting up again to head to Lake Placid together. But that's a story for the next post. 😊

Overall not a bad way to ring in a new year: a hockey win, a midnight cruise, a frozen botanical garden with dinosaurs in it, and someone worth sharing it all with — even if we hadn't quite figured out what to call each other yet. 😄🎆 Safe to say, the bar for future New Year's has been set.