The week was rather typical, but that was fine because the weekend held a special treat: a visit from my parents!

I drove straight from work over to Mom and Dad’s Airbnb (which was only a short walk away from my apartment!) and we drove to The Monocle.

Mom had visited me when I was last in DC and we had really enjoyed it! This time was no different. We particularly recommend the rosemary bread (pictured above). Divine!

Saturday, we picked up breakfast from Jacob’s Coffeehouse (mentioned in previous posts), then hit the road to our first destination: Museum of the Bible! None of us had been before, so I was excited to go.

Funny story: in the Nazareth exhibit, I saw a replica of a wine vat, which looked identical to one I saw when in Israel. I was explaining the process to my parents when one of the actors, who are able to tell about what life looked like in the 1st century, overheard me. She commented on my knowledge and then asked a trivia question, which I answered correctly.

Not to brag, but I think my Israeli tour guide, Itai, would be pretty proud.

There were a couple of exhibits I liked. The History of the Bible was neat, as it spoke about how the Bible as we know it today came to be. All of the exhibits on the third floor were good: The World of Jesus the Nazareth, The New Testament Theater, and The Hebrew Bible Experience. The latter was my favorite, as the imagery was beautiful and they did a great job connecting the overarching story of the Bible as foreshadowed in the Old Testament.

Afterwards, we walked to Eastern Market and got lunch at the duck and the peach. This fell into my top 5 of my favorite places I have eaten at in DC. It was SO good!

Mom and I shared halves of our choices with each other and I was blown away by both: BLT (unlike any BLT I have ever had, in all the best ways) and ricotta toast and jam.

After exploring Eastern Market, we rode the Metro to the National Mall and walked from the Smitsonian Metro stop to the Lincoln Memorial and back. It was a hot, but good day to be on the Mall!

Mom had never been to the World War II Memorial before, so we made sure to spend time there.

We had to do the obligatory picture in front of our state. As Dad observed, “You always know where people are from, by which state they are taking a picture in front of”.

We rode the Metro home and then spent the afternoon and evening hanging out at their Airbnb. It was good to spend time with them and laugh with them once more.

That night, I watched my first UFC fight: UFC 264! It was actually a great lineup for a first time watch!

While there were “bigger” names on the card, a fighter I’ve started following is Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. He’s not only a skilled fighter, but a class act from beginning to end. Unfortunately, he lost the fight by decision, but his opponent is a skilled Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitor, so it was fun to see the art in action.

Sunday, my parents and I went out to the Udvar-Hazy Center, since the Air and Space didn’t have timed entry tickets available.

If you don’t know my dad, you probably don’t know that he is knowledgeable in the area of military and space history, particularly their aircraft. So, it was like being our own guided tour throughout the whole center. I loved it.

There were only a couple of aircraft that I could appreciate. For example, this is a Top Gun-era fighter jet.

Also, the Space Shuttle Discovery is housed here!

While this wasn’t on display, there was an X-Wing from The Rise of Skywalker that was being housed there, in preparation for an exhibit in the main Smithsonian building of the Air and Space Museum.

Afterwards, my parents and I parted ways. I so enjoyed my time with them and am looking forward to seeing them again.