DC and the 4th - not at the same time

So.. I was in DC this past weekend to catch the NSO with Chuck - performing songs from video games. I know what you're thinking... Tran is such a nerd. Well, I am, but not nearly as bad as some of the people who were there. Holy cow, I couldn't stop laughing. It was a good show though. I'm glad I went.

The rest of the weekend, I hung out with my friends up there. Met up for sushi at Singapore Bistro, drinks at Lucky Bar, animals at the zoo, dinner at Mie'n'Yu, Knocked Up with Karen, dim sum at China Garden, took Ceci to the airport for her world tour, and then headed home. Here are the highlights:

• Karen found out the hard way that Wally is an ordained justice of the peace (or something like that). She and Chuck were married at Lucky Bar, I was the best man, Sharon was the maid of honor. Though, I don't think Sharon was paying attention while this was going down. And, apparently, you can get certified online to marry people. Go figure.
• They got rid of the giraffe at the National Zoo. WTF! How do you have a zoo without a giraffe?!?!?!
• Mie'n'Yu is an awesome restaurant! But, the drinks are a bit pricey, and the service wasn't great. The food was good, though not perfect. We had a bunch of tapas (basically): lacquered duck; tuna tartar; seared kobe beef; Thai pupu platter with beef satay, shrimp wontons, vegetable tempura; veal lettuce wraps; lamb shank; and one other thing, but I can't remember what. We also ordered two AMAZING desserts: mocha bombe and pear strudel.
• Knocked Up is one of the most HILARIOUS movies I have ever seen.

Pictures here: click on me!

As for the Fourth of July (known to the British as the celebration of the REBELLION!), it was not one of my more favorite 4ths. Usually, Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays because it is characterized with lots of meat (usually beef) and fireworks - two of my top five favorite things in the world (the others being giraffes, chocolate, and ...). However, I decided to try my hand at smoking ribs this year, and well, I wasn't very successful. Let's just say that I should have had some supervision for the first time. Anywho, we ended up tossing them and grilling steaks instead. It was still a good time, just not the best time. We went out to Fort Monroe for the concert and the fireworks. The concert ended up having a $5 cover, so we just sat out on the grass. The fireworks (which were supposed to start at 9:30pm) didn't happen. We left at 10pm, took us forever to get out of the fort, and as we were leaving the gates, the fireworks started to go. While we were sitting out earlier we could see the fireworks from other parts of the peninsula, but it was rather upsetting that the Fort Monroe fireworks were so delayed. One highlight, we walked pass this father teasing his daughter and calling her a liar. It was so funny, but I felt a little bad because we were laughing out loud, and I think she started crying.