February flew by as a fairly busy but fun month with friends coming to town and some travel. The highlight was crossing off a new state from my bucket list – Hawaii – bringing the total number of states I’ve visited to 28!

But before Hawaii, I had some guests come to town. Cheryl and Marcus, who are English but live in Ottawa, were in town for a weekend. We went out for a night in Washington, DC to a speakeasy bar called Off the Record near the White House and ended the night with some late night grub at a classic DC establishment, Old Ebbitt Grill. The next day we drove out to the Loudoun County, Virginia wine region where we sipped wines at two of my favorite wineries, Fabbioli Cellars and Winery 32. It was a great to see them and show them a bit of my part of the world!

Shortly after their visit concluded, it was off to Honolulu, Hawaii. Although my purpose in Hawaii was for a work trip, I was able to fit in about a day and a half for sightseeing of Oahu as well. I took full advantage of my time by driving around the island and stopping at several scenic viewpoints, attending a luau, going on a tour at the Dole Plantation, and eating out in Waikiki.This sweet and sour shrimp, purchased from a food truck on the North Shore, tied as my favorite meal of the trip (alongside my luau meal) – and was only $13!While I would have liked to have more time to hike during my time in Hawaii, I at least was able to tackle the Moana Falls hike to a beautiful waterfall. The lush rain forest scenery along the way was stunning.

Of course, within a few days of returning home, we got hit with snow. Snow is not something I particularly enjoy, unless it means I can work from home. With it being March now, we are at least in the last month of the snow season.

This month I finally got around to finding somewhere in the DC area that serves my favorite German food, käsespätzle. Käsespätzle’s consists of noodles, cheese, butter, sauted onions and chives. I was introduced to this dish by my German friend Miriam in London, and it’s become one of my favorites. I brought my friend Anna, who lived in Germany for a period of time, with me for the meal. We went to Cafe Berlin in the Capitol Hill area of the city to enjoy our meal. The restaurant is owned by two Germans, and we sat next to a German couple, so it’s got to be fairly authentic!

Next up in March is a five day trip to Canada, where I’ll be spending time with friends in Toronto and Ottawa. There are also several other travel plans in the works, so hopefully will have those finalized to share soon. Till then! xx