I met W. a few months ago. We’ve gotten together a few times and have enjoyed getting to know each other. The last time we got together I told him that I might just have the nerve to ask him out on a date sometime. I didn’t though. Instead, he asked me on a date. That date lasted the for 24 hours from Sunday into Monday. Simply wonderful.

I met W. at his place in DC. We began the date with me trying on a few pairs of boots he has. We are planning on riding horses and attending a barrel wine tasting in March. I don’t have riding boots but W. does and said I could possibly fit and borrow his for the ride. I couldn’t even get one pair on but another pair fit a little snug but will work for the ride. Then we were off to The National Gallery of Art to see a few exhibits we were interested in seeing.

We took the subway and then walked the length of the mall to The National Gallery of Art. We went to see two exhibits. The first was a collection of fauve paintings in their permanent collection (read all about the exhibit by clicking on the link). The paintings had vibrant colors and interesting subjects. I like to look at them closely but I found out that’s a no-no. But I like to see the brush strokes and see the detail. At one of the last paintings we were viewing, the security guard came up to me and asked me to move back….that you had to have (holding up his hands to show) 2 feet between you and the paintings. I quickly moved back. We then moved on to see Rembrandt’s Late Religious Portraits. I really enjoyed these paintings. They were very large, very dark, and had very interesting lighting effects. They were all portraits. There were a few that I really liked and would have loved to find a print of them in the gift shop. Unfortunately, when W. and I went to the shop we found out they did not have any prints available. I plan to do some searching online to find some prints. After the exhibits, we went to the museum cafe for some gelato ice cream and pound cake for a quick snack.

We took the subway back to W’s place where we then enjoyed a bottle of Gray Ghost Victorian White. It’s a Chablis style white that was sweet and rolled over my tongue easily leaving it’s berry flavor behind. I enjoyed it. W. is so good at picking wines that he knows I’ll like. We enjoyed the bottle while chatting about this and that and simply enjoying each other’s company. At the same time, W. prepared a wonderful platter of tasty nibbles that go well with the wine. We had 3 different kinds of cheese (I tasted brie for the first time!), ham and smoked turkey, gala apples, grapes, and almonds. Of course, I tried everything. I even ate a grape. I’m not one for fruits and vegetables but W. is getting me to try new things. I don’t know how he did it but he got me to try the brie and the grapes with little effort. And we listened to various jazz recordings while enjoying the wine and nibbles. It was really nice. Then for dessert W. opened a bottle of Bear’s Liar California Merlot. I had not tried Merlot before so yet again I was trying something new. With the wine, we had some dark chocolates and milk chocolates. They certainly made the flavor of the wine sparkle. After having dark chocolate we drank some Merlot and it tastes like you are having a berry flavored chocolate. It was really good.

This morning W. made scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast for breakfast. Then we were off to The Shops at Georgetown Park in Georgetown to do a little shopping. W. picked up a few things and I did a lot of window shopping and taking photos…some inside the mall and some outside the mall in Georgetown and along the canal right next to the mall. After some lunch, I decided I should probably become a responsible adult and head home to get some work done. W. did his best to convince me to procrastinate and have some more fun with him. It was so tempting. While driving back to his place, we passed a cool looking cemetery. I thought I could get some decent photos to use in my artwork so I told him I could procrastinate a little longer by stopping there for some photos. I didn’t think of looking at the name while there but after a little research online I found out it’s called The Holy Road Cemetery. It has some really old gravestones and if you look closely you will notice that many of them died in 1896. W. mentioned that it seemed that there might have been some kind of plague or something at that time in the area since so many people died in 1896. It was interesting and I took some great photos to use in my artwork. After the photos, we decided to really become responsible adults and get some work done.

Almost 24 hours from the time I arrived at W’s, I took him home and dropped him off in front of his place. I gave him a kiss goodbye and told him what a wonderful time I’d had. He agreed. I then officially asked him on a date for next weekend. I told him I would take care of the plans. He said yes to the date and said he looks forward to it. It was a nice 24 hours.