Goodbye Crab Fest

My amazing friends threw me a going away crab fest. Maryland, the Chesapeake, and the entire area is known for Blue Crab, so it was the perfect food to commemorate my time here. Not only was this a goodbye party, it was actually very educational. For instance, despite having called them "blue crab" during my entire stint here, I didn't realize they actually started out as blue. Who knew? The crabs seen here, however, are red, meaning they're cooked and ready for eating!

Not only did I learn a little more about the blue crab, I had to get a lesson in how to eat them. It's really quite a process, including a lot of pounding, breaking, cleaning out, and finally, eating. They were amazingly tasty! So, so, good. If the goal of the party was to make me realize some of the great things I'm leaving behind, it was a success. 

 More crab enjoyment...

The roomies came out to help me celebrate as well. Yeah roomies!

My friends also made me some pretty fab cupcakes that said "Bon Voyage Beast". Yes, I am known as "beast" out here. This nickname was one of many side effects of participating in rowing. It's just one more connection I have with Frazier...

Second (third? fourth?) lesson of the night: baton twirling. Meghan twirled competitively for something like 10 years. She is amazing. And she has the trophies to prove it. I know because I knocked some of them over in the middle of the night before the triathlon when I got up to go to the bathroom. Woke the entire house up. But that's another story...

Any celebration must be commemorated with a good twirl. Meghan tried to teach me something, but I'm afraid that me + a spinning, slightly heavy baton = not a good idea. I didn't get very far.

 Ta-da! I did learn how to look like I did something, however.

I am now thoroughly sad to be leaving DC and all these amazing people :(. I have exactly one week left in this city.