Hi all,

Apologies for my lack of posts, but I actually developed Strep here in D.C. so I have a good reason to be incommunicado.  But there are a few things that are especially note worthy.  First, I am a huge fan of corned beef hash.  It's delicious.  And we went to a restaurant called Ted's Bulletin which makes homemade, chunky corned beef hash.  The potatoes are herb roasted, and its just generally delicious.  Go check it out.  Just very memorable.  The smaller second note is that fresh, in season softshell crab, crabcakes, and raw clams make a delightful Chesapeake dinner.  Hands down.

But as we speak, I'm in the hotel, prepping to leave TOMORROW for Turkey! We've been meeting all day as a group for orientation, and it's been fun meeting everyone going to bursa with me.  I'm very excited, and feeling a little better that I'm not the only novice going.

After some last minute errands, I'm back in the room, just resting my throat.  It's still pretty raw.  We leave the hotel tomorrow at noon for the airport, so I'm probably going to call it a night here, but I'll be sure to really kick this into high gear once I'm in Bursa.

Until then,