Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant in Chantilly

I hiked with a friend for 7 miles on Appalachian Trail roller coaster then tried the Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant in Chantilly that is run by a Taiwanese family on Saturday. Their reddish cakes (蘿蔔糕) is pretty authentic, and the other two dishes: mushroom family (fresh shiitake, enoki, king oyster, and white mushrooms sautéed with soy protein in brown sauce served on a bed of crispy egg noodles) and Manchurian palace (marinated soy protein sautéed with vege) were tasty too. I ran 16 miles @9:55 per mile on Sunday to make up this week’s workout.

Holiday Open Mike Tysons [Stand-up Comedy]

I attended Holiday Open Mike Tysons [Stand-up Comedy] @ Tysons Biergarten, which was so hard to get to and finally got there after looping around three times. The jokes were not as funny as those I heard in DC comedy clubs, but much closer to my house.

Nova Labs Holiday/Christmas Makers Potluck 2018

I baked a carrot bread to attend Nova Labs Holiday/Christmas Makers Potluck.

15-m winder hike

I had a very windy hike (20-25 mph) at times with a meetup group Loop around the AT, Corbin Cabin and Stony Man for 15 miles (24 kms) with 3900 feet (1188 meters) elevation gain. I felt like naked (32f; 0c) when stepped out of the car on skyline drive! Two tricky stream crossings. I wore sunglasses to block the wind, not the sun. Anyway, I felt it was better than last Saturday cold rainy 15-mile 2500 feet elevation gain hike dragging my 2-lb wet hiking boots. No matter how good your rain gears and waterproof boots are, they get wet after 2-hour in the winter rain!

minority banker holiday reception

I attended a minority banker holiday reception which honored five members who contributed to the local communities. We had a networking session sharing Christmas traditions. Mine was enjoying Christmas as much as I could wherever I was.

My 1st indoor fly @ iFLY Ashburn

My 1st indoor fly @ iFLY Ashburn was more exciting than I expected. I was a little stiff for the 1st session, and more relaxed and stable during the 2nd session (the instructor pulled me up and turned during the last 30 seconds). Not sure if I will ever fly outdoors.

office party in DC

I went in DC for my office party in a private room inside a trendy bar, and the food was amazing, such as truffle fries, Tuna Poke (Hawaiian Raw-Tuna Salad), curry shrimps, raw oysters, 8oz filet Mignon, and the baked Alaska Flambé (a dessert consisting of ice cream and cake topped with browned meringue set on fire).

Baltimore inner harbor for $1 day

I carpooled with a friend to Baltimore inner harbor for its $1 day of a lot of museums (including aquarium). However, we skipped the the 1.5-hr long waiting line for National Aquarium, and checked out the Top of the World Observation Deck for the 360 degree overviews of the harbor, the Jewish Museum of Maryland (including exhibit of Harry Houdini's magic technologies), and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. We bumped into a hanukkah party in the next door synagogue, and shared delicious potato latkes, quinoa salad, broccoli, strawberry and chocolate ice cream cakes. We were too full to execute the seafood buffet plan.