THE NATION'S CAPITAL WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!

Aloha Everyone! I am back from my whirlwind tour of Washington, D.C. and New York. I hit the ground running and haven't stopped yet! My family and I went to D.C. so that I could accept an award from the U.S. Small Business Adminstration for being named the Hawaii State Small Business Person of the year.

I arrived in D.C. on the cold and rainy morning of April 20. We arrived at 5:00 a.m. and checked in at the Four Seasons in Georgetown for a little rest. Later that day, my husband, Joe and grandson, Tyler and I took a double decker bus tour to get oriented to the city. On the first night, we ate at Cafe Milano on Prospect Street in Georgetown. Everything was really good. Joe mentioned to the owner how much he liked the olive oil that was served at the table, so he gave us a full bottle. The bottle didn't have a top on it, so needless to say, it didn't make it back to Maui, but somewhere there is a chamber maid from the Four Seasons enjoying a top notch treat!

Early the next day I sent Joe and Tyler off on a site seeing tour. In the evening we attended a reception at the State Department. The reception rooms were quite grand. They have a $90 million collection of Americana ranging from Thomas Jefferson's writing desk to paintings, furniture and many other exquisite pieces. Of course I ran right over to the caterer and asked him about his business. It turns out that that he is a former SBA winner and has grown his business into a $30 million per year enterprise!

After the reception we went to the restaurant of my dear friend, Chef Michel Richard. Citronelle is considered one of the finest restaurants in the world and that evening they did not disappoint. This evening was Tyler's first true fine dining experience in a large city. What a way to get introduced! Michel was not in that night, but we did run into him later in the week at his other restuarant, Central. It was so nice to see my old friend. As it turns out, he was on his way to Maui!

The awards luncheon for all of the winners was such a delight. It was so wonderful being in a room full of winners and fascinating to hear their experiences and to learn about the journeys that landed them at the top of their fields.

April 23 brought a lot more sight seeing. We buzzed by all of the monuments, saw Mount Vernon as well as the National Gallery. The most powerful experience by far was the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Being in the presence of that dark time left me only able to cry at the horrors that man is capable of inflicting on man.

The day ran the full spectrum of emotions. We were invited to attend a reception in the East Wing Room of the White House where president Bush gave a speech to the attendees. There isn't much to say about the food at the White House, but boy! do they have a lot of silver trays! I have a picture of Tyler enjoying a glass of champagne at the reception in the White House. I'll post it once he becomes 21 years old! And.....if you come to my house in the next few months, you will be served a cocktail with a beverage napkin from the White House and NO.........I didn't just take them....I asked first!

The trip to Washington was a great experience and afterwards we hopped on the train to New York City. We stayed at a friend's place on the Upper West Side with a view of Central Park. We saw South Pacific at Lincoln Center - it was fantastic! After the performance, I went backstage to congratulate the performers and it turns out that one of the cast members is from Honolulu. Her name is Loretta Ables Sayre. You may recognize her from her many Waikiki appearances as well as for being the voice of PBS Hawaii. She gave me a big hug and told me how much she missed food from Hawaii. I wanted to give her a taste of home, so I went back to my friend's apartment and whipped up a batch of Haupia, our island style coconut dessert and dropped it off at the theater. She LOVED it!

On the last Sunday we were in town, we entertained friends and cooked a wonderful Sunday dinner. It was a real treat and once back I hit the ground running on Maui and haven't slowed down yet.

I'll write more soon.

With warmest aloha,

Bev