Washington, D.C.

After enjoying a large brunch at a diner with Jim & Mona Sauder (where we tasted our first and last bites of scrapple), we left Lancaster for Washington D.C. We arrived without any hiccups at our cousin, Lydia Lehman's house. After settling in, we met up with Lydia's boyfriend, Tarek, and entered an interactive art museum, a first for all of us. The museum provided a space where the audience could become a part of the art, with lots of the exhibits encouraging photos. A few exhibits pushed participants to interact in uncomfortable, vulnerable ways in an attempt to push back on the decline of face to face interaction due to technology. An example is to look into a stranger's eyes for 30 seconds straight, without any conversation. After the museum, we had a nice dinner, went back to their apartment, did some singing for each other, and went to bed.

Saturday, October 26 brought our long-awaited Halloween concert! Before our performance, we packed a lot into our only full day in D.C. Tarek started the day off by preparing a fantastic Middle Eastern spread for breakfast which included pita, many types of hummus and dips, cheese, and fresh vegetables (see the photo for the full effect!). One of Tarek's friends was hosting a lamb roast which we unfortunately could not attend due to timing, so we bid them farewell at about noon on Saturday.

We spent the rest of our time in D.C. with another dear cousin who lives in D.C., Emma Koop Liechty. Emma accompanied us on a thrilling time on scooters along the Mall. For those of you who don't know, many cities are adopting these electric scooters as a mode of transportation (and fun), so yes, they're really just electric push scooters!

We returned to Emma's apartment, got all dressed up in our ridiculous costumes, and headed out to the house concert. It was great to reconnect with David Zehr, a fellow Goshen alum, who plays electric guitar for a funk/rock band called Safetrack. Dressed up as a flamingo (Bekah), a unicorn (Caleb), and a pegacorn (Josh's combination of a pegasus & unicorn), GNT took the stage in the back yard, opening for Safetrack. Following the concert, we went back to Emma's apartment for the night.

The following morning, GNT played at Hyattsville Mennonite Church, where more connections were made (yes, Jan Cobb Nofziger, your daughter made it to see us!). It was so nice of Emma and Lydia to make the trip on Sunday morning to see us as well.

Directly following the service, we loaded everything up, and headed back to Archbold, OH for a brief interval before heading back south to Virginia!

Photos are updated, so check them out! Thanks again for the support everyone :)