A Field Trip to DC

The plumbing saga continues.  We picked up the new P-trap (also known as a J-something) shortly after 8 this morning.  Within seconds of getting back to the house, Elliott discovered that the drain pipe was 1 1/4 inches in diameter and the new P-trap was 1 1/2 inches in diameter.  That obviously wasn’t going to work.  

Needing a diversion from the wonderful world of plumbing, I set out with Elliott and Sylvester (his 4-wheeler) for a day in Georgetown.  The weather was positively spring-like, and we started drinking in the sunshine while waiting on the platform for the metro train that would take us into Washington.  Our main destination in Georgetown was a gallery at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Reservoir Road, but we stopped along the way to pick up a delicious pain raisin for Elliott at the Patisserie Poupon.  We enjoyed seeing some contemporary art at the Heiner gallery.  There were some interesting stripe paintings, somewhat reminiscent of Elliott’s work.  However, it was the gouache paintings on paper that really caught our attention.  I’ve never used gouache, which is an opaque water-based paint, and it would be fun to give it a try.  That goes on my list of things to do during my retirement. 

But back to Georgetown, which is much more pleasant on a weekday than on the weekend when the sidewalks are so crowded that it’s difficult to walk.  After visiting the gallery, we took a leisurely stroll downhill towards M Street, peering into the windows of cafés, clothing stores, and Apple computer.  When lunchtime arrived, I directed Elliott to Tackle Box, a very informal fish place on M Street.  I gobbled up two fish tacos and half of the French fries that came with Elliott’s crab cake sandwich.  That fueled us for a long walk to Foggy Bottom where we caught the metro back to Virginia. 

It was only three in the afternoon, so there was still time for another visit to the hardware store.  This time it was Home Depot where Elliott purchased some kind of extension pipe and an adjustment ring that was supposed to solve the problem of connecting the drain pipe to the P-trap.  We came home to find a herd of deer having a party in our backyard.  I counted at least ten of them quite close to the house.  They must have been enjoying themselves, as they stayed for a while before bolting into the woods.  

Meanwhile, Elliott was eagerly trying out his new plumbing supplies.  He was so certain that this was going to work.  It would fit right into place and, voila, we’d have our sink back in commission.  But, for some reason I don’t quite understand, it didn’t work out the way it was supposed to.  At this point, Elliott suggested salvaging the old P-trap (which was 1 1/4 inches in diameter, like the drain pipe) and making another trip to Ace Hardware.  We came home from our final outing of the day with a different kind of extension pipe, and tomorrow morning, we’ll see if we can finally wrap up this plumbing project.