Welcome to the Hotel Blackinton

We have a fairly well stocked kitchen that usually serves three meals a day and is always available for self-service, a comfortable couch, an available air mattress, wireless Internet, and a bathroom with shower and tub. Laundry facilities are available in the building. A furnished patio is available for outdoor eating. And guests have full use of tennis courts and pools. We are conveniently located right next to the Beltway and are only a five minute walk from the Grosvenor Metro stop, which is on the Red Line. Best of all, we're free.

Since Jeff and I moved into our small one-bedroom apartment, we've played host to a number of guests. High school friends on their way through town. Family members up for a visit. Post-college friends stopping in for a night. A study abroad friend looking at graduate programs in town. Pretty much anyone who we know who has ever been in the area. If someone asks, we say yes, unless we're going to be out of town or we have a packed house. (Although the packed house part hasn't stopped us before, as we've had three guests in addition to the two of us at one point in the past.)

I think of it as traveler's karma. I've been fortunate many times in travels through Europe and the United States to have people who are willing to provide me with a place to crash, who don't mind playing tour guide for a day or two, and who make it much more affordable to travel. Hotels are expensive, not to mention lonely, if you're traveling by yourself. So when a friend calls, I say yes, with the knowledge that somewhere down the line, I'll be rewarded with the same hospitality. I also just enjoy having the company of friends and family.

This summer, our apartment has already played host to Matthew and to my friends Joyce & Jack. It's about to get another visitor, but this visit is going to be a new one for our establishment. This is going to be a long term stay. We're moving from the weekend B&B to the Extended Stay hotel. My brother Gregory will be arriving on Monday and will be calling our couch home until mid-August. In a very last minute offer, he received an invitation to intern at the Architect of the Capitol, which is a really great opportunity. However, by the time the offer was made, the cheapest housing to be found in DC (which is never cheap to begin with) was around $100 a day. Seriously. Unless he lived in the ghetto.

So arrangements were made for Gregory to come live with us for the summer. It will be cozy, for sure, but Jeff and I are glad to be able to help. Fortunately, Gregory is about the easiest person to live with that one could possibly imagine. And I've had plenty of experience living with him before, so we should be just fine. And I have to admit that I think Jeff's pretty excited to have someone in the house who might actually enjoy playing video games with him. It'll be interesting, but isn't life supposed to be?