Gordon's Birthday

Yesterday, was Gordon's birthday and we took the Metro over to Virginia and to Ray's Hell Burgers. It is probably the very best hamburger I have ever had, besides my own!!

When you go in you have a choice of one of their special concoctions or you can build your own. I chose to build my own!! All start out as a 10 oz. burger, ground fresh in store and patted out. I added mushrooms, onions, mayo, tomato, xtra swiss cheese and jalapenos peppers...yum !!!

Gordon got the Big Punisher which consisted of being diablo-grilled and brushed with our spicy chipotle marinade, pepper jack cheese, charred jalapenos, grilled red onions, and Piranha Sauce(Fiery, Spicy, Green Sauce)!!!
Check them out online as they have an incredible selection of stuff to put on your burger and it was great and a must stop if you are in the DC area.

So this morning we got up early and took the Metro (we are getting good at this)
down to the National Harbor and its marina. We were going to make a stop here but decided after this visit that maybe next time. This is a newer facility, fashioned after an upper end Mall, condo/motel,and restaurant destination. The Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center is located adjacent to the marina and this is where we actually ended up spending the most of the day.

We went in and found they were serving a Sunday brunch at $30 per person...you say what??? I must say it was well worth it! They had 7 stations of food, a cereal/fruit station, pastries/bread station, salad station, pasta station, fish/meat station, and 2 desert stations!!! There was bagels and lox, roast turkey, prime rib, 4 different types of ravioli, Cesar, pasta, and bean salads, shrimp, the big ones,oysters, snails, baked/fried fish, and the deserts ...cake, ice cream, chocolate dipped strawberries, pudding, tirramisu, and assorted cookies and brownies...YUM DOUBLE YUM!!! We ate for 2 hours!!!

We walked about the inside garden and shops and checked out the convention facilities. What a beautiful place to have a convention. Now, if only the rest of National Harbor would catch up and fill the empty store fronts with some unique shopping this would be a great stopping point.

The grounds are amazing and they have a very "different" sand sculpture/play ground. Also, many miles of walking trails and watersports abound and are there for the taking.Or yooou can just stroll the waterfront and stop for a drink here or there.

Since we were both stuffed to our gills, the ride back into DC was a bit uncomfortable and long but we waddled back to our boat and called it a day and a good day at that!!!