Part two of a series on the weekend in Washington ...

BETHESDA, MD.

Maybe 14 beers was too many.

No, not a hangover � in fact, there wasn't one, because the drinking was so spread out. See how that works? But waking up Sunday morning, the dreams I remembered from the night before (or the minutes before) were of me at the Press � I don�t even want to try to remember anything more specific.

After the very long, very enjoyable Saturday, we slept in but still managed to awake before Jamie called � something we had not expected to do. The plan was to meet for lunch at Booeymonger in D.C. I called Elise, and she and Jeremy were able to join us. She said she always made fun of the place because of the funny name. And when the drink I ordered came in a colorful plastic cup, I wasn't about to throw it away. So I now have a "Booeymonger" cup. With Brad joining us, it made six of us, and we stayed for two hours, talking after lunch.

Brad gave us his theories on marriage � something to do with a piece of paper taking away all the romance. So I asked him if it would be more romantic if Derek Jeter didn�t have a piece of paper, if he just showed up at the ballpark every day because he wanted to, because he loved to. The way Brad put it, the analogy was the same.

After lunch, Brad and Jamie departed � Brad to work on law school applications, Jamie to coffee with another friend before driving back to Charlottesville � while Jeremy, Elise, Matt and I browsed at Borders.

After that, the quiet day ended with naps, dinner and a night of television. After a hilarious "Simpsons" with "N'Sync" in which the band moved in unison to some techno keyboard beat and "Malcolm In The Middle," there were back-to-back episodes of "The West Wing" on NBC. It's just the greatest show on television, but that's because "The Sopranos" doesn't come back until Sunday. Anyway, it's something else to watch "The West Wing" near D.C., knowing that all that takes place (fictionally) lies only miles away. The two episodes voted as the fans' favorites were "Pilot" and "In Exelsis Deo," the Christmas episode from the first season. They're my personal favorites. The Christmas one ends with Toby and Mrs. Landingham attending the military funeral for a homeless Korean veteran on Christmas Eve with the rest of the West Wing staff joining the President in the White House to watch a children's choir sing. Such wonderful programing.