We met people for drinks at Trio/Fox & Hounds on one of the first nights that was good for outdoor seating; the heat lamps were on, but they weren’t really needed. I had not been there in a while (it’s in a section of DC that hasn’t really changed in 15 years) and they at least used to be known for giving you mini bottles of vodka and gin along with a splash of tonic or an ice cube, so you could feel like you were on an airplane without ever leaving home. We went to Annie’s Steakhouse for dinner, where I was hoping to have just eggs and pancakes; I’m almost sure they used to serve all-day breakfast, but that’s no longer true if it ever was. Annie’s has been open since 1948 and it’s been an important part of the LGBT community since at least the 60s, and eating there gives you the comfortable feeling of going back decades. According to an obituary for Annie Kaylor, the namesake: “In the late 60s or early 70s there were two men sitting at a table and she saw that they were holding hands under the table … And she walked up to them and she sort of startled them. She said, ‘You guys don’t have to hold hands under the table.’ She said, ‘No, no – you hold those hands right up here on top of that table.’” Very charming of her to say that. Especially in the 60s.

(Photo: Hyacinths and crocuses in the front yard.)

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