All photos by the author

I’ve lived in and around this town for 23 years now. When I got here, DC was where I was headed to college. It offered an interesting backdrop, but I didn’t imagine I’d be here so many years later.

And, yet, here I am. Tomorrow I’ll celebrate my 41st birthday, and as I age, the city has grown up around me. I’ve never lived anywhere else for so long. And while I have an Arlington address, my life revolves around the city — from work to play, I’m more often downtown than not.

I could go on and on about what makes DC better than other places. But, being more comfortable with a camera than I am with the pen, I’m going to try and show you parts of my DC, and the reason that I find myself staying here, year after year.

The touristy stuff, let’s get that out of the way. DC’s a superbly beautiful city:

We have great museums in this town:

The Metro, no matter our bitching, makes life in DC more bearable:

Opportunities like no other town has. I got to listen to Apollo astronauts at the Air and Space Museum, talk to astronauts in person and in space at NASA Headquarters, and see a Space Shuttle launch because of NASA’s outreach:

The political life and how it meshes into our fabric:

And, of course, just the day to day life, captured and remembered:

I hope these pictures have given you some insight into why I love DC.