Here's a mental picture you can take with you that should provide a pretty good snapshot of my fourth: Imagine between 8 and 14 of your favorite people huddled underneath a 10' by 20' clear tarp (who thinks ahead? it's Alissa, I swear the woman is a preparedness genius, the army should use her on training missions) supported by a metal fence (at one point we were asked to remove it so the snipers on the roof of the White House could have a clearer view -- that was someone's interpretation, anyway), drenching rain, Armaggeddon-like clouds gathering behind the monument to add to the downpour, bordered by a huge Hari Krishna festival and an official-seeming hippie conference, playing the "let's-go-around-and-name-animals-alphabetically" game*, soaked and happy. That's pretty much my yesterday. Oh, and to complete the picture, let's not forget that the hole in the tarp was incredibly effectively patched with a maxi pad. Always, I believe. With wings.

*Aardvark, Boa constrictor, Cheetah, Dolphin, Egret, Falcon, Gorilla, Hippo, Ibis, Jackal, Kangaroo, Llama, Monkey, Nursing Nanny Goat, Ostrich or Orangatun, Puma, Quail, Rainbow Trout, Salamander, Tarantula, Underdweller, Vulture, free Willie the Whale, X-something someone made up, Yellowfin Tuna, Zebra (I'm assuming, although I was Y and didn't have to remember after that so I stopped paying attention).