The book you are reading is the result of the collaborative efforts, talents, and contributions of many people. I am extremely indebted to the generosity and hospitality of Courtney Lodico and Laura Saba, proprietors of The Woodley Park and Embassy Circle Guest Houses. Their warmly embracing demeanors, excellent photo-op suggestions, and bountiful dinners inspired and energized me. I also could not have produced the photography in this book without the liberal support of Chris Butcher, Anthony Herfort, and all the folks at Penn Camera in Washington, DC. I thank Nancy Regg of Rolling Thunder®, Inc., Tom Bell of the DC Guesthouse, Jenny Reisner of the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum, and Celia Lourens of the National Aquarium. I am grateful to Michael Stevenson and Roger Dehnel for their insightful suggestions in the picture-editing process.

I am especially appreciative to Amadou Diallo for introducing me to Kevin Harreld at Course Technology PTR. I am grateful to Cathleen Small, my editor, for her buoyant sense of humor, sharp eye, encouraging manner, and politic deadline reminders. Thanks also to Ron Rockwell, technical editor; Bill Hartman for his layout skills; and Mike Tanamachi for cover design.