Photograph by Darrow Montgomery

The “ghost bike” memorial for 22-year-old Alice Swanson was installed anonymously where she died yesterday at 20th and R streets in Dupont Circle.

The tragedy is one that hits home for many: for Alice’s coworkers and former coworkers, for her housemates in Mount Pleasant, for her friends in D.C. and from college at Amherst, and from home in Northborough, Mass. It hits the many cyclists in this town and anyone who witnessed the accident or its aftermath. It’s probably her father, though, who expresses the loss best (from the Boston Globe):

She is so energetic and enthusiastic. She always wants to explore or travel. She’s got a room full of maps here, world maps and things like that. She wanted to travel.

I just feel that she had so many things that she wanted to do—to help people. Now it’s not going to happen.

Condolences to all who knew and loved Alice.

UPDATE: WABA (Washington Area Bicyclist Association) to hold a memorial service and press conference tonight at 6:30 near the intersection. Cyclists and others who attend are encouraged to bring bike lights and flowers.

I’m in the middle of a glorious vacation. It’s not quite one of those trendy “staycations” the mainstream media has just discovered as a (fake) trend. I still have to go to work. No, I’m house sitting for a colleague (the guy who takes all those amazing, soulful pictures for WCP). He lives a block and a half away from my apartment. But it could be another world. His neighborhood is quiet and leafy. My block is nearly treeless. His block has strollers and dogs. My block has a boarded apartment building and drunks. He lives in a sweet house. I don’t.

This feels like a vacation because of the following items:

1) Cable. The last two nights, I spent serious time sunk in the couch hooked on Law & Order and its various spinoffs. This isn’t a surprise. That show is on constantly. But I also get to indulge in a little wide-screen Charlie Rose. I’m used to watching his shows on the laptop.

2) The prospect of free laundry facilities. Now I quite haven’t taken advantage of this. But it’s there–no lines, no coins!

3) Free food. OK. There’s a lot of frozen meat in the freezer. Not my thing. But there’s tons of bread, organic bread. No pre-packaged slices for me! There’s also plenty of rice, weird sauces, and kettle corn. Hell yeah.

4) The house is quiet. I live in a noisy apartment building. Open the window and there’s a good chance I’m going to either a) hear people talking or b) hear the woman next door sing along to slow jams on the radio.

This morning, as I woke up to free coffee, I couldn’t think of a more relaxing and cheap way to kill a week. I don’t have to use up my vacation time. And I get to experience another part of the city. I can’t think of a better way to explore the District than through house sitting. We had a staff writer here—not too long ago—who managed to get by on nearly house sitting full-time. I’m pretty sure I made fun of him. I regret that now.

House sitting—will this replace the staycation?