Day 1, long--con'td.

As mentioned above, I wished for as much about scientific and medical strides by African Americans as entertainment. I need to go back.

L and I caught up by phone at 3 ish and went to the gift shop. It was so busy and crowded, that a separate line was formed outside the shop. I saw a pretty pair of earrings--$400 beyond my budget.

We cabbed back to the hotel. When I realized my Kindle couldn't communicate with Fodor's Lounge, L kindly put out a "Let's meet" to the folks staying in the hotel.

At 6, we walked (one block!) to Acadiana. Our group of 23 (24?) had 2 long tables at this wonderful place.

http://www.acadianarestaurant.com/

It specializes in Cajun/NOLA food and everyone around me loved their meals. Beforehand, a plate of warm biscuits (baking powder type) with a butter/red pepper jelly sauce was passed. Oh, yums.

A group of us met back at the hotel bar and talked more.

Thank you TDudette. Fortunately for me, the museum is walking distance from work. I do enjoy spending an hour or two in one of the Smithsonians on slow winter days.

trip, DH and I spent many Sundays at the Smithsonian. Plus we spent our honeymoon in D.C.--great place to visit. We loved the Mint.

Day 2, May 29, 2017

Long and short of it!

Breakfast at hotel buffet was very good. A big bowl of scrambled eggs are a bit runny but I think that was on purpose since they are under a heat lamp. There is an omelet station, a area with cereals, breads, pancakes, antipasto foods. Very nice. Great service and good coffee.

The group agreed to meet at 9:30. L and I will go to Newseum, the rest who gathered are going to NMAAHC.

We cab to Newseum and again get separated but will phone toward noon or whoever gets hungry first.

Phillygal (or was it amwosu?), who visited yesterday, had great reviews of Newseum so we are glad to go to it. And not disappointed. The history of newspapers is well-represented in this museum.

http://www.newseum.org/

Highlights for me were: A wall of enlarged front pages. These are changed <I>each day;</I>
A portion of the Berlin wall;
A section showing the top songs during earch presidency; and
A Twin Towers area showing a portion of a tower, interviews with reporters (who said how difficult it was to be a reporter and not a person), and the camera and last photos of Bill Biggart as he walked toward the 2nd tower.

There is an outdoor terrace and we can see the Climate March gathering.

L and I met and saw a 4-D movie then went to lunch at the Newseum. L had a huge salad, and a brownie, and TD had a burger at the Wolfgang Puck's station and cannolis. I give mine a solid B.

We then walk along with the demonstrators along PA Ave. to the National Theatre where we will try walk-up tickets. It is in the low 90s and humid. L's 3 inch advantage leaves TD behind but L stops every so often. We are able to get $58 tickets. It is so cold in the theatre that TD gets a leg cramp. Fortunately, our 2nd balcony seats are not crowded so a little walk is OK.

We love the play. On the stage are the playwright as an adult, as a child, and as a college student. Interwoven are her parents and 2 siblings as her life progresses. Although the subject is somewhat serious, the clever staging, music and dialog don't drag down the viewer. I give it an A.

We taxi back to the hotel to prepare for Saturday night's GTG dinner. There will be 42 or 43 of us!

Carmine's!

After months of calling by yestravel and LouisaH, Carmine's has a room that will accommodate our number at a reasonable cost.

http://www.carminesnyc.com/locations/washington-dc

yestravel will have to confirm this but I think there were 42 of us. We had about 30 minutes of cocktail time but took more. Several folks know each other from previous GTGs all over the world.

The tables seated 10 and it was impossible to hear across them. We filled the room with happy chatter. However, Tripplanner001, Tzarinna, and Welltraveledbrit were close enough for chatting.

Each of us stood and said a few words about ourselves. Wish I'd thought to ask who came furtherest. Elizabeth_S and her DH came from Toronto CD--anyone further?

Thank you, TDudette, yestravel, santamonica, and anyone else involved in planning or orchestrating this DC GTG! It was an enjoyable and memorable experience!

Thanks, Dave!

I forgot to mention that the Saturday night of our GTG found a mobbed Carmine's. People were seated and standing outside, and the indoor bar was mobbed. No doubt some of the day's marchers were there, but I think Carmine's is a popular place.

charsuzan and I were hot and pooped so shared a cab back to the hotel and I crashed.

Sunday, May 31, 2017

8:00ish, I found KRNS guest, J waiting outside the restaurant. He joined me and then KRNS joined us. Same good buffet as usual. KRNS found croissants (she said she has croissant radar!) but I was committed to potatoes.

K talked about her work with feeding and getting tagged/spayed feral cats. LouisaK came by before her next mission--and now I've forgotten--breakfast nearby I think.

Heard later that charsuzan attended a lovely brunch at Acadiana. Something to put on your list when you visit next.

Check out was easy and there were no errors. Every time I had passed the valet desk, it was empty....until I needed them to fetch my car. There were 3 ahead of me. But once the slow pokes got fixed up, things went smoothly. The paper lawn bags I forgot to remove from the back seat were still there!

I would give the Marriott Marquis an A-. Expensive resto, the short hair dryer cord, and no snacks in the fridge were minuses. With a hotel this large, it would be a huge headache to keep fridge stuff straight though.

Please send me your jpg photos and I'll add them to the blog! Let's do this again soon.

No Preview!