Wow, I never imagined we weren't the minimalists I'd always bragged we were! Moving out of our condo was one of the most surprisingly underanticipated experiences I've ever had. We had SO MUCH STUFF! Most of it went into storage - but... my god we almost completely filled a 5'x10' unit - and we even sold our bed and futon!! Anyhow, by the skin of our teeth we did almost all we had to do and dumped the rest of it in Santa Fe. But, seriously... Joe dropped me off at the airport to catch my flight to DC and immediately drove over to the condo to pass the keys onto the new residents! Crazy! DC was good - the seminar sessions were as expected. We stayed at the Embassy Suites which was a nice hotel and met some really exceptional people who will be going to Venezuela, Algeria, China, and Mozambique (136 fellows in all!).
All was within walking distance to the National Mall so I was able to see the White House, Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, and the newest... FDR Memorial. It was a hike to get to all of them but well worth it. I also saw the Vietnam memorial... funny story: When I got there, it dawned on me that I had worn a POW/MIA bracelet my dad gave me when I was a kid. I still have the bracelet and wonder what happened to my guy, Maj. James Dennany. I had read on the Internet that he was missing in action. 
I decided to see if he was on the wall of the memorial and waited behind a woman to look up his name in one of the "big books" there. When she left, I walked up to the "book" and saw that she had been in the D's. I turned one page back and saw his name in the middle of the page! What are the odds with over 58,000 names on the memorial! We (Erica and I) memorized the coordinates and went to find the column and row his name was on - there it was with a little "plus sign" by his name showing that he was MIA. Very moving... even though I never knew the man. Maybe someone in his family will read this someday... Anyhow, I'm back in Santa Fe now and trying to tie up all the last-minute loose ends. I still have to call and meet with some friends - hope I can fit it all in!!!! So, to put it in a nutshell, our routine has been turned on its head, and nothing is as it was a few weeks ago. Departure day is next Tuesday... so I've got to get it all squeezed in. By the way, we sent the quilt. God only knows where it is right now!
