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Beginning of the Centurions Commissioning Weekend
The weekend began with a beautiful drive on a sunny morning with the Shenadoah mountains on my left as I headed north through Virginia to our nation's capital. I was scheduled to meet my friend Josiah and his wife from California. Josiah is a good friend and fellow Centurion.
After the drive and a train ride into the heart of D.C., I met Josiah and Brandy at their congressman's office. They had just finished a tour of the Capitol. We immediately headed to the Library of Congress. Brandy and Josiah had been flying all night on a red-eye from the West Coast. They were fascinated by the beauty of the little known and underrated Library of Congress building.
Once we completed a short tour of the Library of Congress, we headed for food (keeping the main thing the main thing). We ate at this little buffet place that you pay by the pound. The price was $5.99 / lb. and my bill came to $12 with a soda. I caught up with Josiah and Brandy over this delicious food. They were concerned about their baggage which had become separated from them. After a few telephone calls to the airline and scarfing down some grub, it was time to head to the next site, the National Archives.
This home of many great documents like the Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence and Emancipation Proclamation was poorly lit (guess why?) and like a maze. I am not sure if we were ever going to make it out without suffering from vertigo. We decided at this point to hike down to the World War II memorial.
Throughout the day, I was trying to solve a customer issue at work. Even in the midst of a couple conference calls and numerous e-mails, I was holding my own as I guided Brandy and Josiah through Washington. This was Brandy's first visit to our nation's capital and we inaugurated this with another first for her, eating from a vendor's street-side cart. We picked up some ice cream bars and drinks as we trekked to the Memorial.
This was my third trip to the World War II Memorial in as many months. the memorial is a beautiful tribute to the men and women who fought so hard at home and abroad to ensure the world's freedom from tyranical and oppressive rulers. My favorite casting (seen below) is on one of the walls at the Memorial depicts the soldiers coming home.
After viewing the World War II Memorial, we headed to the Metro. On our way strolled by the Washington Monument. We has tasted a bit of our nation's history and we could feel that we were a part of it as we headed towards the Centurions Conference.
