DC Conference Day 1

Welcome to our DC Conference Tip for 2017-2018! This year, our travel day happens to be Veteran's Day, so we arranged an early flight to Reagan National Airport in order to be able to attend the ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

We started on the 3am bus from Exit 6 to Logan. Meeting the rest of the group at Logan, we got on our 7am AA flight to DCA.

We landed at 9, grabbed our bags, caught the shuttle to the Courtyard by Marriott Crystal City, dropped our bags, then headed to the Metro. Our timing worked well, and we got through security and walked up to the pavilion in time for the ceremony. Then it was delayed awaiting the Vice President's arrival. Fortunately we found seats in the sun - it was 20 degrees.

We also were treated to patriotic songs from the Marine Corps band while we waited, then enjoyed a parade of Veterans organizations, and a series of rousing speeches.

It took a while to get out of there after the ceremony, and we visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and stopped at JFK's grave on our way out.

We decided to walk by the Lincoln Memorial, past the reflecting pool, stop briefly at the WWII Memorial, and then past the Washington Memorial to grab a quick bite from the food trucks.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon at the Holocaust Museum - powerful as always, especially for those for whom it was their first visit.

After the visit, we headed back to Crystal City to grab some food and then settle in to our rooms, and an early bedtime to recover from the day of travel.