2003-04-03 - 7:20 p.m. DC Stroll Since I almost never get to play in it any more, the hot weather�s siren song is near impossible for me to resist. Alas, today�s agenda was all about sitting in an overly air conditioned basement for 9 hours, *not* frolicking in the 80 degree sunshine. :sigh: I put on a pretty Spring dress anyway, in case I had a chance to take a walk around the block at lunch or right before dinner. My presentation was slotted last, right before the brief before dinner break� right as I was about to go up to the podium though, something miraculous happened: the member of senior management running this shindig asked me if I would mind terribly much rescheduling my slot to first thing tomorrow morning! Thus, my wishes were granted! I rounded up some companions for a walk to the Capitol and down the mall. The only person who stuck it out the whole way chatted with me and indulged my sidetrips into the Hirshhorn sculpture garden and the national museum�s sculpture garden�and yes, I broke down and took photos of the sculptures and the beautiful geometry that makes up the Hirshhorn�s building� We walked all the way to the reflecting pool @ the national monument, then headed back towards the hotel. As we stood looking at the white house, we saw one of those fancy black helicopters with a government seal flying low towards the white house lawn� and in front of the capitol, a dozen police vehicles, including a truck that looks like the SF bomb squad�s truck, blocked access to a parking lot and went from car to car, looking for someone or something. This is how I ended up receiving a police escort across the street�hehe. I was looking forward to splashing some water on my face and running a brush through my hair, but as we entered the lobby to the hotel, we saw the special VIP guest who was speaking at our dinner. He was half an hour early and no one from our group was anywhere to be seen. This is why we ended up drinking together at the bar (I had a wonderful Kermit Lynch grenache), talking politics, wine, and travel for 45 minutes. After all, what kind of a hostess would I have been if I let our special guest fend for himself? Dinner, at the upscale restaurant attached to our hotel, was very tasty, with my personal highlight being the almond shortbread cookies that accompanied our cr�me brulees. I collected them from everyone and must have eaten 5 of them! Butter and sugar are so tasty� But now I am super tired and want to crawl into bed, listening to the new White Stripes album again�and dreaming of the sunshine and the flurry of cherry blossoms that swirled around me and my walking companions as we made our way to Capitol Hill� any comments? (1 so far) previous - next recently on almostgoldsf... in defense of an email box I came to do battle with SPAM - 2008-05-17 hello 2006 - 2005-12-31 Happy Thanksgiving - 2005-11-14 bon voyage - 2005-11-05 October already? - 2005-10-09