On 10/02 I traveled east for another in a continuing series of Wet, Wild, and Wicked reunions. This one also turned out to be a "pre-union" as I'll explain later.
On Saturday morning Sharon and I spent some time figuring out some appropriate activities for our WWW 1999 trip. We did come up with some ideas for banners and window signs which I'll share later as the trip draws closer. We also talked about getting some 22 oz. insulated mugs with lids printed with a WWW 1999 logo, web address, and a place to write your name with a permanent marker. I brought an insulated mug on the 1998 trip and the bartenders were more than happy to fill it with whatever I was drinking at the time. I'll probably have to ask for a few bucks to cover the costs and shipping - around $7 or so. If anyone has any ideas about a logo design, please send them my way.
On Saturday afternoon, Sharon and I visited the Holocaust museum in DC. It was a sobering visit. Not much splash and flash like other museums. But then the atmosphere matched the subject matter. It really made me stop and reflect.
Next we did a quick (and I do mean quick) trip through the Museum of American History and then scooted on over to the Natural History Museum. We were fighting closing time at both of them. I'd been to both of them on a few occasions a number of years ago, but there were significant changes. Of course some of the major displays were still there.
We had plans to meet some of the WWW crowd for dancing later in the evening and had some time to kill. Earlier we had parked our car near the location of the dance club and took the Metro to the museums. We returned to the car via the Metro and picked up our change of clothes that we brought along. The club (Lulu's) was in the same building as Marriott hotel. So we took a little tour of the hotel. It just so happened that the hotel was the place the Dallas Cowboys were staying at prior to their game with the Redskins the next day. This meant that there was a bit of activity there. We rode the elevator up to the top floor looking for a place to sit down and drink a beer which Sharon had the foresight to pack for us in a cooler. We ended up sitting on the floor in the elevator lobby of the 9th floor. It was interesting to catch people's reaction to seeing us there as they got off the elevator. We killed some time there (as well as killed the beer) then went down to find a place for dinner. We ended up at Blackies - in the hotel.
After we finished dinner, we took turns going into the bathroom to change into our party clothes. We got a few double takes from people who saw us arrive in jeans and leave in our party clothes. Lance and Jessica were due to meet us for dancing. Sharon and Jessica made plans to wear their "slut" clothes. But when Sharon saw that the vast majority of the other women were wearing jeans, she decided just to wear her jeans. She did look great in her short skirt, top, and heels. She did a quick change in the parking lot across the street. No, not in the car in the parking lot, but in the parking lot next to the car.
We proceeded back to Lulu's to await the arrival of the others. In addition to Lance and Jessica who traveled in from Stafford, VA, we were meeting up with a virgin H-II couple, Mike and Shirl, from Gaithersburg, MD. When we got back to Lulu's, Mike and Shirl were there. After some drinks, Lance and Jessica showed up. We talked for a while, catching up on news and getting to know Mike and Shirl - another great H-II couple.
We eventually made our way into Lulu's. It was a rather young crowd. In fact, I think I heard one customer refer to Lance as "gramps" (lol)! The two dance floors were wall to wall people. Not a lot of room to dance. They had to limit the number of people they let in so as not to exceed their capacity.
When it was time to leave, we went to the parking lot with Lance and Jessica. Jessica had brought some dresses for Sharon. She tried them on right there in the parking lot. The parking lot attendant came over to lend any assistance we may have needed. He also gave us his opinion on the two dresses. Both were really "wow" dresses, tight and shiny with sequins - one low cut. She looked marvelous in them! (BTW - the attendant liked the low cut one!).
On Sunday we spent some time working on Sharon's PC installing a new version of Print Artist. Sharon worked on some school work and I graded spelling tests. We went over to Mike and Shirl's for a delicious chicken dinner and a movie - Sphere with Dustin Hoffman and Sharon Stone. It was a good time. Mike and Shirl will fit right in with our WWW group next summer. By the way, we're up to 88 people as of 10/5.
I made my way back to Omaha on Monday and am winding up my long weekend doing this trip report and watching Monday Night Football.
Stay tuned to the message boards for a possible Halloween reunion!
- Denny