SIDE NOTE:
Dan found out in early March that his employer was unable to renew his contract due to lack of funding -- meaning, he would be out of a job at the beginning of April. We knew that this was a possibility, so he started job searching months ago. Once the possibility became an unfortunate reality, Dan became much more aggressive in his job search. Since his job search wasn't producing any job opportunities, Dan decided to join me in Washington DC.
Since Dan was a last-minute addition, he used Priceline to get a discount on his airfare. Thankfully, he was able to get a fabulous deal! I think his round trip ticket was only $8 more than mine -- and I purchased mine (via work) over a month before Dan. However, we weren't on the same flights or even using the same airline. Dan landed in Washington DC just before I started boarding my flight. Although, it was pretty cool having Dan waiting for me at the gate when I arrived -- which is virtually unheard of these days.
Later that evening I attended the fabulous Welcome Party at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center (where the conference was taking place and, also, where we were staying for the duration of our trip). This year's theme was in honor of the beautiful cherry blossoms -- which bloomed early this year, so we missed them.
Monday, April 2nd Dan took a hotel shuttle to downtown DC and spent the day sight-seeing. He has never been to DC before, so everything was new and certainly exciting to him. I had sessions all day, but we got to spend the evening together while we took a night tour of downtown Washington DC! It was really beautiful seeing the monuments all lit up.
Even at 10:00 p.m. the monuments were very crowded with tourists. The heavy volume of tourists was mainly because of the numerous school field trips.On Tuesday, April 3rd our keynote speaker for the conference was JR Martinez! He delivered a very inspirational message to thousands of DUG attendees -- and I was lucky to be in the 4th row, center. He is an excellent public speaker and fabulous storyteller. I enjoyed his presentation very much!
Later that day, once I was done with my sessions, I met up with Dan -- who slept-in and bummed around the hotel. Together we went back to downtown DC to see some more sights and museums.Once again, it was crowded downtown. Ford's Theatre was completely sold out! I was pretty bummed about that. I've been inside before, but hoped to see inside once more. I guess not this time.
The crowds were everywhere! We had to wait about 40 minutes to get into the National Archives. It was hot in the sun, so Dan found a nearby ice cream truck and bought us some ice cream. All of the museums have metal detectors, but upon entering the National Archives, your bags must also be sent through an x-ray machine.
Later that evening I attended DUG's "Be True to Your School" party -- an evening for DUG attendees to wear t-shirts, hoodies, hats, etc to represent the school you work for. This year it was a carnival theme. This fabulous party featured carnival games, balloon animals, stuffed animal prizes, popcorn, cotton candy... the works! Dan was all cozy in bed while I went to the party. He was still up when I got back -- I didn't stay very late.
On Wednesday, April 4th Dan got picked up by the airport shuttle at 4:00 a.m. Yikes! He landed in Chicago before my alarm went off. I know this because his "I'm home" text woke me up. Ha ha! That morning I went to a few more sessions before heading home, myself.
Apparently the conference will not be in Washington DC next year. I'm glad Dan got to come with me this time so he could experience Washington DC at least once.
