After our insane night in Washington DC, getting lost and missing the first part of the conference.. we enjoyed a great dinner in the hotel. Now mind you, we have been going since 5:30am. I had been driving a vehicle for the better part of 11hrs at that point, and everyone was crabby and not getting along very well.
I went down to the conference area to check in. No sooner did I get to the elevator that the door opened and there were my friends from school. Up to that point, I'd only seen them on-line, so it was quite fun to see them all standing in front of the elevator door.
The next morning, it was conference time, so I wanted Hubs and Kid to go off and bond.. Do manly things, find the White House, go to the Spy Museum, site see, stay gone ALLLL day! While I was enjoying the conference and expo.
Oh my goodness did they have good food in the expo part???? You know I was in my Happy Place when I arrive to a business conference with THIS in the lobby:
And this and this and this:
These were the absolute best Kale Chips I've ever had.
I wasn't sure what I was getting from this Italian Nori Roll but OH MY was it good.
Had to go back and buy more. Wish I could have purchased an entire case. They would be great for post work out snacks.
So after I got my stash of Raw and vegan goodies, I drank some smoothie, sampled some juices, talked with friends and enjoyed the first part of this amazing conference. The speakers were so inspirational and I'm even more motivated to make a difference with my Health Coaching Business.
And then.... I get the text (what did we do before texting? Maybe enjoyed ourselves longer during events maybe?)
So the text was from Hubby that they went to the Air and Space Museum and now were back. I looked at the time... they were only gone for 2 total hours. TWO!!! Hello.... what about bonding ALL DAY?... what about taking the kid for a special lunch and on a bus tour? What about the SPY MUSEUM?
Nope.. "we are back at the hotel" he says "waiting for you"... grrrr!
So I wait until the morning session was over, go upstairs to find Vegkid with his Gameboy and Hubs watching a movie on his iPod. REALLY???? This is why I brought you to Washington DC???
Vegkid showed me some of his pictures from the Air and Space Museum. He clearly had a nice time. There were 100's of photos. Here are a few of their favorites:
But the excitement lasted two hours with their favorite part being the flight tower. And apparently the two of them weren't getting along so good, which meant their mail bonding didn't happen.
That is how the poor kid ended up coming to the conference with me while hubs stayed in the room watching movies. Yup, REALLY!
Anyway, the speakers were so great and Vegkid was such a trooper. He had a fun time listening to the first one and decided to stay for the rest of them, especially when he got free food from the presenters. I took tons of notes. Of course my Son's favorite lesson was finding out that the toilet was invented by "JOHN CRAPPER". Ha! he actually learned a lot though and I got a LOT of hugs when he heard other people talking about health and wellness.
Some light bulbs went off in his little head about why I am doing what I am doing. We also ran in to some of my classmates and Veg was super duper polite. One of them had the vegan gum that he chews and she instantly became his hero.
Turned out great and I was glad he was there, but so wish he and his Dad would have gone to enjoy the town more. Which brings me back to the end of the story!
All the while, I was checking the weather knowing that this storm called Sandy was coming. Some reports said Monday, some said Sunday, some said Saturday.
But then I heard that if you weren't where you needed to be by 2pm on Sunday that you should plan to stay where you are for a long long time. I started to think we should pack up and head South Saturday night instead.
Another comrade that was going to leave Sunday decided to leave Saturday so I was a little more convinced.
Then a stranger appeared at the elevator, telling me about the route to Tennessee and she says "Oh Honey, leave now, heed my warning" then she kind of disappeared in search of a restroom.
A little more convinced by this stranger, I went to talk to the Desk Clerk. He said he wouldn't charge me to check out early and that I should leave now. He explained that the storm was coming and by Sunday it would be too late.
The more I thought about the traffic we had experienced the night before, the more I realized the sooner we get out of that town (before everyone else does) the better! I didn't want to drive through rain/snow and wind the entire way, but I also didn't want to get stuck somewhere with out gas or shelter nor did I want to be stuck in traffic for hours upon hours.
Our route was through Virginia the entire way and across the mountain range for 400+ miles. We ended up packing up the car and headed South. Not seeing the White House, but instead Stopping for dinner, gas and coffee. My plan was to make it just a few hours out of the City. Stay overnight somewhere. If the storm didn't hit in the morning we could be tourists in the Virginia Mountains. If the weather was nasty, we could head the rest of the way home but not have as far to go. And if it was really nasty, we could drive just a few hours through the blizzard or rain storm and stop again. We weren't expected home until Tuesday. So we could make it an adventure.
Welllll that was my plan... Instead we drove straight home, arrived at 3am and said...
Now we can say "We have been to Washington DC"
And that is the whole story of our little family business trip adventure that didn't go as planned! Could it be that my Business Travel Mojo has transfered to my new business? Or did we have all the fun we were to have and it was just time to get home?
Either way, we made it safely with no traffic and no bad weather which I'm so thankful for. The day at the conference was worth it all, and I can't wait to go back.
But I still will not ever drive in to that city again!!! There are busses, train things and taxis for a reason!!!
As for the storm... My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in its way. We had the opportunity to run away from it, but so many did not. Heres hoping for a quick recovery and peaceful times ahead for everyone!!