Good Morning!

We're still on East coast time, so up very early!

Hi Beth! It was so nice to finally meet you, Randy and Crystal!

It was also great meeting Tom, Mona, Jan, Barb, Carole,Tonya, John, Sue, Jay, JoAnn and Frank, as well as seeing Arlene, Marc, Ray and Penny again!

All our flights were perfect and we arrived in D.C. at 5:00PM. Cab from DCA to The Willard took no more than 15 minutes!

We stayed at The Willard, which is a magnificent property! Public areas, guestrooms, Willard Room, service and amenities were superb!

We had a WONDERFUL time dining at Old Ebbitt Grill with Arlene and Marc on Friday night! We hadn't seen them since VOF.

We spent Saturday morning at the Holocaust Memorial Museum. For anyone who has not visited this museum, I strongly suggest doing so. While it is a tremendously emotionally experience, it is one that serves as a wrenching reminder of the attrocities committed against humanity.

Tom arranged a fantastic tour of ABC News on Saturday. Thank you so very much for taking time out of your busy day to show and explain the inner workings of ABC News! Your staff could not have been nicer and more accommodating!

Tom also arranged our reservation at 701 for Saturday night. A perfect choice, Tom! The food, service and atmosphere were great!

Alan and I spent part of Sunday morning strolling. Police were all around the White House area, blocking off the streets. A crowd gathered. We then heard and saw several helicopters overhead. Bush's helicopter flew right over us!

We spent the remainder of Sunday with my cousins from Silver Spring. A great day with family!

Alan and I took the hop on/off bus on Monday, after having a superb breakfast in the Willard Room - It was beautiful and wonderful! So much to see in so little a space of time! I would recommend seeing the FDR Memorial. Lovely memorial!

A must stop for us was the Vietnam Memorial, as Alan served in the Army during Vietnam. A very emotional experience for us both.

We had dinner at a great restaurant, Chef Geoff's, located on 14th. For any in the D.C. area, I would suggest giving this one a try.

Another terrific breakfast on Tuesday morning, before I met with my friend/counterpart at The Willard, the Executive Assistant to the Regional V.P. of Operations and GM. We spent almost an hour visiting.

Off to DCA to catch the first of our two flights back home to SOCAL.

An awesome four days - The weather could not have been more brilliant, the hotel could not have been more luxurious and accommodating, the sights more magnificent, the restaurants more sumptuous, the company of friends/family (old and new) more fun and enjoyable!

Jan,

Seeing you on Saturday was so special! You are a lovely person and your strength and courage amaze me. You are such a fine example of how to handle life's most difficult bumps in the road with grace and determination! We so enjoyed meeting you, your lovely mother, Barb, and wonderful sister, Carole!

Tom/Mona,

Thanks for everything you did to make our dinner so memorable and our ABC touring so informative and interesting!

I wish we could have had more time visiting with you both. Hopefully, we will do so some other time very, very soon!

Arlene/Marc,

Seeing you both again was something we had so greatly looked forward to. We were thrilled to be able to spend some alone time with you both to play catch-up and to hear of your tremendously exciting plans for your move to Japan.

I am going to email you the wonderful photo I took of you both at ABC. REMEMBER - We are at the TOP of that B&B list!!!! You promised!!!

John/Tonya,

Alan and I truly enjoyed meeting you both! Not nearly enough time! However, another LCT gathering/group cruise will present the opportunity for us to spend more time together.

John,

Have you started working on our next LCT gathering? Time to set your planning wheels in motion, don't you think? You had a very interesting idea for the next get-together; therefore, I pass the Planner's torch to you ;)

JoAnn/Frank,

See you next November on CROSS!

To all who participated - It was a wonderful time! To all who, unfortunately could not join us - You were missed!

Photos to be posted, hopefully, later today!


Denise

Retired and loving it!