Washington DC

This week I was gone Monday through Thursday traveling on business. For 2 days I was in DC, and then I fly home and drove to Columbus for 2 days. Columbus was certainly less exciting than DC... the Hilton has nothing on the Mandarin Oriental hotel! =)

I went to DC to accept an award for my company; we were recognized by the United States Postal Service for both Supplier Performance and for Supplier Diveristy awards for the contract that I helped manage in 2009. The award is a really big honor for my work company, and I'm pleased to say that we were also the only supplier that was representated 2x out of the 13 winners (various categories)! Thankfully I didn't have to make a speach; it isn't that I mind public speaking, but I much prefered just having my picture taken and meeting some interesting people.

Here's the press release photo and link. I'll be getting some induvidudial photos via email soon; they show me accepting the award and meeting the post master general, etc.

The best part of my trip though was probably the hotel. Our contracting specialist authorized us to use her government rate to stay at the Mandarin Oriental hotel, which is OMG probably the nicest hotel I've ever stayed at! It was 65% off the rate we normally would have had to pay (over $600 a night for a regular room). I had an awesome view of the Jefferson Memorial from my window.

And the bathroom was amazing! Dave laughed when I texted him that, commenting that of all the sights in DC, the "crapper" is what caught my eye. But the tub! The super huge glass shower with waterfall sensation shower head! The plush robes and marble everywhere! Awesome.

In a twist of fate, Harrison Ford was also staying at the hotel then, and was in the bar drinking solo (or should I say, Hans Solo!) Monday night when we came back from dinner for a night cap! To respect his privacy, no one approached him. But my friend said "Wow! He's old!!" A hotel conscierge did comfirm that they are filming at the hotel. Cool!

Tuesday morning we got up early and walked some monuments. Having been to DC a few times prior, this was probably the best time there. It wasn't quite 7 AM and it was like we had the place to ourselves. I mean, no one was around the reflecting pool of the Lincoln Memorial.

We were the only people on the steps which are normally jam packed. And best of all, I got to see the WWII memorial which was my goal. Both of my grandfathers fought in battles, and the silence of the morning was a great way to reflect and honor them. Some pictures from the WWII memorial:

And my favorite picture from the morning: