Washington DC and Boston April 2005

This was Allison's first trip to the nation's capital.  We stayed in a historic hotel just blocks away from the White House.  In the 36 hours we were there we saw the White House, the Memorials on the National Mall, a bit of the Smithsonian (ALL of the first ladies inaugural dresses, the top hat Lincoln wore when he was killed), Arlington National Cemetery (JFK burial site, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Iwo Jima) and historic landmarks such as Ford's Theatre.  We took our first train ride on an overnight Amtrak from Union Station in DC to South Station in Boston.  Not recommended for the light sleepers.

We were picked up at the station by Rajib and Sean C, had breakfast and then checked into the hotel to finally get some sleep.  In Boston we met with our florist (love) and our coordinator at the Exchange Conference Center.  We also had some time to visit with some family, fitted for the tuxes and applied for our marriage license.

Twenty minutes before our expected landing in Minneapolis our pilot informed us that fire extinguishers went off in the cargo hold and heat sensors were in alarm.  We had to make an emergency diversion to the nearest airport which was Eau Claire, Wisconsin aka BFE.  I did not handle this situation very well, seeing the ground very far away and knowing something is wrong with the plane you are sitting in is not a good feeling.  Luckily I had Mr. Cool in the seat next to me and he was able to keep me fairly calm, only minimal tears.  We landed and were met on the runway with fire engines, we then de-boarded the plane and spent the next 4 hours waiting for a new one.