Previewing D.C., the Site for the 2011 Reunion

by Joey Montes, '78

A friend’s wedding in Virginia gave me the opportunity for a sneak preview of the site for the Wagner 75-80 Reunion scheduled for 2011. I’d emailed Mark Anderson well in advance to tell him that Robert and I would be in his neck of the woods in October. It was fortunate that we planned so far in advance and had booked our flight, rental car, and our hotel in VA as well as for New York City, which we planned to visit in the days following the wedding. Who could have predicted the economic meltdown that occurred just prior to our trip? We were fortunate that nothing prevented our plans from taking place.

On the Sunday after the beautiful wedding we attended, we headed out to D.C. to meet up with Mark and Liz Wilson Anderson. We parked our rental car, jumped in with the Andersons and were treated to a driving tour of the city, with Mark serving as our knowledgeable tour guide. Along the tour, Mark pointed out a few of the hotels being considered for the 2011 reunion. We drove around the National Mall bordered by the famous Smithsonian museums, the Capitol building, the National Archives, the theatre district, the White House, and all the historic monuments. The hotels being considered are centrally located so that our reunion attendees may walk to most of the famous memorials. We also saw many different tour buses for those who prefer to ride.

It was sunny and mild, a lovely fall afternoon, and we wondered out loud whether it might be worth considering changing the reunion date to early October instead of June to avoid the hot weather and summer crowds. Since many of these famous sights will mean we’ll be outdoors for visiting and photographing them, the fall weather will be much more comfortable. Just a thought!

Although 2011 seems far away right now, we all know how fast the years go by, though, oh how we hate to admit it! The brief preview of the city was an education in more ways than one. Not only were we able to get some historical background, but we were able to get an appreciation of the number of sights and the time it will take to do a physical tour of all the locations. The Smithsonian by itself has more than half a dozen museums, and some of them can take a full day to go through. Robert and I concluded that we will schedule a few days before or after the reunion so that we will have the opportunity to tour more of the historical landmarks that are a part of this city. Opportunities to visit a city like this are few, so while it may seem like years away, it’s a good idea to start thinking a bout it now so you can plan accordingly.

Our best memory of our brief trip to D.C. though was not all the historical sights and the many reminders of the famous presidents we’ve had. No, even though we were in the middle of what may likely be one of the monumental presidential campaigns in history, we have to admit that our best memory of the trip was our visit with Mark, Liz, and their daughters Jessica and Jackie. They are a special family who opened their home to us and made us feel welcome. We enjoyed a delicious dinner, played some pool (terribly), sang some karaoke (Mark is quite the rock crooner) and had the chance to become better acquainted which is what the reunions are all about. So, let’s look ahead to 2011 and plan to not only visit a beautiful city rich in history of this great country, but create more memories of our respective friendships – old and new!

Photo 1: Joey & life partner, Robert Casillas, in front of the Capitol; #2 - In front of the White House, #3 - At Liz & Mark Anderson's home in Maryland.

Comments

[Sue Hollier Fowler]

Thanks Joey for the great info on DC. My husband & I are going to make a vacation out of our visit to DC as well. Feel free to pass on any info about DC that you think would help us during our vacation @ suefowler@rocketmail.com

Thanks again!

[Nina Pierce Baker '77]

Joey,

It looks like you & Robert had a great trip to DC and how could you not enjoy yourselves when Mark is belting out the rock-n-roll! Looking forward to seeing the sights myself!