East Coast tour day 14: Washington D.C. . The hotel this morning was happy to give us a late check out. They gave us an extra 2 hours because the night before I had told the front desk girl that I was one of the magicians for the Denny & Lee Magic Club. She told me that there are sometimes many magicians per month who come in and stay in their hotel as it is just a few blocks away from the club. She told me all about Gregory Wilson performing magic with a pen for her just a few days before and that she loved magic. So I performed a full close up set for her right there in the lobby on her counter. She was delighted and gave us extra chocolate chip cookies and let us stay in late. After leaving, we headed to the magic shop to see if my package of magic for sale from Salt Lake had arrived… it hadnt. I told Denny to just ship it to the Vegas store when he gets it and I will pick it up when I get home after my tour. I guess I will just have to save that product for the next tour. Overnighting the package sometimes takes 4-5 days in a snowstorm. Our drive then took us to the home of my dear friend Katherine Rettke in Virginia who attended my lecture last night. She offered to take us into the city to see some of the sites. After meeting her lovely mother who has been reading these Facebook updates, we headed to the Smithsonian to see the American History Museum. Our first stop was the actual flag that flew in battle and inspired the poem that became our national anthem. Next we saw the Ruby Slippers that Judy Garland wore in the Wizard of Oz. One of Megans favorite items was the original Kermit the Frog that appeared on TV and was made from a discarded jacket. We saw the desk that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence on with accompanying letter from him saying that one day it will be marched around in parades like relics from saints. We saw Ben Franklins walking stick and the Football briefcase that Bill Clinton used to carry the nuclear codes. One of the most interesting galleries was the display of dresses from all of the First Ladys. Fantastic. Next we walked out into the National Mall in the wind and snow to see the Capitol Building, the rest of the Smithsonian and the Washington Monument. So much history has taken place right here. This is truly the treasure chest of America. Next we took a quick cab ride to Union Station. It was under construction but still a stunning building. Megan exclaimed I feel like I am entering the Elven city of Rivendell because of the amazing statues of men with shields everywhere. While in Union Station we found a nice sushi place that brought the food around on little moving conveyor belt on the table and we could just grab what we wanted. Fun! On our drive back to the car we passed the creepy stairs from the Exorcist movie, the Watergate (Nixon scandal), the post office museum and a building that appears on the back of the $10 bill. Next stop was to travel over the river to my Aunts house. Nanc Taylor is my fathers sister and is a successful healthcare attorney gtlaw/People/Nancy-E-Taylor , she has two lovely daughters (my cousins) Liz Bowen and Alexandra Bowen with her husband (my uncle) Chris Bowen. They threw a lovely dinner party! Some guests I have met on past visits and some new friends as well. One of the more interesting guests this evening was Rick Berman who is currently one of the primary attorneys for my old boss, the owner of the Venetian (And Sands Corp) Sheldon Adelson. Here is more on Rick bermanco/rick-berman/ . Nancy set out a wonderful meal. She researched these updates and saw that Megan needed gluten free food, and I was mostly eating kosher and sandwiches - so she set a table of kosher foods, sandwiches and gluten free soup! Even had cake and hamantashen cookies for dessert. I performed some mind reading and magic before and after desert. Megan shared some songs (If you havent heard her sing yet, visit this) youtube/watch?v=MeClWf0pRpc and we all shared stories, jokes and thoughts throughout the evening. Magician Doc Eason, your name came up a few times. It appears that Rick was introduced to you by a woman named Carol who lives in Snowmass. He passes his regards. After dinner, Chris gave us a tour of their amazing art, bronze and oil painting collection decorating their lovely home. Then Nancy informed us that she had already checked us into a room on the 19th floor of the Ritz-Carlton!!! This trip has been so amazing. Thank you. Liz brought us to the hotel and it is truly one of the most beautiful hotels that I have ever stayed in. When we made it to our room, we found an ice bucket of chilled Rose Sparkling Wine and a plate of chocolate covered strawberries. So it appears that my aunt also provided Valentines day. Thank you. Beyond that, she also called ahead and reserved the room until 2pm in the afternoon so we will have a SUPER late check out. Ha! Another wonderful day. Looking forward to tomorrow. See you again, then.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Feb 2014 06:02:07 +0000
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