From the "Mile High City" to the "City of Brotherly Love"

I left for Philadelphia last week for another conference, this one being much better than all previously attended... While many good things occurred on this trip, it wasn't without Murphy's Law.

For instance, here is a short list of of craptastic events (we'll get this out of the way first, then on to good stuff and pictures!)
1. I dropped my uniform hat in the toilet (it tucks under your belt; you loosen your belt before taking your hat out from under it, it falls to the floor - or whatever stops it first.)
2. I had Bronchitis the entire time - hacking until I hyperventilate and continuously have to run out of conference events.
3. During the huge formal dinner event, I had run out while the General was speaking and coughed until I threw up outside the hotel in my formal uniform.
4. I somehow lost my cell phone the morning I flew out. I didn't get to the airport with it, but I did see it that morning - so it's either in the hotel (which they didn't find) or in the cab I took - can't tell you even what cab company it was... So, if you get a phone call saying you were in my phone book on my cell - it's mine!

Okay, on to the cool stuff -

We were fortunate enough to be staying in the historical district, which allowed for us to do walking tours and such in the evenings since none of us had cars.

(My room)

(The view from my room)

(The Liberty Bell...this shirt looks like a maternity shirt!)


(Independence Square - where the Declaration of Independence was read publicly for the first time. That is Liberty Hall, where it was signed and Washington was inaugurated for his second term as the first president of the new free nation).

Note: I have some really cool pictures from our group inside Independence Hall, but they are on the boss' camera - so I'll add those when I get them.


(The Betsy Ross house where she sewed the first American Flag)


(Carpenter's Hall: "The Birthplace of the American Identity"
The meeting place where it was decided that America was going to become independent and congressed passed bans on slave imports/trades, which was the first major step to ending slavery in the US.)


(The Delaware River - New Jersey on the other side)


(The Washington Memorial in Washington Square: This was once a Potter's Field and then became a mass grave for soldiers and those who died of Yellow Fever.)


(Closer view of the memorial with the tomb of the unknown soldier)


(Click on the picture for a larger view to read the wall inscriptions)


(The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for the Revolutionary War: There are thousands of unknown soldiers buried in mass graves amongst the grounds of Washington Square.)


(A foot stone along the memorial path)


(And because no Philly tour is complete without a Philly Cheese Steak...it was tasty)

And my little tour ended with me getting caught in a huge rain/hail storm. I had planned to walk over the bridge over the Delaware into NJ...so I had to backtrack about eight blocks to get to a bridge. There I sat for about half an hour before realizing it was only getting worse with no end in sight, pretty late and I was a female alone in an unfamiliar area, I still had Bronchitis and was cold/wet, and I might as well just go ahead and run the rest of the way back to the hotel and take a hot shower.

(Siting under the bridge: That is my hotel ahead, but there is a big fence that runs down another 4 blocks)


(Another stop along the way in a bus stop booth when it started hailing - fortunately, I had a cami on under my thin light-colored shirt!)

Other stuff that happened:
1. I was invited to dinner with another female who didn't know anyone at the conference. Little did I know she was the General's personnelist and that some of the staff was having dinner with the General. (she wanted someone near her rank with her...we were the two junior's there). So I had a 3 hr dinner with the General and his wife along with 6 of his staff members. I got to sit across from him and have a very lengthy conversation...he loves fellow Texans! (Sorry, I didn't have my camera ready as it would have been really awkward, though I did take a small pic on my phone cam, which is...somewhere). I really admire this man - and am HONORED to serve under his command.

2. There are three alumni from my college within the organization; myself, one much higher ranking than I, and one that is about 3 years behind me. The higher ranking one, whom I will refer to as "Col," has mentored and kept up with me via e-mail for a little over 2 years... We finally got to meet in person.

(Me and the Col at the formal dinner the last night - Her uniforms are TBD as she is in the middle of a PCS from the Desert to another overseas location...sucks).

3. I was informed I am an annual award winner for the entire command and will be competing in my respective category for the entire Air Force!

So, now I'm back in my little hotel room in Colorado. Four more months here and then back to home for awhile...