Nelly got a bit of rest in the morning as Mike and Juan headed into DC via the bus. The noble travelers arrived with plenty of time ahead of the gathering, so we got some breakfast before scoping out a spot in the National Mall to hang out before others showed up. A shady tree was quite welcome after wandering a bit in the DC heat.
We waited patiently with some back therapy (I.e. lying in the relatively flat grass) until about a dozen alums, family, and an incoming student showed up and shared the shade! It was a lovely representation from the DC cohort. Special shoutout to Grant Eskelsen ’05 for the location recommendation and Julia Schmidt ’01 from the DC leadership group for coming out to host us.
We ventured back to our campground to find out that Nelly got a haircut. And by that we mean that the vent cover that Mike had MacGyvered with duct tape was gone. Not in sight. No idea where/when. No reported accidents we know of. We’ll have to look at some photos to see if we can figure it out. Nelly’s looking great otherwise.
Anyways, new hairstyle and all we ventured forth to Baltimore, where Dennis O’Shea ’77 very kindly hosted us. And once more, over a dozen people showed up! Even one of our loyal fans, Philemon Abel '19 followed us from Kansas City to Baltimore, more than two weeks later. The Northeast is really off to a strong start here. We had some lovely conversations about Williams, anime, the journey so far, and we remained in disbelief that we have made it this far.
It’s truly crazy we are on day 28 of 30. We knew this would be fast and tiring, but jeez is this something else. The people continue to impress, the states are way smaller, and we can feel that much closer to home.
Tomorrow we head to Philly, New York, and we close out the day visiting Mike’s mom, Darline, at his family home for her birthday.
M-n(elly)-J