With Johnny gone all we needed to do was pack ourselves and get on down 95! First stop was the Convention Center in Washington DC to pick up Harry's race number for the Marine Corps Marathon the next day. The Marine Corps Expo was packed with runners and marines. As cool as the expo was this year the big draw was the Jon Stewart Rally a few blocks away! We could hear the speeches from where we were but by the time we got out there it was over. This did not deter the husband, Harry - we had to venture down to the Capitol to see what was going on. When I say there were a LOT of people I mean there were a LOT of people - people streaming all up and down the roads - and the roads were shut down except for pedestrians and characters with Halloween costumes and many many funny signs - 1 of the best....."tights are not pants." It was a pretty extraordinary sight to see - all ages and shapes - just out to voice their opinion in a mild mannered and fun way - another sign - "I'm mad as hell but in a passive aggressive way!!"
After a very exciting couple of hours in DC we drove to Georgetown to meet my sister, Sheila and brother-in-law, Brian and niece, Bridget at the Tombs for dinner........we had to devise our plan of attack for the next day at the Marathon.....The Tombs is part of our tradition when Harry runs the 26.2........it's a great place to go for a casual meal and see the college kids in action.
On Sunday we were blessed with a GORGEOUS DAY for a runner and his followers! The Race started across the street from Arlington National Cemetery at 8AM......I wish I could figure out how to upload the video of the guy announcing the beginning of the race and inspiring all these runners and marines to DO THEIR BEST....TO BEAT THE BRIDGE... TO TAKE THE IWO........
After Harry took off in a flash I had to high tail it to the Key Bridge to catch him at the 4 mile mark and meet TEAM NOEL (Sheil, Brian and Bridge) - needless to say this was easier said than done - the marines blocked me at every way - the security was much more intense this year and I couldn't talk them into letting me jump that fence or crawl under that wire...."no Ma'am , we can't let you do that."... consequently I missed Harry at the 4 mile but the TEAM did get a glimpse of him and we all caught up with him on M Street at the 8 mile mark. Our next stop was COFFEE at Dean and DeLuca and then over to the Lincoln Memorial for the 16 mile mark. We had our Phillies Flag so it would be easy for Harry to see us and we got more comments about that.....one runner actually took a picture of US and another runner said "that is HANDS DOWN the best sign I've seen all day - GO PHILS!" - We had a great time all day cheering everyone on - it was a very emotional time watching all these people give it everything they have. We saw Harry again at the 25 mile marker and he was looking like a star........we were glad to see he was still standing but, not only that, he looked like he was having no problems! He ended up finishing 4 hours 1 minute and change..HE WAS AMAZING and we were all very proud of him. After gridlocking our way to the Family Link Up and Linking up with our runner we walked back to Georgetown and had a celebratory lunch at J.Pauls on M Street - this, too, is a sweet tradition......they have delicious omelets and spicy Bloody Marys and cold special brews for the runner and his favorite brother-in-law.
IT WAS AN EXHILARATING DAY
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