PC, Politically Correct, A Couple Of Days With The Speaker
Mar 4, 23, 11:14 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2010
Location: MidCal
Programs: UA MM 1K, UC, Lifetime HH Diamond, Avis President’s Club
Posts: 342
PC, Politically Correct, A Couple Of Days With The Speaker
I was on a business trip when Mrs. Glasman called to say that our good friend and staff for Kevin McCarthy invited us to his birthday celebration in Washington DC.
A chance to get a photo on the speakers balcony and see the speaker in his new office? I'm in.
OK, now let's book this. As Mrs. Glasman would be traveling in from the west coast, I booked her on the red eye out of Los Angeles arriving the next morning at roughly 7 AM. She also asked if I could book the car service for the drive down to LAX. Done. As for me, I was already on the east coast for business, so all I needed to do was book a short flight down to DC, then of course the return for the both of us, and secure lodging; The Conrad DC will do.
Bookings are in place and with a work hall pass in hand, we pick this trip report up starting in Pittsburg.
I left the hotel for my 7:30AM flight just after 5, and a smooth 35 minutes later I had arrived at the outskirts of the airport.
I dropped of my rental off at Avis and made the chilly walk over to the terminal.
ahhh warmth.
Missed the Heinz History Center this trip. Maybe next time?
I cleared security in under 5-minutes as the TSA line only had a few PAX in it. Once through, I headed directly to the Admirals Club for a coffee and the toilet.
Empty at this time in the morning.
Gate check on the way to the Club. Still on time, hooray!!
Boarding commenced at roughly at 6:45am and I made my way down the jet bridge following this woman who obviously likes the finer things in life, including her perfume. I was hoping she was my seat mate, but it wasn't meant to be as she was in 4D in the single isle of FC. I was in 3F.
We had a light load this morning and pushed back early at 7:17AM and before I knew it we were headed to the deice station.
After a quick deice (for an E175) we were off and headed for the quick ride down to DCA, Regan National.
Once we were in the air and through the clouds the bumps fizzled, but by then a no service was called as the FA stayed seated for the duration. I'm assuming an AA cost cutting measure.
First look at the District of Columbia and our nation's capital.
We arrived 30-minutes early to a clear but chilling DC morning.
After a short 5-minute taxi, I was off and into the jet bridge with Mrs. Perfume in tow. I quickly ordered an Uber and headed directly to the "Uber Stand."
One of the coolest looking terminals.
Passing by baggage claim, glad I don't have to wait for a bag.
7-minutes after ordering, I was in my Uber and heading to the Conrad to meet Mrs. Glasman.
Looks like I am just in time for the morning commute.
Next Up: The Conrad, and then off to the Capitol to see our newly elected speaker.
A chance to get a photo on the speakers balcony and see the speaker in his new office? I'm in.
OK, now let's book this. As Mrs. Glasman would be traveling in from the west coast, I booked her on the red eye out of Los Angeles arriving the next morning at roughly 7 AM. She also asked if I could book the car service for the drive down to LAX. Done. As for me, I was already on the east coast for business, so all I needed to do was book a short flight down to DC, then of course the return for the both of us, and secure lodging; The Conrad DC will do.
Bookings are in place and with a work hall pass in hand, we pick this trip report up starting in Pittsburg.
I left the hotel for my 7:30AM flight just after 5, and a smooth 35 minutes later I had arrived at the outskirts of the airport.
I dropped of my rental off at Avis and made the chilly walk over to the terminal.
ahhh warmth.
Missed the Heinz History Center this trip. Maybe next time?
I cleared security in under 5-minutes as the TSA line only had a few PAX in it. Once through, I headed directly to the Admirals Club for a coffee and the toilet.
Empty at this time in the morning.
Gate check on the way to the Club. Still on time, hooray!!
Boarding commenced at roughly at 6:45am and I made my way down the jet bridge following this woman who obviously likes the finer things in life, including her perfume. I was hoping she was my seat mate, but it wasn't meant to be as she was in 4D in the single isle of FC. I was in 3F.
We had a light load this morning and pushed back early at 7:17AM and before I knew it we were headed to the deice station.
After a quick deice (for an E175) we were off and headed for the quick ride down to DCA, Regan National.
Once we were in the air and through the clouds the bumps fizzled, but by then a no service was called as the FA stayed seated for the duration. I'm assuming an AA cost cutting measure.
First look at the District of Columbia and our nation's capital.
We arrived 30-minutes early to a clear but chilling DC morning.
After a short 5-minute taxi, I was off and into the jet bridge with Mrs. Perfume in tow. I quickly ordered an Uber and headed directly to the "Uber Stand."
One of the coolest looking terminals.
Passing by baggage claim, glad I don't have to wait for a bag.
7-minutes after ordering, I was in my Uber and heading to the Conrad to meet Mrs. Glasman.
Looks like I am just in time for the morning commute.
Next Up: The Conrad, and then off to the Capitol to see our newly elected speaker.
Last edited by glasman19; Mar 6, 23 at 4:30 pm
Mar 4, 23, 12:50 pm
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2010
Location: MidCal
Programs: UA MM 1K, UC, Lifetime HH Diamond, Avis President’s Club
Posts: 342
We arrived at the Conrad some 25-minutes after we left the airport. Mrs. Glasman beat me to the property by only a few minutes. I like it when a well-executed plan comes together.
I booked a Sakura Club King for our 3-night stay, well 2-nights for 275,000 points using Hilton Honors points. I CIOL before I went to bed in Pittsburg so when Mrs. Glasman arrived at 8, she could get a room key and head right to the room.
Lobby.
View looking west from our 10th Sakura Club floor room.
Mrs. Glasman was settling in when I arrived.
A pretty standard King room. Once settled in, we met up with a couple of our friends for a quick breakfast prior to heading to the Capitol for a visit with the speaker.
As part of our room rate, we had access to the Sakura Club which provided a nice selection of breakfast options including a limited cook to order menu.
View of the Capitol from the club which is actually just a fancy name for a lounge.
I ordered the egg benedicts.
The club later in the day.
After our late breakfast we took an uber over to the Capitol.
After clearing Capitol security (we had been vetted) we walked over the rotunda to see my favorite president's statue and then to the speaker's office to visit, take photos in his new office, and take in the view from his balcony, which is sadly under construction.
New elected speaker, Kevin McCarthy.
Chatting about the rehab of his office, post-Pelosi era.
Up next: A late lunch at The Old Ebbitt Grill and an evening celebrating the speaker at the Library of Congress.
I booked a Sakura Club King for our 3-night stay, well 2-nights for 275,000 points using Hilton Honors points. I CIOL before I went to bed in Pittsburg so when Mrs. Glasman arrived at 8, she could get a room key and head right to the room.
Lobby.
View looking west from our 10th Sakura Club floor room.
Mrs. Glasman was settling in when I arrived.
A pretty standard King room. Once settled in, we met up with a couple of our friends for a quick breakfast prior to heading to the Capitol for a visit with the speaker.
As part of our room rate, we had access to the Sakura Club which provided a nice selection of breakfast options including a limited cook to order menu.
View of the Capitol from the club which is actually just a fancy name for a lounge.
I ordered the egg benedicts.
The club later in the day.
After our late breakfast we took an uber over to the Capitol.
After clearing Capitol security (we had been vetted) we walked over the rotunda to see my favorite president's statue and then to the speaker's office to visit, take photos in his new office, and take in the view from his balcony, which is sadly under construction.
New elected speaker, Kevin McCarthy.
Chatting about the rehab of his office, post-Pelosi era.
Up next: A late lunch at The Old Ebbitt Grill and an evening celebrating the speaker at the Library of Congress.
Last edited by glasman19; Mar 8, 23 at 3:46 pm
Mar 5, 23, 3:10 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2010
Location: MidCal
Programs: UA MM 1K, UC, Lifetime HH Diamond, Avis President’s Club
Posts: 342
[QUOTE=wakesetter93;35061978]Another interesting TR! Not one we see often around here. Looking forward to the rest
Mar 5, 23, 1:24 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2010
Location: MidCal
Programs: UA MM 1K, UC, Lifetime HH Diamond, Avis President’s Club
Posts: 342
Before the evening festivities, we wanted to grab a bite to eat so we took an uber over to Old Ebbitt Grill on 15th NW, not far from the White House.
Decent lunch menu.
Don't try to adjust, the focus issues are on me as I didn't have my glasses on when taking the photo.
Much better!
Drinks to start. A 2020 Domaine Rion Pinot Noir for me. It was exactly what one would expect from a wine by the glass menu.
Mrs. Glasman ordered the Bombay Sapphire Premier with Fever Tree Tonic. Her words, "refreshing!"
We split a bowl of creamy New England Clam Chowder for our starter. Very delicious.
For my main I ordered the Beef Bourguignon. This plate was amazing. We were told it is Julia Child's recipe.
Mrs. Glasman ordered the Lump Crab Cake which was very disappointing. We ended up sharing what I ordered.
For dessert, we had the peanut butter pie with peanut-chocolate chip crust, peanut butter moose, and chocolate sauce. This put us over the edge and into an early afternoon food coma. It was AMAZING!
All in all, we were pretty happy with the lunch experience. From what we were told, the Old Ebbitt is packed at all hours of the day and when we were there it was also very noisy. Sorry I didn't take phots of the interior of the restaurant, but here is their website.
www.ebbitt.com
With our hotel just a few blocks away, we decided to walk back and burn some of our lunch calories. We took it easy the remainder of the afternoon and at 6PM we started to get ready for the celebration at the Library of Congress.
At 7:40 our Uber picked us up and 15-minuites later we arrived at the library, which is located on the Eastside of Capitol.
The Library of Congress. We arrived just before 8PM and folks were already queued up for security.
Security took roughly 15-minuites which wasn't too invasive. Other than queuing up outside in the cold they really have the process down. Once cleared, we checked our coats and were free to explore the library.
This place is so massive, it seemed like we had the place to ourselves.
We spent a good 10-minutes speaking with a library docent and through the conversation I asked if they knew if the movie, national treasure was actually filmed there. As it turns out, the production company makes a sizeable donation to the library to actually shoot inside. He also said they are working on a 3rd movie in the series, but wasn't sure if they will be filming at the library again. Pretty neat.
It was a wonderful event with current and past political members in attendance. Newt was one....
...and Marjorie Taylor Green was another. In case you missed it, Ms. Green made national news a couple of weeks later yelling "liar" to President Biden while wearing her fur coat during the State of Union Address. I don't know what was funnier, the yelling or the fur coat.
A local friend, California Congressman Valadao.
Congressman Van Orden of Wisconsin showing how many Super Bowl rings the Vikings have won.
Newt roasting the Speaker.
After a wonderful evening, we ordered an uber and was back at the hotel and in bed just after midnight.
Next: Back to the Capitol to thank the Speaker, exploring the DC Mall and our trans-con home.
Decent lunch menu.
Don't try to adjust, the focus issues are on me as I didn't have my glasses on when taking the photo.
Much better!
Drinks to start. A 2020 Domaine Rion Pinot Noir for me. It was exactly what one would expect from a wine by the glass menu.
Mrs. Glasman ordered the Bombay Sapphire Premier with Fever Tree Tonic. Her words, "refreshing!"
We split a bowl of creamy New England Clam Chowder for our starter. Very delicious.
For my main I ordered the Beef Bourguignon. This plate was amazing. We were told it is Julia Child's recipe.
Mrs. Glasman ordered the Lump Crab Cake which was very disappointing. We ended up sharing what I ordered.
For dessert, we had the peanut butter pie with peanut-chocolate chip crust, peanut butter moose, and chocolate sauce. This put us over the edge and into an early afternoon food coma. It was AMAZING!
All in all, we were pretty happy with the lunch experience. From what we were told, the Old Ebbitt is packed at all hours of the day and when we were there it was also very noisy. Sorry I didn't take phots of the interior of the restaurant, but here is their website.
www.ebbitt.com
With our hotel just a few blocks away, we decided to walk back and burn some of our lunch calories. We took it easy the remainder of the afternoon and at 6PM we started to get ready for the celebration at the Library of Congress.
At 7:40 our Uber picked us up and 15-minuites later we arrived at the library, which is located on the Eastside of Capitol.
The Library of Congress. We arrived just before 8PM and folks were already queued up for security.
Security took roughly 15-minuites which wasn't too invasive. Other than queuing up outside in the cold they really have the process down. Once cleared, we checked our coats and were free to explore the library.
This place is so massive, it seemed like we had the place to ourselves.
We spent a good 10-minutes speaking with a library docent and through the conversation I asked if they knew if the movie, national treasure was actually filmed there. As it turns out, the production company makes a sizeable donation to the library to actually shoot inside. He also said they are working on a 3rd movie in the series, but wasn't sure if they will be filming at the library again. Pretty neat.
It was a wonderful event with current and past political members in attendance. Newt was one....
...and Marjorie Taylor Green was another. In case you missed it, Ms. Green made national news a couple of weeks later yelling "liar" to President Biden while wearing her fur coat during the State of Union Address. I don't know what was funnier, the yelling or the fur coat.
A local friend, California Congressman Valadao.
Congressman Van Orden of Wisconsin showing how many Super Bowl rings the Vikings have won.
Newt roasting the Speaker.
After a wonderful evening, we ordered an uber and was back at the hotel and in bed just after midnight.
Next: Back to the Capitol to thank the Speaker, exploring the DC Mall and our trans-con home.
Last edited by glasman19; Mar 6, 23 at 2:39 pm
Mar 5, 23, 11:45 pm
#9
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 9,674
Interesting and unique trip report, thanks for sharing such a cool experience! Also much better than the typical "I flew first class to Singapore to eat caviar" style TR's.
Did Kevin give you any insights during the tour as to where he was hiding on January 6th? It would have been cool to hear his and Marjorie's recount of their actions from that day. Fascinating living history.
You pic from DCA reminds me that I always find it slightly amusing that the only two countries that regularly have flags displayed that are the size of small houses are the USA and China.
Newt and his current wife sat in front of me on a KOA - SFO flight a few years ago. I remember being amazed at how much he was doting on her. It made my gf at the time feel jealous!
Did Kevin give you any insights during the tour as to where he was hiding on January 6th? It would have been cool to hear his and Marjorie's recount of their actions from that day. Fascinating living history.
You pic from DCA reminds me that I always find it slightly amusing that the only two countries that regularly have flags displayed that are the size of small houses are the USA and China.
Newt and his current wife sat in front of me on a KOA - SFO flight a few years ago. I remember being amazed at how much he was doting on her. It made my gf at the time feel jealous!
Last edited by travelinmanS; Mar 5, 23 at 11:52 pm
Mar 6, 23, 10:00 am
#12
Join Date: Nov 2022
Programs: British Airways Executive Club - Bronze, Nectar, Tesco
Posts: 722
I've never seen the Library of Congress before - either in newspapers or on TV documentaries, so reading the Trip Report was well worth it for that alone - its amazing a sight.
The opening of the call offering to attend the party reminds me of the time I got invited to a major transport conference just because I happened to be friends with one of the organisers
The opening of the call offering to attend the party reminds me of the time I got invited to a major transport conference just because I happened to be friends with one of the organisers
Mar 6, 23, 1:48 pm
#15
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2008
Location: San Francisco
Programs: GM on VX, UA, AA, HA, AS, SY; Budget Fastbreak
Posts: 24,994
Great TR. One relative used to teach at the army college with Newt awhile ago. Or he did something where he and newt were friendly colleagues.
people in PR can just find this like I did :-)
people in PR can just find this like I did :-)
