So after going through these times of challenges, I had to head to Washington D.C. for SpringHill Suites and Marriott Training for three weeks. It was wild to be gone that long but it was very exciting. I had never been to D.C. before and was excited to check out all of the history as well as learning more about the brand I was representing.
There were a total of four people in our class and three of those people , including me were from the same management company in Phoenix. We had talked to each other a few times previously but did not know a whole lot of each other. I think if you asked them now that they know I am a die-hard Cardinals fan as there were many days after class I would go grab dinner and head home to watch the Cardinals on the laptop. It was a way to stay connected to my great baseball hometown!
If you have never been to Washington D.C., I HIGHLY recommend you go. We did not have class on the weekends so we took advantage and hit up as much as we could while we were there. We saw the White House, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the somewhat new WWII Memorial and the reflecting pond. After the Lincoln Memorial, we hit the Vietnam Memorial. Talk about powerful! They let people go about one hundred at a time after hearing a two minute speech on how the monument came to be. As we walked through, it was DEAD silence. You heard some crying there are still many families touched by the war. Very moving memorial.
The following weekend we took a trip to Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. Another GM and myself took a boat up and down the Potomac River and toured everything over there. We also went to Arlington National Cemetery. I walked ahead of the group as they moved a little slower. I went to the JFK Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial and saw the resting place of on other president, William Taft. However, if you ever go, please see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Every thirty minutes when they do the changing of the guard many gather to watch. I am pretty sure that when they do the Changing of the Guard, there is not a dry eye in the house.
So after three weeks of history and Marriott information embedded in me, I returned to Phoenix. Stephanie and myself were still dating and I think people were starting to ask when the question was going to be asked to her. I was still waiting for that special sign from God to know this was going to be the one for me. I was starting to "lean" that way when he smacked me upside the head.
Stephanie came to St. Louis with me for Christmas in 2007 and started to see why I am so partial to this town. We did the "touristy" things (i.e. the St. Louis Arch, Anheuser Busch or InBev tour, and of course had to show off the Cardinals Stadium and buy some Cardinals apparel.) However, the moment were God smacked me was technically not in St. Louis.
It was in St. Charles, MO. We were walking down Old Town St. Charles near the Missouri river in about 28 degrees weather with a nice wind chill going too. We were waiting to meet friends for dinner at Trailhead Brewery and Stephanie was loving these old shops. The shops range from spices to crafts to art to dog treat shops. We must have hit six or seven, mainly to get out of the cold. However, I sat there and said to myself, "If I am willing to walk down from shop to shop with this woman in this type of weather, I must really Love her." THUNK! There it was. God telling me, "You finally got it! DING DING DING!" Amazing how He works!
Phoenix Part 8: From St. Louis to the Cotton Bowl to the Super Bowl to a sad/unbelieveable 24 hour period in February.
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