The Big Dinner

I again had the pleasure of being in Washington with Tren Feb 19th to the 22nd. His company was having its annual dinner and meetings on the 20th. Tren picked me up at the airport Thursday night and we were off to Bellevue to check in to the hotel that the meetings and dinner were being held at. We weren't sure what to think of this hotel we were staying at. We just knew it had valet parking and that it was pretty expensive. We finally get to the right place and as we are pulling into the valet parking driveway, we see a really nice black Porsche and a nice Mercedes. Tren said "I feel bad for the guy who has to park this!" talking about his little truck. Then I spotted the head valet man. Like in the movies, he was a tall man, wearing a long black coat, suit, and a hat similar to a police man's. We pulled around and the tall man and his little vehicle parkers didn't really make a move to assist us. So, we get out and Tren says to the tall man, "I guess I need you to park this?" The man just looked at us, Tren wearing his dirty work pants and shirt and me in regular clothes, and then finally he sees "General Construction" on Tren's shirt and realizes we are special and he does indeed need to park the truck. So Tren gives his keys and gets our valet card and grabs his suit out of the truck and I get my suitcase and we head in to check in. We go to the front desk and get checked in and the man gives us our room cards and the key to the mini-bar. We head up and our room was amazing! Here is the best pic I could get...



We start poking around and I discover wonderful terry cloth bath robes in the closet and we notice the mini-bar is stocked with juice, water, candy, nuts, power bars, and adult beverages. We also notice the key we were given didn't work. Tren calls down to the front to let them know our key doesn't work and when the front desk answers the phone they say "Good evening, how can I help the Sundquists'? " HA!! Tren explains the key doesn't work and within seconds there is someone at our door with a different key. We check out the goods and then notice the card with the prices for everything in the mini and decided we weren't that thirsty or hungry. So we call to the front desk again and ask if there is a restaruant close by or in the hotel. There is a lounge in the hotel that serves food all night. YES!! So we get some things put away in the room and Tren shows me his new suit and asks if I brought his socks up. I hadn't seen any socks. This means the socks are in his truck that has been valet parked. I jokingly say we can have the valet boy go get them and we both laughed and thought "right". We head down to the valet man and explain to him the situation. Tren left his valet card in the hotel room which you're supposed to give to get your keys, and as soon as he told the man it was the little Tacoma the man said "ohhhh! right... I'll see what we can do". So we head to the lounge and eat and talk with some other people who were there for the meetings. Then we head back up to our room and BAM!



Tren's socks had been located in his truck and delivered to our room! Amazing! We went to bed and Tren was up early for his meetings. He had to be in these meetings all day. I decided I was going to catch up on some sleep and lounging. I woke up around 9:30 and couldn't lay around anymore. I took a shower and put on my robe :) and waited for Tren to take a break or something and let me know if they were serving breakfast somewhere for all the other wives in the hotel. Tren hadn't heard anything and finally around 11 I decided to order room service. I got a bagel w/ cream cheese and a Mountain Dew. Within about 7 minutes the man was at my door to deliver my breakfast.



Quite the little spread for a bagel and Dew! It was delicious and cost $15. House keeping came and wanted to clean the room and I told her I didn't need anything done, but she spotted the tray from breakfast and came in and hauled around, emptying trashes and replacing towels. It was hilarious! Tren's meetings lasted until about 3 and then he came back and it was time to get ready for the dinner. Tren looked so handsome in his suit!



Cocktail hour was from 5:30 to 6:30 and then we headed into the "Grand Ballroom" for dinner. We had a salad and then our dinner. I wasn't sure if I wanted the vegetarian or the beef. I am not a huge fan of big slabs of meat, but I also was a bit worried about what might be served as the vegetarian dish. So I went with the beef and I am SOOOOO glad I did. It was delicious! I am pretty sure I ended up with the biggest one at our table (lucky me). One lady had the vegetarian and I couldn't name one thing on her plate. I'm very happy I decided against the vegetarian. Very. After dinner they had the service awards for people who had been with General for 5 years and on. Every person being honored was asked what they wanted said about them... things like their most memorable jobs, who influenced them and things like that. The first few said they wanted to thank their wives for supporting them and holding down the fort while they were gone working and for listening to them complain when they got home from work. I thought it was so sweet. But then I realized every one of them, if they had a wife, said that. Tren started poking me and saying "remember that...remember that" because I too will be holding down the fort and keeping things together while he's gone. Ugh. It was definitely an eye opener. I've known I would be alone some of the time, but it put an entirely new twist on things. After the dinner and awards, there was dancing and more good spirits! It was such a good time and I am so glad we got to go. I didn't want to leave that hotel where everyone waited on you hand and foot. Yes, you got charged an arm and a leg for it, but it was nice. We were staying at the Westin Bellevue in Washington. We found out our room was $550 a night. Holy Crow! Definitely a "once in a lifetime" experience,... until we get to do it again next year!