December 16, 2009
Wrapped in warm yak wool, and sporting my red, white, and grey Darjeeling knit cap, I braved the cold East Coast winds of winter to make a reverse, rush-hour commute from northern Virginia into the heart of Washington, DC. There could be only one reason to risk chapped lips and awkward stares on the long metro ride into the city.
The 2nd DC Travel Tweetup, my friends!
I arrived a few minutes early at the venue, Midtown LOFT, which required scaling a few flights of stairs, and was the choice of my effervescent co-host, Stephanie from Twenty-Something Travel. It looked as though we were going to have the bar to ourselves – it was practically empty.
I settled into a corner near the front windows overlooking 18th Street and Connecticut. I monitored Twitter, and donned one of the custom Twitter name tags so graciously provided by Teresa and Melanie at Sisarina (@sisarina).
Steven from Travelojos (@travelojos) was the first to arrive. I first became aware of his blog about travel in Latin America after he put up a few posts about Colombia. I believe Stephanie (@20stravel) rolled in next. She swore the bar is hoppin' on a Friday night. All I know is on that Wednesday night, the bartender looked bored enough to jump out the 3rd story window.
It was great to meet Marilyn (@Marilyn_Res), the Chief Researcher for National Geographic Traveler and Janelle (@Janelle_IT_Blog), the Special Projects Editor at National Geographic Traveler, and Editor of the Intelligent Travel blog.
I also got to talk with Dan (@8hourlayover) from The Eight Hour Layover who, like me, had attended the Art of Non-Conformity meetup a few months ago (small world). Unlike me, he'd been keeping up with Chris for years!
Christine (@ichristine), a cupcake aficionado and lover of martinis, took a break from work to join us, and we met the one and only Curls McGhee (@travelwithcurls) of the upstart Travel With Curls blog.
And lastly, William (@bushwil) joined us. He doesn't have a blog, to my knowledge, but he did have a great story about attending a wedding in Nigeria. He hopes to travel more in the future.
We all do.
Stephanie and I would like to thank everyone who made it out, and we look forward to hosting the next DC Travel Tweetup in January 2010.
Planning a trip? Go Backpacking uses and recommends:
- G Adventures for small group tours
- Skyscanner for researching flights
- Hostelworld for booking hostels
- Airbnb for renting rooms and homes
- Rail Europe for train passes
- World Nomads for travel insurance
It DOES get busier on the weekends, I swear! Nonetheless, fun time, can't wait to do it again in January.
At least you got a great photo from the sparse crowds :)
Yes, next time, I will actually take photos of the people attending, instead of the bar. Photos of people instead of places is a lesson I thought I'd learned traveling.
Yes, next time, I will actually take photos of the people attending, instead of the bar. Photos of people instead of places is a lesson I thought I'd learned traveling.
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