Washington, DC May 1

 Today was our first official day of the Trans Am Express tour.  It was just a day to meet the other riders and plan for our shakedown ride tomorrow.

We spent the past two days visiting many of the Smithsonian museums.  The Holocaust Museum was the most impactful.  The pictures there were hard to internalize.  My father served under General Patton in the 89th Infantry Division.  He was among the soldiers that liberated the concentration camp in Ohrdruf.  The museum displayed the insignia for his division (The Rolling W) and acknowledged the liberation of Ohrdruf.  The command limited the number of soldiers that could enter the camp itself.  My father was not allowed in but he saw the soldiers coming out of the camp and he said he was amazed that these battle hardened soldiers came out sobbing from what they saw.  We saw pictures from Methausen, a concentration camp in Austria.  Laura and I visited the camp when we were on a cycle ride along the Danube.

One interesting site we saw was the May Day protest marching past the mall.  There was a lot of shouting, hateful ranting and grotesque signs and effigies.  Apart from that the museums were a pleasure to see.  Tomorrow is our group ride.