DAY 2 – DC Armory

Today we are off to the D.C. National Guard Armory where the Health & Fitness Expo in preparation of the Army 10 Miler is to take place.

As we are coming up from the Metro amongst a mass of people, we hear a loud call from a window in the DC Armory:  “Backpackers!  Backpackers!  Walk around the line and come to my door!”  Waiting on us when we arrive?  Mama Lynch.

Mama Lynch, also known as Sylvia Lynch, is the Washington, D.C. National Guard Youth Coordinator and a friend of Backpack Journalist.

Well, we look in front of us and there is a line around the block and back, and so taking her advice, we quickly step out and go around as directed.

Alexus, a D.C. guard youth and Backpacker, is waiting on us as we rounded the corner and offers go to grab Mama Lynch.  When Mama Lynch comes back, she tells us she has her own “security guards” and has us follow her through a couple specific doors.  We still had to go through security and had all of our backpacks checked, but it made the day go just a little faster. Mama Lynch’s escort though was an experience for sure!  Our first stop on the tour was the DC National Guard Armory Family Readiness Center and was one of the most memorable.  The center is named for the former District of Columbia TAG, Major Gen. (RET) David Wherley Jr., USAF, and his wife who died in the tragic Metro accident in 2009. Mama Lynch tells us that there is not a day that she does not think of them, and we all seem to know that it is a special place that we are in.

This room was offered to our Backpackers as a place to rest and store our extra stuff, and at lunch time, even offered us a place to eat – again, all thanks to Mama Lynch!

More to come though! The Backpackers are fast at work now, all of them writing up their short interviews and observations of the day at the Washington, D.C. National Guard Armory.