There was such a feeling of comraderie from that first evening, as different states hung their flag from the balcony.
I remember Texas Chip on his cellphone, constantly in touch with the New England Freepers who were driving to DC in a caravan. When he gave the word, we all poured out into the street to wave them through....
I was the one who was in touch with TexasChip during the convoy. He guided me through the streets of downtown Washington right to the hotel. I'll never forget leading the NE convoy down the homestretch and seeing hundreds of Freepers pouring into the street to greet us. We stopped our cars right in the middle of the street and jumped out of the cars to cheers and popping flashbulbs. I felt like Tom Cruise arriving at the Oscars. My kids, who were in the car with me, thought for months that I was some kind of famous celebrity (they soon got over that notion).
What many might not know is that after the grand entrance, we moved on to find parking. We ended up getting lost and it took us over an hour to find our way back to the reception! But we made it in time to meet Jim Robinson and catch Matt Drudge and Trixie just as they were leaving.