I'm writing this under duress--very tired with a bad headache. (I didn't get my coffee caffeine fix last night.)

I'm home! What a whirlwind trip!

First the very ugly. The bus ride. Miserable. Never again. Either a tire was out of balance or the suspension system is worthless. I mean the ride was bone rattling. And I'm not exaggerating. Our interstates are awful, if judged by taking a bus.
For the most part, my fellow riders were good. But there are always the "rude dudes"--those that talk, either loudly or incessantly (and I'm not used to any sort of noise). Or they keep their overhead light on, or kick your seat (or severely recline theirs). Ear plugs didn't help, but an eye mask did. Still, I barely felt as if I got much sleep, despite my exhaustion. Comfort is not in any bus dictionary.

Speaking of the other participants, the majority were young--college age. Of the 100 on our two buses, I was the oldest. I "partnered" up with the next oldest--10 years younger, although we went our separate ways at the rally. I might add that in my people watching, there were all types. But it seemed to me, surprisingly, most were of the "nerdish" category (a la Big Bang Theory). Lot of weirdness among us heathens!

The Rally itself ranks (in my post title) as "good". I'd give it a C grade. The speakers were a mix of great to bad. Music from jazz to rap. Of course, the presenters were "preaching to the choir", the audience hooping it up with every "anti-religion" (or "pro-secular") sentence. It was great to hear 30,000 atheists cheer as one. I felt empowered and proud to be among "the few, the strong". I got to see many heroes in my little world. Great!

One of the "bads" (but not ugly) was the weather. While it could have been a lot worse, it wasn't all that bad. Yes, it rained a little (I stayed dry), was breezy, and cool (60). But it didn't hamper our enthusiasm.

I left the National Mall grounds before the end of the rally, just to sight see a few things I missed 13 years ago when I first (and last) visited D.C. I'm thinking one could easily spend a week checking out all the sights. I got severely reprimanded once as I walk past security in the Art Museum with my backpack unchecked. I was oblivious as I gawked around like some stupid tourist (which I was)!

I could write more details, but I'm tired. All in all, a nice birthday present to myself. Total cost=$160. Well spent. (I did take pictures, but you know me--I can't seem to get them to "take" in my posts. Sorry.)