DC to Dallas

Today was our last day in Washington DC. The day started with a trip to the offices of our TX representatives and senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Senate office building

KBH’s office

We were on a mission…a mission to acquire passes to the Senate and House galleries in the capital building. Unfortunately, the House gallery is closed this month for construction. The Senate gallery, however, is not. We learned that the gallery would open in the afternoon once they were in session.

We had a few hours to kill so we had lunch at the visitor’s center and went through the Museum. Finally it was time to get in line for the gallery. We got there early, and I’m glad we did. The line was already long when we arrived. After waiting in line, we were ushered into a room where we had to unload our pockets and purses — absolutely no electronic or battery operated devices were allowed inside. Stripped of our technology, we were loaded into elevators which dumped us off at…another line…ugh! We stood in this line about an hour, winding through the back corridors in the Senate area of the capital. Finally, we arrived in a new corridor where they gave us the rules — no talking, cheering, booing, sleeping, writing, etc. Then we went through yet another security checkpoint. We were getting close now…yay!!

Our time came to enter the gallery, and we quietly walked to our seats and promptly sat down. At first, our view wasn’t ideal, but we were eventually able to move to a better location once others vacated their seats. It was a neat experience to watch our government in action. A few minutes after we were seated, Senator McCain walked into the room. We listened to him address the Senate about the nomination of judge Sonia Sotomayer and then heard him talk about his objections to spending initiatives associated with the agriculture bill. It was really interesting. I’ve seen this room and the process on TV before, but there’s absolutely no substitute for witnessing it “live.” If you’re ever in DC, you need to do this. I highly recommend it, and it’s definitely worth the wait.

After our visit to the capital, it was time to head back to the hotel to pick up our bags and leave for the airport. We strolled along the mall walking to the hotel so we could enjoy our last few hours in DC.

We’re back in Dallas now and while it feels good to be home, I’m sad that our vacation time is over. It was a fantastic trip in a great city. We thoroughly enjoyed it!

Next up: Italy, Sept. 09!!