DC Trip–Day 3

 

Tuesday was the congressional luncheon that we could go to.  We just attended and didn’t participate, but of course I wanted to be there for something like that.  I got up early and took the hotel shuttle to the subway.  I’ve ridden mass transportation systems in Lima, Peru,  Bogota, Colombia and Salt Lake City, but never a subway.  I really had no idea how it worked and I had to have several people help me.  The first girl told me the wrong kind of ticket to buy and it didn’t work until later in the day, so that was a waste of money.  Someone else helped me get the right ticket and then I finally, somehow, got through the ticket thing and waited for the subway.  I had to ask someone exactly which one I should be getting on as well.  There was a group of Veteran’s on the train.  It was neat to listen to them tell some of their stories and see their camaraderie.  One was talking about what happened when he flew into Paris towards the end of WWII, and how he didn’t like the city.  I think he almost crashed while landing or taking off, because of poor communication, but I don’t remember exactly.

             

I got off on the stop closest to the Capitol, because I was going to go do a tour before the meeting started.  Here I am in a cheesy cell-phone picture (most of the pictures with me in are like this!) waiting in the Capitol Visitor Center.  I very much enjoyed the tour and seeing our Nation’s Capitol.  It was inspiring and amazing to see the beautiful details and workmanship created years ago by hand. It is interesting to me that with all of the construction helps that now exist, buildings are so much more simplistic.  I love the details of old architecture!

The Utahn, Philo T. Farnsworth, Father of Television

I think I may be related to John Quincy Adams.  I’d have to double check.  I enjoyed the story about how they said he would eavesdrop on men speaking on the other side of the room because the acoustics of the room make it so while right in that spot, you can hear everything from the other side perfectly. 

 

The Rotunda

I had some extra time after the tour and saw that I could get tickets to a session of Congress or the Senate, so found out where my Senator’s office was and walked over there for tickets.  I got them from Senator Hatch’s office.  I never did get a chance to go to a session but that’s okay.  There were more cool buildings on the walk over. 

I then walked back over to the Capitol Visitor Center where the meeting was to be held.  I got to go through security yet again.  Between there and the Senate building, I went through four times that day.  Fun.  In the meeting, there were congressional staffers present and several people spoke about the prevalence of birth defects, the cost, and why it is so important to be able to do research and surveillance to figure out why they are increasing and how to help prevent them.  The seats were filled and people were standing all around the room.  It was great to see such a good turnout.  This is me after the meeting, with my special pass.

I then had the opportunity to accompany the Utah Birth Defects Network Director, another mom (and her cute baby) and her mother.  We spent the afternoon visiting with aides from the offices of Senators Lee and Hatch and Congressman Jim Matheson.  What a neat experience to be able to sit with them and discuss the reason for our visit. 

I know that what we said may or may not have made a difference, but I felt they were pretty open about their stand, whether they agreed with us or not.  I have never been a political person, but this experience really changed my perspective on a lot of things.  It is easy for everyone to complain and I understand that there are a lot of dishonest people working for bad things and wrong reasons.  But I also think that there are good people working hard for what they feel is right.  It was good to see that we truly do have the opportunity to voice our opinions and while, they may not really make a difference, we have that right.  And maybe, if more of us did it more often, then we would see more change for good.  Maybe that is naïve, but it was an eye-opener for me to see things a little more up- close and on a personal level.  I would do it again.

After we spoke with the aides, I went with the other mom and her mom from Utah, where we stopped at the Museum of American History.  We got there close to closing time (seriously, why does everything close so early there?) but was able to see the First Ladies Exhibit, which I loved.  I saw the original Muppets and the Scarecrow’s hat and boots from Wizard of Oz.  Dorothy’s shoes weren’t there because they were our for “maintenance.” 

We also convinced the worker to let us run in really fast and see the Star Spangled Banner Flag, which was amazing.  We really almost had to run because they were supposed to be closed and her supervisor was watching from the second floor, so I didn’t get to see much.  I hope she didn’t get into too much trouble!  We then met up with the rest of their group, who had made a girl’s trip out of it.  They let me hang out with them for the evening and we finally (after much wandering and trying to decide) ate at a Buffalo Wild Wings, which I didn’t love, but was okay.  They did have a yummy salt and vinegar powder for the French fries…

I got some cake to go, and once back at the hotel, read, talked to my family, watched some TV and went to bed, probably pretty late once again.

DC Trip, Day 2–The Conference

(Day One is below this post)

*Edit: Okay, so I had a funny realization last night.  The sun didn't really rise at 4:23 like the time on my pictures says.  My camera was set to Utah time, but it was really 6:23 there!  Duh!  It did feel like 4:23 though because that's what time it was for me and I was exhausted!  Haha!*

The sun began to rise at 4:23* on Monday morning.  As I was facing east and had only the sheer curtains closed, it woke me too.  I just had to get some pictures before going back to sleep. 

In the last picture you can see a plane coming in right at the horizon line just under the sun.  That’s the Potomac River.
I was pretty tired when I woke up later and had a BIG headache, so I slept more and then got ready for the luncheon.  We as parents were all meeting together for the first time and meeting with the others from the National Birth Defects Prevention Network, the March of Dimes, the CDC and more.  We met in a private room at the hotel restaurant and further discussed ideas and started to form a plan.  This picture (while not a great one of me, thanks to my hair) is all of us together for the first time. 

After the lunch, we got our presentation set up then had a break for a couple of hours.  We were able to present about a parent’s perspective at one of the breakout sessions of the conference.  We each took about 12 minutes and discussed different topics.  I spoke about how to package information for parents and what the role of state programs should be.  Between the lunch and the session, I managed to babble a lot and make myself look completely uneducated and inexperienced.  Oh well.
It was really a great experience and a great start to the awareness campaign that we are organizing. 
After the breakout session, I walked outside for a little ways to get something to eat, went back and exercised, then took a long bath and read for awhile.  That’s a luxury I don’t often enjoy so it was wonderful.  I didn’t really get any other pictures that day but don’t worry, there are a lot more to come!

My DC Trip (3 months later…) Day 1

I flew out of Salt Lake on Sunday, February 26th.  I ended up sitting next to someone else who was going to the conference, although I managed to look like an excited, silly traveler before finding that out.  She was by the window, and I kept peeking over her to look out (the entire time) because I love to travel and fly so much!  For anyone who has ever flown into DC, the first thing you can see is the Washington DC temple.  I thought I got a picture of it, but I guess I can’t find it.  The lady next to me took another picture and then texted it to me.  It is so neat to fly in and be so close to everything.  The planes fly right by the monuments and you get to see everything at once.  I was already loving DC, and I was still in the air!

Carlos’ cousin, Damaris, lives in the area and picked me up from the airport.  She took me around to several of the monuments and sights, most of them pictured below.  She was such an awesome guide and so great to take her time to show me around.  Thanks Damaris!!!

I loved the details in the architecture and that you could see the Capitol Building straight down many different streets.  I loved the feel and energy of the city.  I loved the history and the monuments.  It was great!

                                                       

           

         

After a while, we found a bite to eat and then Damaris took me to my hotel.  She also left me with a yummy treat so that I could have something to eat in my room.  I got to be on the tenth floor with a view of the airport and the Capitol.  The conference was at the Marriot Renaissance Arlington Capital View and was a fun hotel.  The details were great and so was the service.  The bed was very comfortable and I LOVED my view!  Following are some pictures of the details in the hotel.  In the elevator picture, look at the side panels – not the buttons.  And that cool faucet was in the main lobby/restaurant bathroom.  The cool walls were on the second floor conference area.

And here are some night pictures of the view from my room:

I called home and Skyped with my family for a little while.  My mom was so awesome to come out and help all week.  Thanks Mom!  She wasn’t there that first night, so I talked to Carlos and the boys.  They were really excited to see me.  It was fun.  Zach had started to cough really bad the night before I left and when Carlos took him to the doctor on Monday, he ended up having pneumonia.  I was really sad to not be there to help him, but Carlos and Mom did a great job.  My awesome neighbor also called to see how it was going.  I then just tried to rest and relax for a while but I was nervous about the next day and had a hard time getting to sleep.  I think it was after 1:00 am by the time I finally fell asleep.   Because I was so high with a clear view, I left the main curtains open and just closed the sheer curtains so I could still enjoy the lights.  Little did I know that when there aren’t any mountains, the sun would start to rise at about 4:23 the next morning!  Pictures from that to come in the next post. 

I know this is long with a lot of pictures, but I need to get this down before I forget it all.  I’ve already forgotten so many little details!