Washington, DC

Our nation’s capital – Congress is just returning from its holiday break, the President has been impeached, and the country may be on the brink of war.  Should be an exciting time to be in Washington!

But the wheels turn slowly – Congress gets a slow start due to the threat of a winter storm; the impeachment process is bogged down in political squabbling, and the hostilities segue into what seems to be name-calling and posturing (thank goodness).

Especially for those of us who infrequently visit, the city has a mystique and appeal that tend to cause a surge of pride in the history and culture of our country, which has truly always been great.

The Hay-Adams Hotel is right across Lafayette Park from the White House, with views that demand recording.

Our elected congresspersons are supposed to represent all of their constituents, be they Republican or Democrat…..

So we decided to drop in on our district’s representative, Louie Gohmert, to see about getting a pass to watch the action in the House.

Henry was excited to see a poster that featured blueberries he and his son Clay grew for the 2005 blueberry festival on the wall of the waiting room!

But after waiting some time for help, we were informed that most government offices were closed due to an imminent snow storm, although we did get passes to the House gallery, as they would be convening shortly.

They convened and immediately adjourned…..probably because the congresspersons also didn’t want to get stranded in the traffic due to bad weather.   So we saw an empty House chamber, and took the opportunity to reminisce fondly over some of the historic events that had occurred there…. for about 5 minutes.

The next day was glorious…… a good time for a protest….

Unfortunately, the view of our leader’s residence is obstructed due to renovations – a much higher and impenetrable fence is being built on the southern side of the White House.

We were able to spend a good amount of time with an old friend and colleague of Henry’s and her husband – Margaret and Rob – who live part-time in DC and have the insider’s view of what’s going on.  Thanks to them for their kind and generous hospitality!

Our last night we went to National Geographic’s headquarters for an introduction and overview of our trip, and a chance to meet the experts and our fellow travelers.

The next morning, our dedicated jet was waiting, and we took off…. with an appropriate libation of course!

Next stop – Cuzco, Peru.