Thursday July 22, 2010
We are all missing our Stephen; I am especially missing him since I got here ahead of Wendy and the kids by five days. We are so appreciative of the Rieder's who loved on Stephen from Sunday to Wednesday they have been such an amazing encouragement to all of us in serving. The transition from the Rieder's to the Long's has been smooth as Stephen always loves playing with Lo-Lo (Lauren). We are equally thankful for the Long's in loving Stephen too. And, we can’t forget the Naves who will take the anchor leg of the race. We couldn’t have done this trip without you all!
Today we are in Washington D.C.! It started early for me as I snuck out to return our rental car. After informing the courteous workers that the oil and washer-fluid lights came on they immediately dropped 10% of the car. The service in D.C. and the helpful people on the street has been a pleasant surprise. I walked back to the hotel via Caribou Coffee and found Wendy diligently working to prepare us for the day with plans, packing and blogging. We ate breakfast in our hotel room and took a taxi to our scheduled meeting for a Congressional tour. Our taxi driver was a former high school teacher from Ethiopia who taught at Sidwell Friends School (where the Obama girls attend school) before leaving the profession. He described how different the cultural views of teachers were in the U.S. and Ethiopia and how he couldn’t adjust to the disrespect and student/parent centered system. Our taxi drivers have been some of the most interesting people we have met in quite some time. We met at the office of Cathy McMorris-Rogers in the Longworth building next to the Capitol. Christian from Walla Walla Washington was leading our tour and another couple from Spokane along with 3 college grads from California on a graduation trip accompanied us. We went underground and emerged in the capitol building where we saw, The Rotunda, the old House, Senate, and Supreme Court chambers, several other large areas with paintings and sculptures all around. For only being interning for a few weeks, our guide did a great job. Even when Campbell asked him point blank, "What do you do? The dumpy jobs?" He got a chuckle out of that one. Did you know that every state has placed two statues in the Congress? These statues are placed throughout the massive structure and Washington’s two contributions are Marcus Whitman and Sister Joseph of the Providence nuns, both Eastern Washington representatives. At the end of the tour we had a chance to enter the House Chamber and watch the floor proceedings. The wait for entry was 1.5 hours. Campbell and I were up for the wait but Wendy, Daniel and Erin went to lunch. The time went faster and we were able to witness a vote on the floor of the house. As the number of votes got closer more and more representatives arrived including Cathy McMorris-Rogers, and Ron Paul. We then met up with the others at the Library of Congress.
Campbell and I were able to travel underground to The Library of Congress and avoid the heat. Wendy, Daniel and Erin on the other hand were given poor directions but eventually met us. Again, cell phones were a wonderful help. The first place we went was the Gutenberg Bible the Giant Bible of Mainz. Daniel was especially excited about the Gutenberg Bible having studied medieval history last year. In my opinion the first printing press that produced the Gutenberg Bible was the greatest innovation in the history of the world. We also saw an exhibit on early native South American life, The Main reading room and Jefferson’s collection. Hoping to swim, the kids asked if we could head back to the Hotel. I realized it was time to try the Subway together. I had mastered the Subway with the help of the “Subway Queen” Denise Haugen, she and Mike showed me the ropes so I figured I could get my family through. The only problem occurred when we transferred trains and Daniel and I made it on the train but the doors shut on Wendy, Erin and Campbell. Thankfully, we were separated with a parent in each group! We all met at the next stop, and promptly made a plan if separation on the subway should happen again. Upon arrival the kids and Dennis went to the YMCA for swimming and mom rested and at about 6:00pm we went to eat at Pasana a Thai restaurant that was amazing. The kids were amazing at trying different tastes. This meal, Campbell broke out and ate duck. He really did like it! Our good was soooo good! We then took a long but slow walk down past the White house, by the Washington monument as the sun was setting. We stopped for ice cream then headed over to the WWII Memorial and the reflecting pool leading to the Lincoln Memorial. The WWII Memorial was beautiful. It was hard to get over the people standing in the fountain and pool area taking pictures in Charlie's Angels poses - it seemed like a solemn place where one should be respectful and quiet. AS we walked on to good Old Abe's monument, we were attacked by a swarm of gnats...made us think of the plagues on the Egyptians - it was pretty bad, they were everywhere. We were breathing them in! Once we walked a ways from the Reflection Pool it was better. Seeing these magnificent structures of art, beauty, and history at night was unforgettable. We took tons of pictures and I was amazed at how many people were out walking the mall. They kids were real troopers! We had walked a long way and it was still hot - mid 90's after dark so...we hailed a taxi to bring us back to our hotel for journaling, reading and bed.
The scripture for today is “The grass withers and the flowers fall but the word of our God stands forever” Isaiah 40:8 We realized today that if all of the religious icons, scripture, and statues of people of faith were removed from all of the government buildings and national parks much of the art work/information would be gone, and the history of our country would be drastically altered. It is so central here.
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