Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Back in March my wife and I decided it was our turn to visit our adult children back East. We have not been back there together since 2001 or 8 years ago. We individually have gone back since then but not together. Quite frankly we missed them and we are not getting any younger.We were able to get some relatively inexpensive airline ticket through United Airlines. In addition, our daughter had bought a condo and we wanted to see it.
We had a 6 AM flight out of Medford, but were awoken at midnight and then again at 1 AM with messages from United that the Medford to Denver flight was delayed so they had switched our flight to Delta from Medford to Salt Lake City and then on to Reagan National Airport near Washington DC. The flights were OK but due to the last minute switch we did not get isle seats from Salt Lake to DC. I read my book on the Civil War "Gods and Generals" written by the son of the author of "The Killer Angels" about Gettysburg.
We arrived on time at Reagan National Airport AND all our luggage made it. Our daughter met us in the luggage area and we walked to her car for a trip strait to Capitol Hill for a bipartisan reception.
We went though security and she parked her car in a parking garage under a House of Representatives office building next to the Capitol. We went to her office and met some of her coworkers and then on the the fancy reception. Fortunately I had brought my sports coat so I didn't look like a total hick.The reception was a political junkies dream. There were leaders of both political parties there having a good time with lots of political jokes. If you follow politics you would have seen a number of people you could identify. I don't want to go into too much detail but it was a very high powered group. The food was great and it was a fun event. We got to meet a number of our daughter friends and associates. We were able to put faces to names she talks about when she calls or comes home.
After the party we drove to her condo a few block from the Capitol and unloaded our luggage. She then gave us a tour of her condo. Since buying it around the first of the year she has become quite a "handy women". She has completely repainted it and her work shows. There are still some details that need to be worked on but we were both impressed. She even bought a sofa with a hide-a-bed so we could stay with her. Without giving too much detail the condo complex is quite unique and very nice. I also liked her big flat screen TV.
It had been a long day .... from the familiar easy going world of Medford, Oregon to the high powered world of Washington DC.
That hide-a-bed felt very good!
