Walking, and walking, and walking the Halls of Congress

We walked "the Halls of Congress" (all those long hallways where the offices are and the maze of underground tunnels that connect everything), but who are we kidding? We walked everywhere. We didn't keep good track, but it was at least 10 miles a day. Congressman Rick Larsen's staff assistant Ben led us on an incredible tour (walking backwards the whole time). He was great, answering questions about the architecture, the history, and the health bill all in one breath. And always with a great attitude. We tried to buy him lunch, but he wouldn't let us because it could be considered unethical, so we all bought our own food and ate at one of the cafeterias under the capital. My mother had brougt tulips and daffodils from the Skagit Valley to give to her congressmen and our Senators. (These we could give to the Congressmen's office because they came from the district, but the guards at the Senate building wouldn't let us bring them in, that is a whole other story.) We delivered them to District 2 (Larsen) and District 9 (Dave Reichert). Our timing was perfect for Reichert's office and thanks to staffer Quinton we got to meet him. Lizzie is a little embarrassed as he's pretending she wont let go of his hand (see Quinton laughing on the far right). We chatted a bit about the jobs bill as he was about to go vote no on it and enjoyed a tour of his office (lots of pictures of him with Republican leaders I don't like). Had a nice discussion with his staffer about being a RINO (Republican In Name Only) and his previous job working for the Obama campaign. Oh, and the picture of us looking at our feet is us standing on the star above where President George Washington's tomb was to be. Apparently it is lucky to do this. We didn't know that until after we all did, but no suprise, we're pretty lucky people.