Johnson, Day One, Day of Firsts

Today, I have begun a trip twenty-two years in the making. I walked around Washington D.C. for the first time, and enjoyed my first day in our nation’s capital. After dropping off our luggage at the hotel, we make our way to the metro; I had never ridden on a metro system in this country. I have to say that it was not very fun standing in a crowded car having a guys arm right in front of my face grabbing the pole. After lunch we made our way to the Capital Building. We visited Representative Guthrie’s Office in the Cannon Annex of the Capital. It was very neat to sit in the Congressman’s office. One of his aids told us that his office was the smallest office, and that he had drawn the last number in a sort of office lottery. She said that the more senior members got to choose first. I find the practice of senior and junior or freshman congressmen to be erroneous. I say draw numbers and what ever office you get, you get. I also found out that he is a big Seinfeld fan, so the next time I see him I shall have to make a reference.

One of his aids then took us to the visitor’s center and we watched a short video about the history of our Legislator. This made for a good build up to tour the Capital. After the Video we toured some of the older portions of the capital. I could really feel the history when we entered the original Supreme Court Justices chambers. I found it interesting that the windows no longer allowed the sun to enter the room because of added building; therefore the light was artificial. When we entered the House of Representatives viewing Gallery, I had a slight sobering feeling. I was used to only seeing this room on C-SPAN, or during a State of the Union Address. Surprisingly the room was much smaller than it appears on the television, but it still maintained its enchanting feeling. We then walked outside and viewed the front of the Capital, and it was very beautiful in the snow. To finish off the day we went to Union Station, and it was quite busy.