Washington DC

Just returned from the USA capitol where we spent six days and attended the last work conference for Bob. Though the government has shut down, we enjoyed our visit. Who can't like 37C for a week? We toured Arlington Cemetery, the Newseum and toured the mostly empty Capitol Building seeing where the address to the Nation occurs, and where the Senate sits if they were inclined to do so. We didn't stand in the 30 minute line up for a Georgetown Cupcake. We didn't eat Amy's Pizza. We did walk for hours (and I'm happy to report I didn't even notice my knee).  We did hear sirens all day and night. We ate delicious food at The Hamilton, Clyde's, Oceanaire and the Equinox. We enjoyed seeing colleagues and their partners from across the country.

I come away always with this love hate relationship with the USA. I admire their love of country and respect for their veterans and soldiers. I hate their inability to look at themselves more critically to see what is broken, to acknowledge that other countries might be doing some things better or just as well. I hate how polarized their politics has become.

There's an undeniable energy in Washington DC. Every day we saw some protest or another, a news scrum, a homeless person sleeping on a bench meters away from the White House. I hope to revisit DC one day and see the Smithsonian museums. Hopefully by then they will have figured out how to resolve the conflict with the Senate and the House of Representatives.