JustJan: Wonderful Washington (D.C.)

David and I had the great opportunity of attending a credit union Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C. in March. It was a time of learning, politicizing, sightseeing, and many awesome experiences.

We started things off with a visit to the Chevy Chase Ward bright and early Sunday morning. A girl from our neighborhood is serving as a Page in the U.S. Senate and we had arranged to meet her on the Metro and ride out with her to Church.

Descending into Middle Earth? No, just the D.C. Metro

What a great experience this turned out to be. It was Testimony Meeting and the greater theme seemed to be about sharing the Gospel. Allie stood and shared how her testimony has grown as she has had to answer questions about the Church from her fellow Pages. She told about studying and praying in her closet at night after “lights out” to be able to answer her friends’ questions. We were very proud of her! And, a bonus for me was that when she came back to sit down beside me, I gave her a hug and then she snuggled up next to me. Obviously, this cute16 year-old, away from home for the first time and her family for 2 months, was in need of a mom figure and I was only too happy to fill in. David’s highlight was sitting and chatting with Senator Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, in Priesthood Meeting. David commented that Harry was just a regular guy, a fellow High Priest participating in his Sunday meetings with no hoopla.

In this election year, it was an interesting time to be in the Nation’s Capitol. David was in meetings most of each day and was treated to addresses by wonderful speakers such as Colin Powell (who impressed David greatly), Senator Joseph Lieberman, and Dave Barry, and many other Senators and Representatives. A big important part of the week was visiting Capitol Hill. David was a part of the Utah delegation that visited all of our Utah Congressmen and Senators to keep credit unions on their “radar screens.” During one of his visits, I borrowed David’s conference badge and went to hear Chris Matthews, of MSN’s Hardball show. For being a very liberal Democratic commentator, he impressed me with his frank assessment of the current political campaigns and the leading contenders. One other highlight of the conference was a concert by the legendary band, America. It was a party!

David and I did have a little time for sightseeing. Sunday afternoon, we visited all the monuments, several of which were new to me.

A beautiful Sunday afternoon on the Mall

David with FDR

Later during the week, we had a late night tour of Washington with the “head hauncho” of the Utah League of Credit Unions. He previously worked in Senator Orrin Hatch’s office, so he really knew his way around and shared a lot of experiences with us.

Mr. Lincoln in his magnificent home

And so spectacular up close!

The Washington Monument and Capitol from the Lincoln Memorial

We also visited the National Indian Museum, the Phillips Collection (art gallery by all the embassies), and we loved the National Botanical Gardens, which we had never seen before.

The Orchid Festival at the National Botanical Gardens

I toured the National Gallery of Art on my own and a few other Smithsonian museums with the wives of other delegates from our credit union.

The magnificent Library of Congress

A Degas Ballerina at the National Gallery of Art

David was able to get tickets to the Senate Gallery for me and another wife, so we went through all the security and enjoyed sitting in the Gallery, watching Allie working as a Page. She came up to sit with us for a few minutes and gave a running commentary on what was going on and pointed out some highlights of the Senate Chamber. Then she got permission to take us on a tour of the Capitol.