D.C. Fly-In, Part Two: The Tourist Experience

For this second installment of D.C. Fly-In re-caps, I'll write about the Tourist Experience.

The Legislative side of the trip was great and super educational, but we did have a bit of time to take in some tourist attractions as well. I'm also lumping restaurant experiences into this post. There are many several photos included throughout.

Because Jeff and I arrived in DC about 24 hours ahead of when our first meeting was, we had about one evening and one long morning to take in a few sights before meeting up with the rest of our group for business. There was one other couple out of our FUE group that also had arrived early, so we spent much of our time with them. It was great to be free to experience the city.

The first night we ate a really delicious upscale seafood restaurant called Oceanaire. Apparently it is a chain restaurant or at least has locations in several large cities in the US, but when you live where we live, even chain restaurants are exotic. Our friends are from Minnesota and had eaten at Oceanaire in the Cities and recommended we try it out. We were not disappointed. They had excellent wine, which was a must for me! The seafood dishes we tried were great. I actually liked the seafood salad we all shared even better than my main entree, even though both were really yummy. The best part of the meal, however, was the OYSTERS!!! I have found in recent years that I absolutely love oysters on the half-shell. What better place for fresh oysters than Washington D.C.? Right on the Chesapeake Bay, near the coast... fresh as can be! Too bad I forgot to take any photos at Oceanaire. The food and company was awesome!

Our hotel was located just a block off the National Mall, convenient to many museums and monuments. The next morning was when I did the Beat the Deadline 5k, which was awesome. I snapped these two photos as I walked across the mall to the start of the race, about a mile and a half away.

The next morning before our meetings we had just a little time to check out a few of the Smithsonian museums, including the Air and Space museum, and the National Gallery. I'll post a few photos from the Gallery in my third DC post on Art and Design in the city. I didn't take a ton of photos in the Air and Space museum, but I did snap one of moon-landing unit I believe from the Apollo space missions. I'm always amazed at how much these things look like they're held together by nothing more than tinfoil, cardboard and tape. I've seen parade floats that look more impressive!  All the same, these are feats of engineering I couldn't even begin to conjure up on my own.

Inside the Air and Space Museum.

After Saturday's meetings, we had a group dinner at Founding Farmers, which is a restaurant owned by North Dakota Farmers Union, featuring an agrarian farm-to-table menu and decor. The restuarant was located right on Pennsylvania Ave and it was PACKED with people. I guess if you want to eat there you have to book your reservation way in advance. I can see why, too. The food was excellent, as was the drink menu. I had a cantaloupe-ginger-cucumber coctail made with local indredients, which was outstanding. For entree, I had braised beef short ribs with some really great sides. Delicious!

Jeff and Bryan tasting some high-class whiskey at Founding Farmers.
Was it worth it? ;)

Sunday-day was spent in meetings most of the day. Then we had another group dinner at yet another restaurant owned by North Dakota Farmes Union, sort of the sister restaurant to Founding Farmers, called Farmers, Fishers, and Bakers. Same story here- farm-to-table menu, local ingredients, but here they had an emphasis more on seafood. I had one of my favorite dishes-- cioppino. It was excellent! Another great restaurant!

Outside Farmers, Fishers, and Bakers. 

Patio seating and Entrance to Farmers, Fishers, Bakers.

Apparently it's hip and trendy to display your canned goods with back-lighting on a shelf in plain view.
Guess I'll have to dig mine out of the back of the cupboard! 

After dinner, we had a private tour of the city's monuments. This vehicle was our mode of transportation--

Pretty fancy van, right?!
(Sorry, Bryan, for the bad photo!)

We stopped at all the major monuments in DC, and even some that were not right on the Mall. The tour began right as the sun set on the National Cathedral. It was so, so beautiful lit up with the red glow of sunset!

Gothic Revival by the glow of sunset!

Who doesn't love flying buttresses?! 

Truly, the way to see D.C.'s monuments is at night. The crowds are somewhat less, it's not as HOT, and they just look even more striking when lit up.

Washington Monument with the Capitol Dome behind it.

Approaching the Lincoln Memorial.

Abe. 

Memorial of Thomas Jefferson, or as I like to call him, TJ. 

Iwo Jima Marine WWII Monument

Airforce Memorial

I really enjoyed the Air Force Memorial. This was the first time I had been to this memorial, actually in Arlington. It's so hard to get a sense of how striking it is in my photos, or of the scale. I thought it was really, really beautiful. Expect to see a few more photos of this in the Art and Design post.

The next day after our meetings for the day got out a little early, some of us trekked back out to Arlington to visit Arlington National Cemetary. We didn't have much time to look around- by the time we got there, they were only open for another hour- and we wanted to be sure to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown. It was really cool to watch the changing of the guard ceremony. I was very impressed by the precision of their movements and the obvious reverence with which they treated their job.

Fresh flowers against a grave at Arlington National Cemetery.

Very impressive to watch these guards. 

They also did a special wreath-laying ceremony that night, which was clearly above and beyond the normal changing of the guard routine. A military officer of some sort who was clearly very highly decorated escorted this woman to the tomb, apparently to pay respects. I really wish there had been some sort of explanation as to what the purpose of this was, but it was still very, very cool to see.

These three walked down toward the tomb together.

Another man placed the wreath. 

Then there was a salute, and another guard played the military funeral song. 

After Arlington, we had our last dinner as an FUE couples group at a place our friends Bryan and Jennifer knew of called Old Ebbit Grill. Apparently it's a pretty popular place and well-known in D.C. It had some great old-time character and charm that was really delightful.

The food at Old Ebbit Grill was also fantastic. Again, I took advantage of being on the coast and enjoyed oysters before our meal. I confirmed that I actually like a briny oyster better than a sweet oyster. I think they're more complex tasting and so delicious.

Pre-oyster... 

Mid slurp! YUM!

That night I also had a first for me and ordered lobster. I'm not a picky eater at all and I'm very, very seldom grossed out by food, so I had a little fun with my lobster waving to the camera prior to being eaten! And yes, I wore the totally hokey lobster bib with pride!

The lobster tasted very fresh and delicious! 

On our last morning in D.C., we attended a Montana Coffee wherein the two Senators and one Representative from Montana, and their staff, hold a weekly gathering for anyone who wants to come with coffee and donuts. It's sort of a mix and mingle event and it's a great opportunity for anyone from Montana who is in the city to meet or visit with their elected officials. Jeff and I spoke with all three-- Senators Tester and Walsh, and Representative Daines. We have definite opinions about each, but since this blog is not about politics, I'm not going there.

In addition to visiting with those three gentlemen, we also had the great pleasure of meeting up with a few old friends. One is a longtime friend of Jeff's, named Mark, who is on staff for Senator Walsh...

Me and Jeff with Mark Hybner.

The other people we bumped into happened to be Jeff's family who just so happened to be in Washington D.C. on vacation! So cool to bump into them unexpectedly. They definitely did a double take when they saw us! Not sure if it was out of surprise or because they didn't recognize us all dressed up... maybe both?! 

Me and Jeff with Jan and Gary Holmes! What a crazy coincidence.

The rest of our time in the city was pretty busy with meetings and lobbying, but I do want to point out that as our nation's capitol, I think Washington is really great at "hosting" people from all over the country and the world. Everywhere we went, people asked where we were from and seemed genuinely interested in hearing our response. I thought it was a very friendly city, easy to get around, and had an almost European feel thanks to the architecture, walkability, and relative absence of skyscrapers.

To conclude, I'll leave you with a few example photos of the city embracing people from all over the country. The Newseum (a museum I highly recommend, even though it's not free to attend/not in the Smithsonian complex) posts the front page of a newspaper from every state in the Union, every day. Had to get my picture with that. And later, I got to put a pin in a Montana map on the location of our farm when we were in the office of a certain Senator. Even though it seems like wherever you go in this world, you bump into someone from Montana, or someone who has Montana connections, there were no other pins from 20 miles north of Inverness, MT on the map. Glad we can represent rural Montana, and glad for the city of D.C. being so welcoming and fun!

Next to the posting of the Great Falls Tribune, outside the Newseum.

Placing a pin in the map for our farm! Can you find it? 

D.C. Fly-In, Part One: The Legislative Experience

I have a lot of photos and a lot to process and write about our Washington D.C. trip. I'm going to have to break it down into several posts. After going through my photos, I think the best way to organize the trip into blog posts is into three segments: Legislative Experience, Tourist Experience, and Art and Design Experience.

I'll start with the Legislative Experience.

But first, let me back up a bit and remind everyone why we came to be in D.C. in the first place!

The D.C. Fly-In was the culmination of our Farmers Union Enterprises (FUE) Leadership Couples training experience that has lasted for about the past 18 months. If you can't remember what FUE or the program we were participating in was all about, check out THIS POST. Basically, we spent the past year or so attending Farmers Union conferences and events and participating in leadership training seminars along with three other couples-- one each from Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Walking in front of the Department of Agriculture building with some of our FUE friends.

The Department of Agriculture is a HUGE building.
I liked that they had corn planted out front! 

The Fly-In itself was National Farmers Union's annual lobbying event in Washington D.C. Farmers Union members and representatives from all 28 states where Farmers Union has a presence were in Washington for the Fly-In. Our group arrived a few days early for about a day and a half of more leadership training and informational meetings. Then, the last two and a half days were dedicated to the legislative process and how it pertains to agriculture and Farmers Union issues. The last day and a half specifically were spent actually meeting with representatives of Congress and the Senate (or their staff!) to advocate directly for issues affecting family farms across the country.

On the in-between-day on the Hill, as I'll call it, we as an entire National Farmers Union group, were addressed by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Gina McCarthy, and a woman named Ann Alonzo, who is the head of the Agriculture Marketing Service, as well as by National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson.  President Johnson and his staff outlined the four main issues we'd be discussing in our lobbying efforts the next day before we heard from the other three. I found Secretary Vilsack's remarks to be appropriate and well-thought-out, and I enjoyed hearing him speak most of all. He's great. Administrator McCarthy was an engaging speaker as well.

NFU President Roger Johnson

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack

Administrator McCarthy of the EPA

Ann Alonzo of the USDA

Moving on to the actual lobbying experience. Everyone with Farmers Union who was present for the Fly-In was divided into teams of 5 or so people, with each team assigned to several Senate/Congressional offices. We were to visit the offices and speak to the government official (or their staff) about our key issues, or drop off an informational hand-out if no one was available to meet with us.

We became very familiar with the Congress and Senate office buildings.

Jeff and I were in a small group with three other people from Montana including the Montana Farmers Union President, another Montana Farmers Union member from Great Falls, and a member of the Montana press (who was not a member of Farmers Union, just there to cover the story of our time in Washington.) We ended up visiting the offices of five different individuals-- a mix of Representatives and Senators. Of those five offices, the only time we met with an actual government official was when we visited the office of Senator Walsh of Montana. The rest of the time we spoke with office staff, usually the staffer responsible for Agriculture issues.

Jeff and I in the rotunda of the Longworth office building.

The issues we spoke about were identified and decided upon by the National Farmers Union board and included:

• COOL (Country of Origin Labeling)-- NFU is for keeping COOL laws as-is.
• RFS (Renewable Fuel Standard)-- NFU Is for maintaining status quo with RFS.
• TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership)-- NFU is skeptical of TPP in its current form.
• Rail Issues-- NFU is advocating on behalf of farmers for increased rail traffic for grain and for increased oversight from the STB (Surface Transportation Board) on the railroad. 

Throughout the process of meeting with the various offices and staff, and the Senator, it became apparent that Jeff has a real gift for leadership in these types of situations. He was very well-spoken and seemed really comfortable discussing the issues with anyone. As for myself, I was a little out of my comfort level, but with practice got better. I think my future with Farmers Union probably will not involve extensive lobbying in that form. Jeff rocked it though. 

Senate Hart Office Building.
Montana Senators Tester and Walsh both have their offices here.

Since we had a member of the local Montana Ag media in our group, Jeff and I did give a brief interview that was included in a few radio spots. Jeff was also interviewed by another person of the media and that story was released right after we got back. Hopefully everyone is happy with how we both answered our questions! I was a little nervous for the interview I did, even though it was brief! Did anyone catch any of our radio spots or the print interview anywhere?

One of the highlights for the business-side of the trip for me was attending the Golden Triangle Awards Ceremony on Tuesday evening of our trip. The Golden Triangle Awards are given by National Farmers Union to government officials who have done well to serve the Ag community in the past year. Many of the awards were handed out in person at the event. This meant we had a very front row view of many members of Congress and the Senate as they stopped by the party to receive their awards. I was most impressed with Nancy Pelosi (California), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Heidi Heitkamp (North Dakota), and of course, John Tester (Montana), our friend and neighbor. Jeff and I were also impressed with John Walsh (Montana) for the fact that he stayed at the party after giving his short acceptance speech and actually took some time to visit with people in the audience-- no one else had done that. Politics aside, he seemed like a nice and genuine man in-person.

Nancy Pelosi receives her Golden Triangle service award from NFU President Roger Johnson.

Sherrod Brown of Ohio about to receive his award.

Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota addresses the group.

There's so much more detail I could write about this trip and specifically about the legislative experience we had. I truly learned A LOT in-person about how government works. It was cool to be actively participating in democracy, advocating for family farms, and attempting to let our voices be heard. Even if I don't have a future in lobbying in this form, it was definitely worth the experience on many, many levels. I think Jeff and I both realized the potential for leadership that we have within this organization, which is overall, the ultimate goal of the entire experience.

Will either of us have a future in politics?!

Home Again

Sorry for the hiatus from writing! I hope I haven't lost too many of you in the week or so that I haven't been posting. My husband and I got back late last night from his cousin's wedding in Denver-- I am still pretty tired from the busy week and from the long day of travel yesterday.

We had a great trip overall. It was nice to be back in the "guest" roll at this wedding- only about five weeks after our own! We were able to relax and enjoy the ceremony and reception and catch up with family members we didn't have much chance to visit with at our own ceremony in Bozeman.  Since meeting my husband's family, I have been so impressed by the willingness of everyone to travel and be together.  There is a definite sense of family pride and togetherness, and that's a wonderful thing.

Denver was an enjoyable city. It is big enough that you definitely feel like you are in a city, but small enough that it still feels comfortable and friendly. It is easy to get around by car or light rail.  We enjoyed driving through many different neighborhoods and suburbs, visiting the Nature and Science Museum, and attending two Colorado Rockies vs. Atlanta Braves baseball games at Coors field.  Though I enjoyed being in Denver, I found myself comparing it to Chicago or New York and feeling like some sort of vibrant multi-cultural aspect was missing. It almost felt a little too clean and organized I guess.

It was a fun trip, but we are glad to be home. Hay season is pretty much wrapped up, and now it's time to start thinking about Harvest. Tomorrow I will run to Havre (about an hour away from where we live) to buy groceries and supplies with harvest meals in mind.