Is this a diary? NO!

If this were a diary or travelogue, I'd have to write about the trip from Washington, PA here to Silver Spring. I'd love to describe our decision to drive south through Pennsylvania to West Virginia and then east to Maryland. I'd heard the roads were well maintained and that it was a better route. And when we looked out the window on Sunday morning before dawn, we saw the snow had caught up with us. The weather maps all showed the snow was going straight east -- not dropping south at all. We imagined the southern route would be the best option.

Wrong.

The snow followed us south and east, overtaking us in the mountains. One lane clear, heavy trucks going 80 on 65 mph marked mountain roads in very poor visibility, people passing cautious me from really flat Michigan whose experience driving mountains is really rather limited . . . I stayed near 60 and hoped it never got slippery. It took us from 9:15 am to 1:45 pm to get through the storm and get to Frederick, MD. Getting into Silver Spring was a comparative breeze.

The downside of the snow (well, for me -- in Ann Arbor people were seeing inches more of the fine white stuff) was that we didn't get in early enough to try to go to the mall for the concert on Sunday. However, standing in the cold for 5 or more hours is greatly overrated.

Today was our day to go into Washington. My e-mail was filled with invitations to receptions and parties. Washington's a fairly formal town, and the weather was (comparatively) warm. It was in the 30s, and we planned accordingly. Clean clothes, brushed and fairly respectable, but not overwhelming. I put on heels. (Some might understand that my good slacks are a little long, and are meant to be worn with heels -- that's how I wear them at home. Comfortable, not very high heels, but heels nonetheless.)

We also had to pick up our tickets and learn where we'd be standing tomorrow.

So, go to meet the politicians, talk with others from Michigan, pitch Ann Arbor's needs however I could, and try to look and be memorable. And get the tickets. An easy day.

Finding the first reception was easy. Senator Levin, Senator Stabenow, Rep. Schauer, Gov. Granholm, Lt. Gov. Cherry -- I talked to as many people as I could, and at least saw who was there. I also made certain to say hello to anyone from Ann Arbor.

Then it was time to pick up my ticket.

Do the math. There are 435 members of the House of Representatives. There are 4 office buildings. Each office building must have about 100 offices, right? Each member of the House (and each Senator) received 198 tickets. That means (roughly) that there were 20,000 people trying to get in to each building today -- and the hours were between 10 am and 4 pm. Not all offices were open at the same time, but that hardly matters. The lines were very long and very slow. I waited in line about 1 1/2 hours. In heels. Shuffling. In the cold.

Very bad decision. I hope I'm done making bad decisions on this trip. Please don't think my personal decisions reflect my political decisions!

The good (personal) news is that we're in the blue (standing) area. Blue is just behind the sitting area. I should be able to see and take photos.

My shoes are off, and I have time to reflect on some of the stories I heard today, from others who were there for this important event. So while I've written this travelogue, I've been digesting what made people come and what made people work. That's for my next post.

I'll put up photos of the line as soon as I figure out how.