I was sitting next to a cute girl on the bus to Baltimore, and I could tell instantly that she was French (without her even saying anything). Having my laptop already out, I pulled a classy introduction by writing her a message in French and showing her the screen. Claire seemed happy to be able to make some conversation on the otherwise boring drive, but she very quickly exhausted my knowledge of French. The bus ride was pretty short, and after being dropped off in downtown Baltimore, I made my way to Johns Hopkins University, to meet up with a friend from home: Karen Hong.
Karen ditched her sorority meeting to come meet up with me, and we went out across town to get some food at a little restaurant called Golden West that had In-N-Out Animal Style burgers for $11 (which I did NOT test for authenticity). The next day I sat in on some sexy bio-chemistry lectures and heard a lot of funky words. I got the answer to one professor’s question right without really knowing what he was talking about, but I wasn’t brave enough to volunteer it. We tossed a frisbee around, figured out my route to D.C. the next morning, and got some pizza downtown with her boyfriend. The pizza was crazy-delicious, AND came in a square shape. Who could ask for more?
The next morning I got to D.C. by train and took a short walk to the capitol. The Mall is surprisingly cool, and I really liked the center of the city in general (the little that I managed to see). I went inside the library of congress and checked out the supreme court before heading off to find my local representative. From the 6th district of California. I got into the building with all of the congressional offices with just a quick walk through a metal detector, and made my way through a couple underground tunnels before finding Lynn Woolsey’s office.
I talked to the girls working in her office, and they gave me some tickets to the Senate and House galleries. I went into the House chamber first, but nobody was in the room, let alone doing anything. I then made my way to the Senate chamber and saw a few “celebrities.” There was a senator from one of the Carolina’s rambling towards an empty chamber about the questionable history of one of Obama’s nominations, but the room was largely empty. Soon after, loads of senators started piling into the room to cast their votes on Obama’s nomination. In strolled John McCain, John Kerry (who is ridiculously tall), Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, and even Al Franken! There were at least 30 others that I couldn’t name, but it was pretty cool to see some ‘action’ while I was there.
I also cruised by The White House, The Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial, but had to rush back to downtown to literally run and catch a bus towards Dulles Airport. I ended up needing a transfer bus but had no cash, and the driver was kind enough to let me on anyways, helping me avoid what could have been another disaster. That was that and my east coast experience was over. Next stop: SF.