Since No One Else Has...

Ok, since no one else is posting, and Rochelle and Hannah did one, I am going to get this ball rolling. Day One we all met at Orlando Airport and without any snafu managed to get all of us rednecks through security. I don't think they had the new x-ray technology at the airport and no one got singled out for a full cavity search, so we made it to DC on time. Thanks to Elizabeth Pines for setting us up with shuttle buses to get us all over to the hotel. Ours was driven by an idiot who frequently felt it necessary to drive all over the Capital with no apparent regard for what the gps said to do. But in the end we made it. We had a personal tourguide in Congressman Putnam and saw parts of the Capitol that probably few would see. What a great tourguide he was with just so much history to share. The next day we continued our dive into our nation's inner workings with a plethora of fantastic speakers at various sites (check out the agenda for that day). It was a busy day for sure, and started us off running hard. Wednesday we had more programming and the opportunity to meet with our loca congressional staff on the hill. Everyone came away with something and many made new connections to help us along the way with our issues. On Thursday we got to hear about our upcoming China trip with the travel agent and everyone got to ask their burning questions about what that trip would entail. In the evening we went to the famous Kennedy Center and had the chance to walk around and look at this famous place, followed by a show called Shear Madness. Some liked it, some did not. It was an experience nonetheless. We left Friday morning early and flew out on a puddle jumper to Des Moines where we met up with our tour bus and the best driver there ever was. This guy is great. At least now we can minimize all those damn expensive taxi rides all over the place. Once in Iowa we went over to the Iowa Pork Producers for dinner where they grilled up some great pork chops for us and gave us a view of life in the hog industry here. Saturday we met agan and heard about the corn industy and followed the corn and soybeans from the field to the grain silos/elevators for distribution. What an operation. So much is done with so few people thanks to automation. Saturday was on our own and the group watched the Gators kick some butt at the hotel, then we all went off to celebrate. Some more than others. Some of us definitely showed the midwest how much Florida likes to celebrate a victory! Sunday morning came quick, but thanks to Hannah's planning we had time to gather our heads before heading off to the Preserve where we got to see an effort at restoring the Prairie. That brings us to where we are now...