A trip to the capital

Just got back from a three day trip to Washington DC. I did not get much training in, unless you count all the walking I did from one side of the Capitol to the other. I spent all day Monday flying to DC and arrived just in time to check into the hotel and go to dinner. Then I ate and drank too much.

On Tuesday I had to wake up very early for the briefing, but fortunately I only needed to make two stops on the Capitol so I did spend some time in the hotel gym. I rode for 60 minutes on a stationary bike, burning -according to that brand of bike- 600 calories. The number sounds more reasonable. I rode at a steady pace while watching TV. Afterwards I ran for half an hour on the treadmill, supposedly adding another 400 calories. In the evening I blew it all away with another dinner and plenty of drinks.

Wednesday was not so good. Someone apparently noticed that my schedule was too light and I got straddled with a continuous string of meetings. Not only that but I had to run from the house side to the senate side between every meeting. That adds a lot of walking right there. If you are unfamiliar with the workings of government this may sound like gibberish, but anyone who has spent time lobbying for legislation will know what I mean.

Rayburn to Hart, to Cannon, to Hart, to Cannon, to Dirksen, to Hart and Cannon again. Just look a map of congressional office buildings and you will see. I started at 9 and finished just 3. Just in time to take a taxi, hop on the plane and fly back. It was 10:30 when I got back last night. It was cold and rainy in San Francisco. For some odd reason, the whole time I was in DC, the weather was mid-60s and sunny.