Last few weeks...

Wow...its really hit me that I only have about a week and half left in DC...its amazing how fast the time has gone by and I have mixed feelings about departing this crazy city. I think I'm going to miss work A LOT...I really have enjoyed my internship so much-the people I work with are really awesome and have taught me so much not only about law and politics, but about what my potential is as a future worker of America (haha)...its strange to think when I leave everything will still go on, but I won't be a part of it...

This weekend is going to be fun though...Friday we have our "final exam" in our seminar class, and then our advisor is taking us out to lunch. I think after lunch I'm going to hit up the Library of Congress to see that...and then we are going to a Nationals game against the Pirates...should be a good time!

Saturday is law school day...my roommate Sarah and I are going to go visit GWU and American to imagine ourselves there one day...I also have to do some "souvenir" shopping so if you have any requests, get them in now.

Okay, bedtime for me...but I'll see some you all in a week and a half!!! Crazy!

Philly...

Hello all! Well, yesterday was an awesome day...long, but really fun. Our director took us all to Philadelphia for the afternoon to see the sites and eat some good food. It was quite the adventure to get down there...we left at 11:30 only realizing as we were packing up that we had 12-person van for 15 people...needless to say that was going to be a problem, so we had to call Enterprise (45 minutes away PS) to see if we could switch cars on our way out. Thankfully they had a van we could take and with two boys crammed in the trunk we made our way there. After picking up the new car, we thought we were good to go until we ran into loads of traffic. It ended up taking us about 3 and half hours to get there...but it wasn't too bad!

When we arrived around 3:15, we were told that we could walk over to Independence Hall and go through the building without tickets (we lost ours when we were an hour late), but first we should go by and see the Liberty Bell. Now, I think I had some ideas of grandeur about how the Liberty Bell looked...but I was surprised to find that it is now inside this small glass/concrete structure kind of hanging there by itself in the middle of the room...but it was still really really neat to see. It was cool seeing something you've seen in pictures all your life...and I got good pictures myself!



After the Liberty Bell we walked over and got in line to see Independence Hall...let me just say, I think seeing the inside of this building topped all! We walked in and went to the courtroom where the park ranger gave us the history of the building and the room. Then he told us to turn around and walk into the next room where the Decoration of Independence and the Constitution were signed...and AHH it was AMAZING! They even had the original chair-the "sun chair" as I call it-there...it put me into complete awe...being in the room where so much history happened was incredible. It makes me appreciate everything I'm doing back in DC...

When we got out of Independence Hall, we had just enough time to catch the last tour of the old House and Senate next door. We actually got to sit in the House chairs which was pretty sweet...we also got to go upstairs and see old Senate chambers and committee rooms...its strange to think how much its evolved since then...everything is so different now then it was back then.

By the time we were done with seeing the sites we were pretty hungry, so we walked down a few blocks to a very famous Philadelphia steakhouse called "Jim's"...and let me tell you, it was some of the best food I've had in a long time! I've never had a cheese steak sandwich before, so it was a fun experience! After dinner, we climbed back into the van for a much shorter ride home...

It was a long day but it was really really really fun to see everything! I've never been to Philadelphia before and to see the beginnings of our government really helped put DC into more perspective for me. I feel like this trip made everything come full circle...especially since its almost over I feel like I can look back at what I've done and feel really happy about everything I've accomplished. Anyway, back to homework, but I will keep you all posted on my last two weeks in DC! Miss you all!

Mid-week update!

So, I suppose its been "awhile" since I've posted (mom...) and not much has been going on, but I guess I'll post. Work has been really good-I can't believe I only have two weeks left. Its amazing how quickly everything has gone by...but soon I'll be back home in the STL ready for summer!

This weekend will be a wonderful trip to Philly to see Independence Hall (um, can't wait!) and dinner...I'll also be doing a lot of homework (again) since everything is due within the next few weeks...this Monday I have to give a presentation on DC voting rights, since DC currently does not have a senator or house member who can vote for citizens of the capital of the US...weird huh?

What else...not much to say really...just working and having a good time! I'll post again on Friday or Saturday with an update on my trip! Miss you all!

My future home...after I live in the White House...

Today was great! First off, the weather was really nice-82 degrees and sunny, so an excellent day to be outside. Our class took a trip to Mount Vernon, which i loved! It took us awhile to make it there; we had to take the metro to the end of the yellow line, then jump on a bus for about a half hour.

Once we made it there, we walked up around the property towards the mansion. The home is gorgeous, and the land is even prettier! I'd always heard that Mount Vernon had amazing grounds and I would have to say that I agree 100%! We waited in line for a bit to go tour the main house...but we had fun taking pictures and just seeing everything that was around the area. Once we got inside, I was blown away by how beautiful everything was. The main dining room was my favorite I think-I loved how it was decorated and how unique everything was...I would love to have my house look like that some day.

We saw the rest of the house-we even got to see the actual bed that Washington died in (a little morbid I suppose but still really cool)...then we decided to walk down to the old tomb and the new tomb. The old tomb (also called the 'family vault') was this old brick shed-like structure that Washington was originally buried in. It had a great view of the Potomac River, but was kind of falling apart so I see why he wanted to be moved. A short walk away from the old tomb is the new tomb where he and Martha are actually buried. It was a very humbling experience to see it and something I'm glad I got to do before I left DC.

The next part of our journey involved a trek down to the wharf which made me super excited for the summer and big bodies of water. We walked through the forests and farmland located on the grounds too, and by the time we had completed those activities we were pretty worn out. So we hopped on the bus for the long journey back.

This weekend will be like last weekend-I have a lot of homework to do between now and Friday, so it'll be taking it easy and enjoying the pretty weather! Next weekend we are going to Philadelphia to see Independence Hall-I am SO excited for that so it'll be a good blog post for sure. Miss you all...only 3 weeks left...

Senator Pitts is home!

So this weekend will be pretty chill, since my past 3 weeks have been insane (but so fun!)...but today was pretty sweet. Fridays are class days...today we had a mandatory speaker, so we traveled into the downtown area to meet with Barry Schumacher who is VP of APCO Worldwide, and does lobbying and government relations for some pretty big clients. He talked to us about the lobbying profession and how he got to where he is now. It was incredibly fascinating, and put some bugs into my ears about a possible future in that profession. I'd always thought about it, but I'd never really knew anyone who actually made a living from lobbying. But after hearing what he gets to do, and how he succeeded in it, makes me wonder if its something I'd love to do too!!

Well, after our speaker, one of my housemates who works for Senator Harkin took us on a tour of the Capitol! SO cool...we got to see some of the Senate buildings-which some of my housemates take for granted being in all the time...but I was extraordinarily excited to see it all! Oh, ps, they have a gift shop in the basement of the Senate buildings too...so I had to buy something!!! Then we went and saw everything the Capitol has to offer. We went to the crypt, the dome, Statuary Hall, saw all the important hallways and interesting architecture...my favorite place besides the dome was probably the Old Supreme Court Chambers...to see where John Marshall sat and heard cases was really cool! Maybe my high school dream of becoming a senator will actually come true?? Who knows?!

I can now say I've "seen" all 3 branches of government! Luke gave us all passes to get into the Senate chambers sometime when its in session, which I will definitely use. After experiencing all I have so far, its overwhelming how much I want to do with my life. I felt so "at home" at the Capitol and in those Senate offices. It was incredible to feel all the power that existed in those buildings just walking around the hallways! Who knows what I'll end up doing when I graduate, but I know that I'd be happy working for the government in that type of setting. I also love the RNC...which is a completely different experience with government. Its all given me a lot to think about, thats for sure.

Cait Comes to Visit!

This weekend, one of my best friends in the whole wide world came to visit me!!! Caitlin flew in Thursday night to a typical 510 C tornado of madness, which I tried to apologize profusely for...but is what has been and will be my life until May 11th! We called it a night b/c we were both pretty tired.

Friday we went to go see Arlington National Cemetery. It was pretty cold and kind of rainy when we started up, but it cleared up a lot when we got to the cemetery. Caitlin's grandmother is buried there, so we went and visited her, then saw some more sites and memorials that were there. We took a tour of Lee's home, which I didn't do the last time I was there, and I really enjoyed seeing it. The history there is fascinating...the original structure has survived so much, and although they are doing a renovation on it now, they are trying to keep a lot of the original material in tact. After that, we went back and chilled for the night...caught up on some movies...I recommend Enchanted if you haven't seen it-it was adorable!

Saturday was so fun! We decided to walk around the monuments and see everything, which was a good decision b/c it ended up being a BEAUTIFUL day (70 degrees, sunny...perfect!) My housemates and I had to introduce Caitlin to Tortilla Coast, a 510 C favorite. We had some good Mexican food, then went off on our journey! First stop was at the Capitol, then made the rounds around the Mall, saw the cherry blossoms and thought it was hilarious how many people were there-we couldn't even walk around the Tidal Basin. But it was so worth it to see everything! That night we saw Leatherheads, another good movie! It has Jim from the Office in it, so of course it was amazing...George Clooney wasn't bad either ;-)

Sunday we went to the most amazing church-the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception-on Catholic U's campus. We went to the noon mass which on the website was described as the "solemn mass with choir"...it was one of the prettiest masses I have been to in a long time! I really enjoyed going there...I think I'll have to go again before I leave! After mass, Cait and I went to Georgetown and ate lunch at Clyde's, which was a really good restaurant-very busy though. We shopped around for a bit, then headed back for some chill time and ended up watching LOTR until like, midnight.

I had a GREAT time this weekend-I miss Cait a lot so it was fun to see her, especially up here in DC! It was a good reminder of how much fun the summer is going to be...I hope I get to see her again in July for the big 2-1! But yeah, it was a fun weekend!!!

Cherry Blossoms!

DC is GORGEOUS right now! Yesterday after work, a group of my housemates and I decided to go check out the trees that are blooming along the Tidal Basin. AMAZING...everything was so pretty! The actual festival starts this weekend, so that'll be fun to go to as well. I love DC in the spring...its so pretty with all the different flowers and trees...its great. Enjoy the pictures! Caitlin gets here tonight so I'll have a fun weekend to talk about on Monday!