by Kara Altshuler 

January 19, 2009

Greetings from Washington, DC!  And happy Martin Luther King Day!

The city is abuzz and everyone here is happy, smiling, and so looking forward to tomorrow.  I wish I could post a picture or two but I forgot my USB cord....I'll post when I return later this week.  It's not all that cold here, but then, I used to live here, so I'm used to highs in the upper 30's. 

I spent about an hour this morning in a light snowfall waiting outside the Rayburn Office Building to get through security.  The couple in front of me were from Michigan, the one in back from El Paso, TX.  We had such a good time just laughing about how different all the states are, which ones can handle snow, which ones can't, etc. 

The staff in Congressman Gallegly's office were so pleasant and helpful.  Mr. Gallegly was there, and he asked me if everything was going well, and talked about what a historic inauguration it would be tomorrow.  He was very gracious, and I can't say enough about the professionalism of his aides. 

The Rayburn building is named after Sam Rayburn, a Congressman from Texas who served in the House for 45 years, 17 of which he was the Speaker.  The building is beautiful, with marble walls and floor, stars on the ceiling and gorgeous chandeliers.  It was thrilling to see people from all over the country venturing to their Congressman's office to get their tickets. 

I have to say, I've met an awful lot of people here from California, which I think is great.

I'll post tomorrow after the Inauguration ceremony and the parade.