Another early morning (aren’t I on vacation?) but I got ready and headed over to Sen. Hutchison‘s office in the Russell office building for a morning meeting. This one didn’t go as well as the one at Senator Cornyn’s office did because it was crowded and I couldn’t get time with the legislative assistant who handles health related issues. After meeting the Senator we got a chance to head on over to the Capitol for a staff guided tour. It was a lot of fun because we got to see some of the basement and ride the Senate subway over. I got to see parts of the Capitol building that I wouldn’t have seen, including the rotunda and some office and meeting space. I also ate lunch in one of the Senate cafeterias in the basement area. The food was good and it was definitely the cheapest lunch so far…

From there I went back to the hotel and got changed and hopped a cab over to the National Arboretum. They had a bonsai exhibit with many plants over 100 years old. The center piece of that exhibit was one that is almost 400 years old. Very impressive stuff. After that I nosed around the herb garden and talked to one of the staff about rosezilla. He gave me good pointers on places to start trying to figure out what kind of rose it is. Finally I went up to check out the Azaleas and got some good pictures of some of them, even though it was a little past their peak.

After a short cab ride home I hoofed it over to Cafe Berlin for some schnitzel and beer. The food and service were excellent. I would strongly suggest checking it out if you’re in DC some time.