From Darling Harbour To Washington Harbor

Whew! For those of you who have been following the snow storm that hit the East Coast - we made it out of town! We left Washington at noon on Saturday - just as the flurries started getting bigger. Here's a full re-cap...

When we last posted, I was running late for the ball (go figure). Actually, I did very well by making up some time and we left the hotel only 10 minutes later than originally scheduled. After catching a cab, we were taken to the brand new DC Convention Center which was hosting 5 of the 9 balls that evening! Four years ago, our ball was at the DC Armory Building and this was much different. First, more security clearance to get through, second, the room was MASSIVE!!! The sign on the wall said Maximum Occupancy 7000! That's a big room! But it was just as glamorous as you would expect. Two large stages on opposite sides of the room - one with a live band and one where the dignitaries would stand.

We first arrived and tried to look for some Colorado folk - and didn't see a soul we recognized! So we went to have our photograph taken - and just as we were standing there smiling for the camera, the band began to play the opening bars of 'Hail to the Chief'. We looked at each other like "It's only 8:00 - surely he's not coming now". So we bolted from the opposite side of the room to where the stage was to see Dick Cheney and Lynn walking on stage. Obviously, we weren't very close to the action - but there were huge screens overhead showing the whole thing. The Vice President thanked us for coming and for our support and then told us, if we didn't mind, he'd like to dance with his date :)

Based on that appearance, we weren't about to miss the President! So we skipped the hor d'ouvers (which meant we only ate cheese and crackers all night), grabbed a beverage and made our way as close to the stage as possible. About an hour later, they introduced the governors and first ladies from the states attending our ball and then the President. What a moment! Again, we were less than 50 feet away from them - and that dress on Laura was gorgeous! I'm honestly not sure I can remember anything he said - we were working on getting a good picture and just mesmerized by the whole moment. They danced, the governors and their wives danced, and then they were gone.

That's when we finally started to run into people. Jimmy spotted US Senator Wayne Allard who laughed and said he couldn't find anyone either! He said "I thought this was supposed to be the Colorado Ball!" - he asked Jimmy what he was doing now since he was off the air and they talked a bit about the ministry in Boulder. We were re-acquainted with his wife, daughter and son-in law and then parted ways. Then, we saw Congressman Bob Beauprez who was responsible for getting us our swearing-in tickets. We thanked Bob and Claudia and met their children. Bob let us know he has just been named to the House Ways and Means Committee, which is a huge honor for a sophomore representative. At the very end of the evening Jimmy ran into Governor Bill Owens, who also asked what Jimmy was doing now. We spoke a bit about Colorado politics and how things look with the Democrats taking over the state house and senate.

And that was it! Quite a lovely evening and another late night! Exhilarated, we went to bed.

We didn't get out of bed until 1:00 the next afternoon - and didn't leave the hotel until 3:00 Friday afternoon. When we did venture outside, we took about a 20 minute walk to Georgetown and had a "late lunch" at a great barbeque restaurant. After walking around all of the fancy little outdoor shops and Washington Harbor, we saw the Phantom of the Opera at a movie theater. After a late trip to Starbucks, we caught a cab back to the hotel.

We woke up very early Saturday morning, and got to the airport in time to fly standby on an earlier flight (we wanted to get out of town before the storm hit), but ended up leaving on our original flight. We arrived back in Denver yesterday afternoon around 5:00pm.

It's been quite a whirlwind tour - and Jimmy's not done yet! He leaves for Lubbock, TX tomorrow morning for a preliminary regional meeting for the upcoming Nation Shakers event which will be held there this March. I'll be at home doing laundry.

I'm a lucky girl and I know it. I'd say our schedules slow down a bit from here on out, but I'd hate to jinx myself. We'll just have to roll with it and see where the rest of 2005 takes us.

I may update this site from time to time - so don't forget to check it out. It's become quite cathartic for me - and even if nobody reads it, I enjoy it. (haha) Also - Jimmy is still blogging at www.jimmylakey.blogspot.com so don't forget to check out his thoughts. They're usually much deeper than mine. :)

Hope you've enjoyed - we miss you all!

Carrie