My nation’s capital is a center of wealth and power in this country. There are a lot of excellent people and brain power in the 6.6 million metropolitan area. It was designed to impress and it makes me think what Rome would have looked like at the height of its empire. I would like to thank our Michigan Representative from District #1, Jack Bergman, for giving my son the opportunity to be an intern this summer. DC is also one of the few cities in the USA that has a train system that the majority of people use. Because parking is limited and expensive and there is a lot of traffic, upper middle-class people take buses and trains into the district for work. Most people live in Maryland or Virginia because of limited homes and the cost of real estate.
While we were there everyone was talking about the NATO Summit that was taking place in the city. It is the 75th anniversary of NATO and with the ongoing war in Ukraine, it was an important meeting. Security was tight with many blocked streets and a security presence, including military helicopters. As you can see in the photos below, they were still screening people and had lots of barriers up around where delegates were meeting.
We stayed at the Grand Hyatt located in downtown Washington DC. We were very close to the White House and Capitol so Owen stayed with us in the hotel room. It was so nice to have all five of us sleeping in the same room again, like old times! I felt so proud to meet Owen in the lobby of the magnificent hotel and see him with his tie and briefcase. I am happy that our family got to experience Washington DC and we hope to go back again sometime.
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