Travels and Adventures in DC and East Coast - 2005 and 2006

While we lived in DC, we were fortunate enough to be able to travel and do some amazing sight seeing. Below are some pictures and highlights of our adventures for the years we lived in DC.

Washington State Society Annual Potlatch Dinner in DC (May 2005)

Some of our friends had an "80's Prom" themed party, so we dressed up for the occassion. In case you cannot tell, I am wearing a purple polka dot and black velvet dress and Clark is matching with a black button-up shirt, purple tie, and black denim pants with sequins - WOWZA, we need to keep these outfits for Halloween maybe!
(May 2005)

We definitely would be Prom King and Queen in 1987...except for the fact that Clark was 9 years old and Andrea was 7 years old!

Trip to Philadelphia, PA - in front of Independence Hall, where the Founding Fathers met to draft the U.S. Constitution (October 2005)

Wine Tasting at Jefferson Vineyards just outside Monticello, VA (October 2005)

At Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson (October 2005)

For Clark's birthday, I surprised him by arranging to have some of his best friends and brother come out to DC! I told him I was taking him on a weekend getaway skiing and despite the fact that neither one of us skiis, he bought it! Clark is SO gullible! So, you can imagine his surprise when he walked into our local restaurant after work to find his brother and three of his college buddies! We went to Atlantic City, NJ for the weekend hoping to win a fortune at the casinos...we didn't win anything, but some of this other friends were more fortunate and did win! Here is a picture of Clark with Mike Short, Graham Mather, Bryant Bullamore, and Dustin Armstrong the night we surprised him!
(December 2005)

In front of the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City (December 2005)

We flew to San Diego to surprise Clark's brother, Graham, for his brithday. Here is us on the beach in sunny San Diego, CA
(April 2006)

At the tulip fields in Carlsbad, CA (April 2006)

At Coronado, CA (April 2006)

Washington State Society Annual Potlatch Dinner in DC (May 2006)

Virginia Beach, VA (Memorial Day Weekend, May 2006)

East Coast Beaches and the Atlantic Ocean are cool, but I still think the West Coast RULES and the Pacific Ocean is better :)

Rockefeller Plaza in NYC (July 2006)

Times Square in NYC (July 2006)

For my brother's birthday, my parents bought him a plane ticket to come visit me in DC for a week. It was Bryan's first trip to the East Coast, so we just had to take the 4 hour bus ride up to NYC so he could see the sights! My birthday present to him was tickets to the Subway Series Baseball Game - New York Yankees vs. New York Mets @ Yankee Stadium (July 2006)

Central Park in NYC (July 2006)

At the top of the Empire State Building (July 2006)

Living on the East Coast, flights across the country to go home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays gets spendy, so decided to have Thanksgiving in NYC in 2006...it was a great trip. We saw the Gonzaga Bulldogs (from Spokane, WA) play in Madison Square Garden and beat the #1 ranked North Carolina Tarheels, saw the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in person, and went shopping in NYC on "black Friday"

Here we are at Times Square where we managed to squeeze our way into the front row right behind the guard rail for the parade. It helped that it absolutely POURED down rain, so the crowds weren't as heavy, but hey, we are from the Pacific NW and rain doesn't scare us at all!(November 2006)

Home for the holidays. Here's Nana with her grandchildren - Sydney, Andrea, Bryan, Jordan
(December 2006)

Mom and Andi

Clark and Andi

Clark had been asking (okay BEGGING) for an Xbox 360 for months and I kept saying NO, but it was really a ploy so I could buy it for him for Christmas! I bought him some sweaters and shirts for Christmas and Clark thought he had opened up all of his presents...you could tell he was a little disappointed, but he was such a trooper trying to keep a positive smile and never once complained. The last gift left to open was for him and here he is opening it up!
(December 2006)

Clark in disbelief that "Santa" got his letter and wish list!

Look at Clark and how happy and proud he is of his new toy! Just like a kid at 7 years old! I guess some you never really grow out of some things :)

Clark playing his first game on his Xbox 360...he is in heaven!

While in Portland, we met up with some friends from DC who were in town. Here is Clark with his work colleague and friend, Travis Lumpkin.

Travis decided to sing a little kareoke

Travis is rocking it

New Year's Eve at a fancy-smancy party in DC (December 2006)

Life in the Nation's Capital - Washington, DC

Andrea's Journey to DC

There is a popular saying that "life is what happens when you are busy making other plans" and I guess that is a true depiction of my life. Growing up, I was inspired by reading "To Kill a Mockingbird", and dreamed of going to law school and becoming an attorney. The summers after high school and in college I worked at the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office and a private law firm in downtown Portland. Though I was mostly a file clerk and had administrative duties, I was fascinated by the work. I went to college thinking I would head to law school. Yet, my current career path didn't quite work out that way.

In college, I was lucky enough to intern for Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA) in his District Office in Tacoma, WA during a semester in my junior year while I was a student at the University of Puget Sound and also in his Congressional Office in Washington, DC during the summer between my junior and senior years. As it turns out, these internships led to a job after college graduation in May 2002 on the Congressman's re-election campaign! I figured law school would always be there and thought taking a campaign job was a unique experience that I should try out. Prior to interning for Congressman Smith, it never occurred to me that I could have a career in public policy. But, I figured it was only a 6 month gig and it was worth a shot, so I accepted the job offer. I had never worked on a political campaign before and it was such a great experience. I did everything from canvassing (doorbelling), attending local community events, phone banking, sign waving, putting in yard signs, and other traditional GOTV (get-out-the-vote) activities. While I enjoyed the field campaign experience, I was drawn to the fundraising and event planning part of the job. After the successful re-election in November 2002, I was offered a full-time position on the Congressman's campaign as Finance Director. In this role I was responsible for all the fundraising for the Congressman, filing the financial disclosure reports required by the FEC, and managing the budget. It was a great promotional opportunity and I worked in this position for two years.

After the election in November 2004, I moved to DC to work for the Congressman as a Legislative Assistant. In this role, I was given a set of issues (healthcare and labor) and was responsible for tracking legislation on those issues and meeting with constituents in these industries - in essence, I was the Congressman's policy advisor on these issues. When a healthcare bill would be considered on the floor, it was my job to understand what the legislation did, how it would impact our constituents, and provide a vote recommendation. Again, a fantastic opportunity. So this job as a public servant, working for a federal elected official is how I made it to DC. I sold all my furniture and my car, stored many of my belongings at my parent's house in Portland, and with only shipping a few boxes and taking a few suitcases, I moved to DC in December 2004. Though I had a job, it was scary to me to move to a new city without having a place to live or knowing many people. I ended up finding a rowhouse to rent with a friend and former campaign colleague, Andrew Dohrmann. He ended up getting a job on the Hill with Congressman Brian Baird (D-WA). Our house was on Capitol Hill and it was about a 15-20 minute walk to work. DC is a great place where 20 somethings really run the place. Working on Capitol Hill is like being in college again...all the Congressional staffers are in the 20s and 30s. Going out for happy hour after work is like a huge fraternity party...however, there are SO many more females in DC...I think the ratio is 4 women to every man! The plus side of moving to DC without having any or few friends is that you quickly make friends. I found so many people with NW connections and it was a very easy transition.

As you can see, one internship led to a job, which led to a promotion, which led to another job...and all of a sudden, I am in DC and no where close to attending law school. Life is funny that way.

Enjoying my first snow in DC with the U.S. Capitol in the background

Clark's Journey to DC

After Clark graduated from Washington State University in 2000, he went to work in Olympia for State Representative Jeff Gombosky. Then after Maria Cantwell was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000, he was hired as the Central Washington Director. He moved to Yakima and was responsible for all the outreach for the Senator in Central Washington. After serving in that role for a few years, he moved back to his hometown of Spokane to become the Senator's Eastern Washington Director. In December 2004, Clark was presented an opportunity to move to DC to become a legislative assistant for Senator Cantwell. He accepted the position and moved to DC in January 2005. As a LA for Senator Cantwell, Clark's portfolio included energy and defense/military issues.

Our apartment building in DC - 20th & R Streets NW, a great location in Dupont Circle, just off Connecticut Ave NW, a 5-minute walk from the Metro

Our Home in DC - small, but cozy studio apartment