Friday, July 5, 2013
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This week Congress was out of session so work in the office was a little slow. Since there were no hearings to attend, most of the staff members were either finishing up on some work before the 4th or were already on vacation. In the beginning of the week all the interns went to a “Hood and Emergency Training” where we learned all the safety procedures for different scenarios that the Capitol may face.
For the 4th, some of the other SPS interns and I went to a BBQ in Northern Virgina. Our hostess was very generous and had a beautiful house with a swimming pool and pool table. The food was fantastic and the company was great. We spent the majority of the day there and then returned back to DC for the fireworks. Most people I had talked to about watching the fireworks from the Mall had said that it would be super crowded, however, when we arrived at the Washington Monument, there was plenty of room for us to sit down. We ended up getting a spectacular view of the fireworks being shot over the Reflection Pool. It was a great way to celebrate the 4th and was very patriotic.
This was only the beginning of our 4-day weekend. The next couple of days were spent doing various activities around town. On Friday, I ended up at the National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum. Originally, I had gone in to get out of the hot and humid weather, however, I found myself wandering around the museum for 3 hours. The collection was endless but fascinating to look at. Also, Fiona and I went to the Folklife Festival on Sunday. I had gone to the festival the previous weekend but it was nice to see some new tents and displays that I hadn’t seen before.
Katherine Stankus