Saturday, May 12:
1:30 pm-Departed from Des Moines Airport
8:30 pm-Arrived in D.C.
9 pm-Arrived at hotel, Metro Center Marriott
9:30 pm-Ate ate Capital Hill Brewery
By this time of the evening we were feeling far older than our looks and ready to hit the hay. When at home, we fall in bed shortly behind Ruby, so 9:30 to be eating supper seemed like our college years all over again!
Sunday, May 13, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY
A.M.-Had a chance to do some siteseeing before our first meeting of the day. The Washington Monument and White House were only blocks away so we walked out to them!
11 am-"Brunch" with my bro Ryan, his g/f Amanda and her sister Alexis at Old Ebbits. Oddly enough we were all in D.C. the same weekend and enjoyed a meal together! Odd too how folks in D.C. call anything related to lunch, brunch. Not so sure my Reuben sandwich would qualify here in Des Moines as brunch food :)
 |
| Pretty positive we caught a glimpse of Barak zipping behind an open window in his skivvies...hahaha! |
3:30 pm-Welcome mtg. of conference followed by supper
9ish pm-Candlelight Vigil. It was a great event at the Freedom Plaza. Guest speakers gave their stories and it was a sight to see with everyone raising their candles high for loved ones affected now and those who have already lost their battle with ALS.
 |
| Waiting for the Candlelight Vigil to start. |
 |
| Mike was tickled by the VOSS water included. I on the other hand had no idea what was the big deal until I read the bottle...Norwegian Artisan Water |
Monday, May 14
Monday was an information packed day. As advocates for ALS, one of the last thing we would want to do is show up on Capitol Hill and not understand what we were asking for. In order to keep that from happening, we were informed on policies, protocol, new updates, current research, and getting a feel for what our 15-20 minute meetings would look like once at the capitol. By Monday night, Mike and I were wiped so we ate supper at the hotel and made it to bed by 9 p.m. Zzz...
Tuesday, May 15, this day was the reason we went out to D.C.
8:30 am-Mike and I met up with our group from Iowa and made our way over to the Capitol Hill. Once at the hill we hustled our way down to our first meeting of the day. Over the course of the day we were able to meet with the following ppl. or their staff members.
Jacob Parker for Tom Latham
Tom Buttry and Joseph Jones for Senator Tom Harkin
Mike Goodman for Bruce Braley
Katy Siddall for Leonard L. Boswell
Advisee for Steve King
Tyler Wilson for Dave Loebsack
Senator Chuck Grassley (via Phone) and his advisee
Each one of these meetings gave us as delegates the chance to tell them our personal story and explain why continued support and funding is necessary despite a declining economy and budget cuts left and right. Telling complete strangers was hard at first, but by the 2nd to 3rd meetings Mike and I were pretty well versed on what we wanted heard. It was empowering to have a say and talk with them about what is important to us. Mike and I walked away from the day exhausted emotionally, but our hearts were filled to know that we had done our part and perhaps made a difference for ourselves and others down the road.
 | ||||
| Quick break in the day for a photo op before heading to the Senate side of Capitol Hill. |
Our last day in D.C. was spent enjoying the beautiful city, taking in some shopping and catching a few of the amazing monuments. We made the loop and caught glimpes of:
Vietnam Monument
Lincoln Memorial
Korean War Monument
WWII Monument
 |
| Who looks better in their chair, Mike or Abe? |
The ALS Advocacy trip was an amazing experience and we are thrilled to have been a part of it! Thanks to all who made it happen for us and may delegates from all over the U.S. continuing their journey to D.C. and fight for cure!
