By Linda Alt

John Alt, front, left, and other members of the Idaho Farm Bureau Delegation were honored to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns while in Washington, D.C. earlier this month.

The first night in DC was interesting and short! We arrived at Reagan National Airport at 10 p.m. ET and took a taxi to the Holiday Inn Capitol.

The Gonzaga men’s basketball team was scheduled to play a WCC tournament game on TV at 11 p.m. ET (8 p.m. PT) so we decided to stay up and watch. The game was over at 2 a.m. or so.

It seemed like we just got to sleep and I heard a buzzing noise. Couldn’t figure out at first what it was.  It was 4 a.m. The buzzing continued so I got up and dressed, thinking it was probably a fire alarm. Then I heard sirens so looked out our seventh-floor window to see several fire trucks and police cars in front and people running out of the hotel.

Finally got John awake and he went out into the hall to find out what was going on. Thank goodness it was a false alarm.

A group of college students had been causing trouble for a day or two, and some of them decided to pull the alarm. Officials knew right away who was to blame and later had them leave the hotel.

We were to have a breakfast meeting at 8 a.m., so it was a very short night. Of course, hotel officials apologized for the inconvenience of the situation.

Linda and John Alt at Mt. Vernon.

It was a cold and windy day, but we saw a lot of history. After a short video about George Washington, we walked around the “farm” for about three hours. We toured the “mansion” and saw most of the buildings.

We saw several groups of school kids there and ran into the same groups (read their t-shirts) the next day at Arlington National Cemetery and later in the week at the Capitol.

What an unforgettable history lesson for them.

The next day at Arlington was awesome and emotional. John and three other members were privileged to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. The changing of the guard was all we had heard it would be.

We saw, of course, rows and rows and rows of white headstones and the Eternal Flame at the Kennedy gravesite. The tour guide gave us another history lesson as our bus drove around the cemetery.

At Arlington House we toured part of Robert E. Lee’s home. As with Mt. Vernon, reconstruction following the earthquake a couple of years ago is still in progress.

Interesting information regarding Robert E. Lee is that he was married to George Washington’s step-granddaughter, who had inherited the house and land. When Lee gave up his military position and moved his family to Richmond, the house and land eventually became property of the government.

We met with representatives of the American Farm Bureau Federation and discussed relevant issues and then toured the AFBF offices.

Later we took the Metro to Georgetown and walked many blocks to the Old Glory BBQ. The food was fantastic and we got better acquainted with members of our tour group!

Tuesday found us on our first visit to Capitol Hill. Senator Mike Crapo holds a “Coffee with Constituents” every Tuesday morning, so we joined him and other visitors for a brief visit.

We then toured the Capitol visitors’ center and had lunch at the Library of Congress dining room. We were able to sit in both the Senate and House galleries and observe presentations.

Later in the day we again met with Senator Crapo and discussed subjects of concern to Idaho farmers and ranchers. Items included the proposed child labor law regarding children under the age of 16 working on farms (a Department of Labor proposal), the Clean Water Act, sage grouse and the proposed critical habitat for caribou.

We were able to give him letters from us as Boundary County residents, the Boundary County Commissioners and the mayor of the City of Bonners Ferry regarding the caribou situation as it affects us. 

Since we were on our own Wednesday morning, John and I decided just to walk as far as we could, so we went to the Capitol and, after stopping at the Reflecting Pool, continued up Pennsylvania Avenue. We passed the FBI building and other recognizable buildings, then found a little French pastry shop where we had coffee and pastry and watched the people go by. We continued up the street past the Ronald Reagan Building/International Trade Center.

We went into the Old Post Office building and took the elevators to the top. Since the Washington Monument is closed for repairs, this is the only other place to view all of the city.

Our next stop was 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Of course, we could not get close to the Whitehouse. The visitors’ center was packed and people were lined up for blocks so we walked on.

After taking photos of the Washington Monument, we continued on Constitution Avenue on our way back to the Capitol. Since we were to meet the rest of the group after lunch in Senator Jim Risch’s office, we stopped at a senate dining room in that building.

Senator Risch listened to our concerns. Letters were left with his aides. To show what a small world it is, Senator Risch’s agriculture aide is from McCall, Idaho, and his fourth grade teacher there was our nephew’s father-in-law!

Later we spoke with Representative Mike Simpson and again left letters. Representative Labrador was in Idaho so we left our letters with his aides.

On our last night there we took the Metro to Old Alexandria and then went by trolley to the Fish Market restaurant about a block from the waterfront. Although we were too late for the lobster special that night, we all enjoyed other menu items.

Thursday morning, after checking out of the hotel, John and I decided to spend a few hours walking around before we had to head to the airport. Unfortunately, we are early risers (as most farmers are) and at 7:30 a.m. in D.C. nothing is open.

The Smithsonian buildings, only a few blocks from our hotel, didn’t open until 10 a.m., so we just walked by them and read information and then went back to the hotel to pick up our luggage.

While waiting for our flight, we saw many groups of school children lining up after arriving, ready to learn more history than they ever would from a textbook.

There’s so much to see in Washington, D.C., so it looks like we’ll have to plan another trip or two so see it all.