It's almost the end

My first trip to DC has finally come to a conclusion. My bags are packed and I'm ready to head home tomorrow afternoon. While I'm very ready to be at home again, I'm going to miss the excitement of Washington and how pedestrian friendly it is. Living less than half a mile from the Lincoln Memorial has it's perks. There were many nights I would walk down there with some friends and we would just sit on the steps and take in the sights around us. Things like that are what I'll miss the most, the historical significance of the surroundings I found myself in on a daily basis.

The Hearst bureau took all the interns out to a nice lunch at the National Press Club as a farewell event. They told us they had been genuinely impressed by the work we have done this summer and they are sorry to see us go. They told us to stay in touch and to not be afraid to call for references when we start applying for jobs. It can't hurt to have the former president of the National Press Club (Rick Dunham) and the former bureau chief of the AP Washington bureau (Chuck Lewis) in your corner. I concluded my day with a very appropriate event, a reception at the White House celebrating soon-to-be Justice Kagan's confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States. The two people I spent the most time covering this summer were Elena Kagan and President Obama so it was fitting to end the summer with an event where they were both present. I haven't had time to look at my pictures from the event yet since I came home to pack everything up, but once I get home and settled I will put some up along with my final post.

Tomorrow will be a long day of traveling that will start all too early so for now I'm headed to bed. Thanks very much to everyone who has been reading my blog. I hope you have enjoyed following my adventures this summer. I know I've had a blast!

2 days til Atlanta

I'm winding down Wednesday and have been working hard all day on the photo archive. I've finished a "hard copy" on my computer. Now I need to upload it to our Moveable Type system so the files will be easily accessed for our blogs, where they are needed most. This isn't a hard task, just very time consuming, but I'll have it finished by the time I leave.

I've started packing and will continue tonight. I've successfully worn through two pairs of shoes while I've been here from walking so much on the concrete sidewalks so that frees up a little extra space for me.

I'm shifting my planning now back to Atlanta and Rome. I no longer have to look ahead at what's going on in Washington. Now I'm concerned with unpacking from DC and repacking for Berry, moving in, and planning for The Carrier and athletic photography. There's never a dull moment! All I know is I'm taking at least one day to lounge since my weeks here have been jam packed followed by weekends of tourist activities. This summer has been a blast and I wouldn't trade it for anything, but now I'm ready to pack up and head home.

My last four days in the District

The last week has been and will continue to be a slow one. The president has several out of town trips and the House is already in recess. The only thing the Senate has left to do is confirm Kagan. I hope to be able to go and watch the vote in the press gallery in the Senate chamber, just to say I saw her confirmed after devoting so much time to the events in late June. Other than that, I will be spending this week solely working on the photo archive. It is more time consuming than I expected it would be and I'm doing my best not to go cross-eyed from looking at so many pictures. I still have thousands to go through so I just have to keep going until I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I'll need to start the packing process soon and make sure everything will fit back in my suitcases in order for me to take it home. Something tells me this process will not be as smooth the second time around. I'm very sad to be leaving Hearst and Washington, but there are so many things about returning to the south that I'm looking forward to. Of course I can't wait to see my family and friends, I can't wait for sweet tea and Chick-fil-a, and I can't wait to see the beautiful fields of Berry again! The view pulling up to the Gate of Opportunity is always wonderful! The countdown is four days until I'm in Atlanta and 10 days until I'm back at Berry!