I worked the ENTIRE time and spent most of my time just north of Seattle. I waved at the Space Needle as I flew in and flew out (sigh).

Here are my observations:

99.99999999999% of Washingtonians (is that right?) were VERY nice and cordial and helpful. You guys are SUCH courteous drivers. You don't regard using a turn signal as a sign of weakness (If you've ever driven in the Bay Area you know what I mean). You know how to drive a freeway, how to get on and off the onramps/offramps and your freeways are so clean! I LOVED the lush woods. And the BEST DAMNED HOTEL COFFEE EVER! Usually you stay at a hotel and the room coffee is barely drinkable. It's what you use to wake up enough to go get real coffee. The hotel room coffee was as good as I have at home and that's saying a lot AND it was available 24/7.

Apparently this last weekend was a large rock fest in Seattle and something called the Naked Bike Rally? Both events sounded great, but, alas, no time for fun.

The only thing you might think about working on? Authentic Mexican food. Maybe I just hit the wrong restaurant but it left a lot to be desired. But that's it! Otherwise I loved the visit.

Next time I go, though, I'm actually gonna get to do something fun!

So, here's to the great state of Washington and all it's terrific people!

Through the referendum process, California was able to overcome their gerrymandering process by taking the redistricting out of the hands of the politicians and into the hands of a bi-partisan commission. The differences in Congressional Districting were astounding -- it basically gave us a Super Majority in the State Leg. Here's a breakdown of the process:

http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Redistricting_in_California

It looks like 23 states have some sort of ballot initiative process:

http://www.iandrinstitute.org/statewide_i%26r.htm

Why is it not possible for more states, those with an initiative process, to be able to do as California has done?

What are the chances Wendy Davis will be running for higher office?

for a week on biness and leaving today. I've never even been to Washington and am SO excited! I love new places. I won't have a lot of time but does anyone have any "must see" suggestions? Obviously, the Space Needle and the Farmer's Market (the one with people throwing fish) but are there any other MUST SEE's?

Thanks!
LTH

(I posted this last year but thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to make this a yearly post.)

Every Woman Counts (EWC) provides free clinical breast exams, mammograms, pelvic exams, and Pap tests to California’s underserved women. The mission of the EWC is to save lives by preventing and reducing the devastating effects of cancer for Californians through education, early detection, diagnosis and treatment, and integrated preventive services, with special emphasis on the underserved. EWC is part of the Department of Health Care Service's Cancer Detection and Treatment Branch (CDTB).

http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/cancer/ewc/Pages/default.aspx