In Washington....

I've been to Washington seven times in the last six years. That thought crossed my mind as I was driving down here today. But the last time I was here for the opening of Congress was 12 years ago. That's when Republicans took control of both chambers, and there was still some doubt lingering about the 2nd Congressional District race. Republican challenger Ed Munster failed to overturn the results of the election through the recount, and subsequent court challenge. His last hope was an appeal to Congress - which was never filed.

What I remember most about that particular visit was how cold it was here. That's not the case today. It's quite nice...very nice.

And so was the ride down. I timed the trip to avoid the usual rush hour delays through the major cities. In fact, the only real traffic problem encountered was getting off the New Jersey turnpike and trying to get through Delaware. (A note to Connecticut lawmakers - I'd think twice about bringing back toll booths. You can't believe what a nightmare they are. Although I will admit, for a small state, Delaware certainly does make a ton of money with its two tolls.)

U.S. Rep-elect Joe Courtney and his family - wife Audrey and children Robert and Elizabeth - arrived in town shortly after 3 p.m. - about an hour before I got here. They stopped first at his "new" basement apartment to drop off a few things before heading over to the Hyatt Regency for the evening. According to the new Congressman, he doesn't have any bedding - and the furniture doesn't arrive until tomorrow.

Tonight the family took a casual stroll along the Capitol grounds. A chance to take in the "wonder of it all" before the festivities begin on Thursday. (Sorry Foxwoods, but Washington does have the first dibs on that "wonder of it all" theme.)

Several bus loads of eastern Connecticut residents will be descending on Washington tomorrow, coming down to help celebrate the swearing in of Connecticut's two newest members of Congress, Courtney and Chris Murphy. We'll try and catch up with some of those folks tomorrow.

The biggest problem I'll be facing are the rules down here. Because I'm not a "regular" member of the press covering the Congress, I have to make a visit to the House Press Gallery every morning to get my daily pass. You would think they would make some special arrangments for visiting press that might help avoid a daily stop there before going anywhere else. But such is life...who am I to complain.

More tomorrow...