Pete and Allison in Arlington, VA.

As I mentioned on our last Thank You Thursday video, I recently took a week off from MHD. “Why?” you ask? Because I needed some down time. And some face time with my girl, Allison Gibbs. It could accurately be described as my first vacation in years, as I went from a Cato internship directly into a Koch Fellowship, started work at the Institute for Humane Studies the following weekend, left IHS on a Friday to start my gig at Bureaucrash the next Monday, before leaving that for MHD. Well, in all honesty I did have two days off between my last day at Bureaucrash and when we hit the road with MHD, but that time was spent packing, getting out of my apartment, and finalizing other details. And I did take a few other short trips, but those were “working vacations” when I never really got away.

I’m not complaining – I loved each of these opportunities and wouldn’t have allocated so much time to them if that wasn’t the case. But the work-from-the-moment-you-wake-until-you-go-to-bed that is the reality of MHD was wearing me out a bit. That, coupled with the fact that regular gym access is scarce (which helps me relieve stress and prioritize my day) meant that a few days off was due.

So on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 30th I hopped on a bus in NYC, where I had been attending the Personal Democracy Forum (thanks to Nicole Wiliams and everyone at the State Policy Network for making this happen), and arrived five hours later in DC, where I took the Metro out to Allison’s place. I spent the next couple of days there (she lives with four dudes, though most of them were gone to the beach for the upcoming long weekend) working on MHD stuff while she was at work (Campaign for Liberty) and visiting the local Balley’s (thanks to guest passes she had printed up).

We had planned to head west to my bud’s cabin in WV for a long weekend along but found out that it was no longer available, and due to it being days away from Independence Day not much else was available within driving distance. We decided to head to Richmond, less than two hours south. We stayed in the Linden Row Inn, built in the 1840s, and hoofed it around town for a couple of days. On the way back to DC we stopped by King’s Dominion, which was fun as sin (and where Allison bravely confronted her fear of heights numerous times). That evening we had dinner with our good friends Kevin and Lindsey Dean, who are planning to be in New Hampshire shortly as part of the Free State Project.

The next day I donned some “nice” duds (grrr) and helped Allison and a couple of her colleagues – the hardworking Zach and personable Kevin – distribute thousands of petitions that had been signed by people asking their senator to co-sponser the audit the fed bill. It was my first time back on the Hill in a long time (and it’s a place I hope never to return) and I was pleasantly surprised that some of the senate staffers with whom I interacted respond warmly. And another surprise – when I was in McCain’s office I spied a print-out of a Reason article on one of the desks, though obviously he hasn’t taken any of their stances to heart…

My awesome week with Allison ended Wednesday morning when she took a flight to Vegas to represent C4L at FreedomFest and I boarded a bus in DC, transfered to a second bus in NYC, and met Jason and Ryan in Boston. MHD rolls on!

Pete and Allison standing with the canon on Richmond's Monument Avenue that marks the place where a fortification line to protect the city from the Union army.

Allison and Pete in the Mystery Machine at King's Dominion.

Allison in the grasp of a Grizzly at King's Dominion.