It's primary season here in Portland and ballots are hitting mailboxes as we speak. The local press is abuzz with scandals but, as usual, Welcome to Blog has its mind elsewhere.

But, unwilling to step outside of the political arena entirely, here's a collection of photos from Washington DC. I visited our nation's capitol over Veterans Day weekend 2002. During my stay, I:

Saw crack addicts in their native habitat.

Was insulted by a guy who looked exactly like Ben Affleck.

Wound up hiking all the way from Union Station to R Street in the middle of the night.

Got my first, live look at East Coast elitism.

Was propositioned by a prostitute in Union Station. I turned her down (honest!) and immediately felt bad for not giving her one of my Krispie Kreme donuts.

Walked along the Reflecting Pool. At the time, it was half empty and filled with muck and plastic bags.

Saw Indiana Jones' fedora, Prince's guitar, Dorothy's ruby slippers and Spock's phaser. Oh, and the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, etc.

Yeah, it's a heck of a town.