Mr. Evans Returns to Sacramento

I'm writing to you from an actual suite at the Embassy Suites Hotel - Riverfront Promenade in Sacramento. I'm pretty sure I've stayed at an Embassy Suites before, but never, interestingly, in an actual suite. At least, I think this is what counts as a suite, as opposed to a room. You come in, and it's like a separate little living room area, than you walk through a short hallway and into the bedroom. I have an outstanding view of the American River just outside my window, as well as what I think is called the Tower Bridge (a little bridge over the river that is painted gold).

I have two TVs, two beds, two chocolates (which are already digesting in my stomach), a sofa, an armchair, four additional chairs, a ceiling fan, and free internet access. What more can a teacher/aspiring politico want?

I'm here as a guest of CABE, the California Association for Bilingual Education, as part of a legislative advocacy push. In about 15 minutes, we're meeting downstairs for dinner and a meeting of all the CABE chapter presidents (as I am not a chapter president and have only been a member for about one month, how I managed to get myself invited to this thing, I'm still not quite sure). Tomorrow we'll be meeting with various legislators and/or education policy legislative aides to promote CABE's legislative agenda. How exciting!

So I actually took another day off from school - that makes 3 days this year! Yikes... But considering that in my previous 6 years of teaching I've only taken maybe 4 days off, I don't feel so bad.

More to come!