Roughly ten years ago, my Senator had an opportunity to attend a conference in Puerto Rico, and the kids and I tagged along because, well who wouldn’t want to go to Puerto Rico, right?

Coincidentally, I had met a lovely mom friend through American Mothers from Puerto Rico and she was kind enough to show us some of the beautiful sights including the Capitol building in San Juan… which the Senator loved.

And the famous fort…

The look on my baby’s face!  Oh my goodness…

Pretending to be a pirate on the island did not get any better than this…but I digress!

There were lots of elected officials at this conference including our Governor.  And, let me tell you, it makes for an interesting evening when you find yourself hanging out in the hotel hot tub with the Governor of your great state, who incidentally had just vetoed your Senator’s lawsuit reform bill the day before. It’s a good thing my Senator and the Governor had been in college together so the hot tub small talk wasn’t too awkward…or, maybe it was, but it took place amidst a beautiful setting and sunset so there’s that.

The beach at this resort was just as magnificent.

I have never seen such clear water that provided a window into the sea life swimming below the surface.  In fact, the entire reason for reminiscing about this fabulous trip has to do with sea life and a senator…

You see, on this same trip, our family was playing on the beach one afternoon alongside many other conference attendees. We were like kids in a candy store because the beach was simply that gorgeous.

All of the sudden, we noticed a crowd gathering in the ocean and members of the hotel staff running onto the beach. Wondering what was happening and if someone needed help, my Senator headed over to the scene.

Evidently, the Governor of West Virginia had stepped on a black sea urchin and the group was attempting to clean his foot.  According to the hotel staff, you had two options to remove the poisonous needle and sterilize the area – you could either pour urine on it or whiskey.  Needless to say, the Governor chose whiskey and was letting everyone on the beach know the same!  At the time, I remember thinking this guy was quite a character and down right hilarious! His name was Joe Manchin.

In case you don’t make a habit of following politics – Joe Manchin is now the senior Senator from West Virginia and earlier today, I caught a glimpse of him on TV talking about Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.  His rational talking points and calm demeanor resembled those of a desperately needed statesman…let’s hope that ship hasn’t sailed.

This morning, I found myself wishing we had more elected officials like him….and a beach like this….