OLYMPIA — Gov. Chris Gregoire is racking up the frequent flier miles this month. She's in Washington, D.C., right now for a National Governors Association meeting. Next week, she'll be going to China and Japan.

Gregoire is leading an NGA delegation to Beijing that leaves Monday, a spokeswoman said. That organization is paying the cost of the trip for her and an aide. She'll also have a couple state patrol officers accompanying her for security, which will be covered by the state.

Also making the trip will be governors from Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, Guam and the Northern Mariannas Islands.

After finishing in Beijing, Gregoire, her aide and security folks will make a brief side trip to Tokyo where she will meet with two Japanese companies that have manufacturing facilities in Washington and are looking to expand. One company makes carbon fiber parts for Boeing and is thinking of expanding into the automobile field; another makes silicon wafers.

The group is scheduled to return to Washington state on Friday.

Total cost to the state for the trip is still being calculated.

KFC's ad for a chicken sandwich in China seems to have an endorsement of the highest order…

At the risk of sounding like an old Abbott and Costello routine, Hu's coming to dinner at the White House, and Gov. Chris Gregoire is invited too.

Who's coming to dinner? Hu's the president of China.  I don't know who's the president of China but who's coming to dinner? Yes, Hu's president of China and he's coming to dinner. 

OK, so it's been done before, and better. So without further foolishness, Chinese President Hu Jintao is attending a state dinner at the White House Wednesday night.  Washington's status as a major exporting state, and the fact that China is one of our biggest overseas markets, and the fact that Gregoire was in China a few months ago on a trade mission may all have combined to get the governor an invitation to dinner.

Also on the list: Former Gov. and now Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and his wife Mona; actor Jackie Chan, musician Yo Yo Ma; Barbara Streisand and James Brolin; Microsoft honcho Steve Ballmer; skater Michelle Kwan.

No word yet on who Gregoire gets to sit next to, the governor's office said.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray heads up a congressional trip to China this week, and has decided to blog about it.

This is not some travel-blog that talks about the best Peking Duck and sight seeing spots. The trip involves meetings between U.S. and Chinese officials on things like trade, human rights and energy, so those who are interested in those topics can check in.

The rest of us will just have to wait to see whether there’s a description of eating birds nest soup or a photo of Murray at the Great Wall.

The blog can be found by CLICKING HERE.