Day 6 - August 6: Washington, DC

Wednesday, August 6, 2008:
Washington, D.C.

Today was another special day for me. Barb & Jim kept the kids (with the help of the Mailanders/Capella’s/’Blackie’ the cat/anyone else I may have forgotten so that Jill, Alex, and I could go into Washington, DC. Chris Mailander drove us in as he had business/work to do at his office – so we didn’t have to worry about driving into the city and worry about parking. It worked out perfectly for us.

We got into DC at about 9:45 and proceeded directly to the Supreme Court. Unfortunately the main chamber was being renovated so we were not able to go into that area, but it was still awesome to see. After looking around, we walked next door to visit the Library of Congress. We didn’t do a formal tour, but got a chance to see Thomas Jefferson’s original collection and inside the ‘reading/book' areas. We then had lunch at the National Gallery of Art, which was very nice. After lunch we proceeded to take a general tour of the Capitol Building. It was great to go inside, but unfortunately we were not able to see the Senate or House Chambers (you need passes from your Senator in order to do that apparently). We saw the Rotunda, the Statuary Collection, the Old Senate Chamber, and ‘the basement’?

We then jumped into a cab a traveled to the World War II Memorial. Very impressive. After that, we walked along the Washington Monument/Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to the Lincoln Memorial. I bought a few things for my classroom and Jill, Alex, and I sat on the steps and relaxed for a little while. Finally we headed over to Chris Mailander’s Office at Top of the Town (1400 N. 14th Street, about a block west of the Iwo Jima Memorial. His office was AMAZING as it had a vista view of DC that allowed you to see everything from Arlington, DC, to Rosslyn. After that, we headed home and chatted with the gang eating some rice & beans and wonderful ribs that Jaime cooked.

It sounds as though the kids swam in the river and paddled in the kayaks with the grandma’s.

Thoughts / Observations

• A great day. We saw the things that we really wanted to see. It was pretty hot & humid, but worth the effort.

• Very impressed by the Library of Congress, but in hindsight it probably would have been worth the time to take a formal tour. We really wanted to see the Capitol and thought the lines would be much worse than they turned out to be.

• Interesting fact that I didn't know about the Capitol and design of DC. The photo of the white star in the 'basement' or ground floor of the Capitol was originally designed to be the final resting place of George Washington. He was to be placed there with a glass covering so that those visiting the Capitol would see G. Washington's tomb. It is also the exact center for Washington DC as far as cardinal directions are concerned, which was intentional. Washington's family, however, wanted him buried at Mt. Vernon (as did George himself) which resulted with the Capitol placing a marble floor in its place with the white star indicating the 'true center' to the nation's capital city.

• Another interesting fact that Chris pointed out to us from his office view is that after the Capitol was built, the powers that be decided that no building shall be built taller than it...so that is why as you look across DC no building is taller that approx. 13 stories. Arlington, Georgetown, Rosslyn surround DC and don't have those restrictions. It was really cool to see. Next time we are in town, we are going to pay Chris money to show us around town...I wonder how far $15 and a Burger King value meal will get us? : )

• I am posting lots of pictures, most of which will hopefully be self-explanatory.

• One last thing, it was awesome to hear all the different languages and see all the international tourists. If I remember correctly, I heard approx. 10 different languages spoken at some point during the day. Very cool!