Road Trip Day 10 - D.C.

What a lovely night of sleep! We met our group at the Capitol Building for a tour. Very tight security - no food or drink allowed (even empty water bottles had to be tossed), all bags went through x-ray and we walked through metal-detectors. We all got a badge with barcode (had to do security checks beforehand through our State Representative to get these) and were ushered into a large theater to watch a movie about the freedom and diversity of America and brief explanation about how our government works. Next we were herded into groups, assigned a guide and handed headphones that gave a direct feed from our guide. We entered the rotunda (inside the tall white dome) and I was awed by the artwork and size of the structure.

Halfway through our guide's explanation, J.J. had a Level 10 bathroom emergency. One of the kids in our group had passed out the night before (because of Vertigo, but at the time we thought it was dehydration) and everyone was encouraged to drink a whole water bottle before coming this morning. Despite having JUST peed before the tour, J.J. was hopping around and painfully in need of a toilet. I raised my hand but the guide waved me off. I sent J.J. to the front so the guide could see that I wasn't just asking a question, and she seemed quite flustered to be interrupted, but ushered us to a security guard who had to radio to the elevator operator who escorted us downstairs and radioed to the next security person who escorted us to the bathrooms - sheesh!

At first we were told we'd have to miss the rest of the tour, but the security guys/gals were very kind to return us to our group who were then in the statuary hall. This room adjacent to the rotunda was an echoey marble room where Congress met in the early days of our country. Now it was used to house statues (2 from each state made either of bronze or white marble) of notable historical figures (missionaries, teachers, Native Americans, etc.). On the floor were a few brass plates that marked the locations of the desks of Senators who also served as President.

All of the artwork and carvings and statues were ripe with symbolism, including "Freedom," the figure that stands atop the Capitol Building. Next we were led to the crypt, where no one is actually burried, but was the intended resting place of George Washington. He died before the construction was complete, and is burried according to his wishes at his residence at Mt. Vernon. It was an arched ceiling room with many pillars to hold the weight of the high domed rotunda above.

From here we took an underground tunnel to the Library of Congress - the world's largest library - wow! I think this is the most beautiful, ornately decorated and constructed building I've ever scene. Marble everything (stairs, floors, walls, banisters, carved columns, etc.), mosaic floors, ceilings, paintings, statues, stained glass, chandeliers - simply amazing! We viewed just one wing of one level of one building (there are 26 libraries in 3 buildings, plus an archival media building in Arlington). We saw documents pertaining to the formation of our country (rough drafts of the Declaration of Independence, pictures of civil rights protests & MLK, Jr.'s typewritten "I Have a Dream" speech, a letter of encouragement from an African American soldier encouraging his brothers to join the civil war). No photography was allowed, but they have cool computer interface screens around where you can choose pictures to send to your email. We then saw the Jefferson library which comprised the first books to make up the Library of Congress, and to a large degree defined the broad spectrum the LOC contains.

Next we saw a display about Lincoln that will be on tour around the country for the next 50 years. Lincoln's documents, furniture he owned, his election posters, and the contents of his pockets from the night he was assassinated. I would have liked to see the Gershwins' piano and Bob Hope exhibit and the Bible collection, but we only had about an hour. I could have spent a week just in the LOC.

After this, we walked to Union Station, only to find it was National Train Day! Randy Jackson from American Idol was just about to take the stage and announce the next musician. The girls saw the actress who played Padme in Star Wars (can't remember her name) coming out of the station as we went in. We headed downstairs to the food court for lunch - J.J. and I shared a meatball sub and gellato shake (mango). Lauren's vertigo returned and got worse, so Shelle (our nurse) hailed a cab and (for the third time this trip) headed to the ER. While we were waiting for her, one of the MANY detectives/security guys came over to help. He REALLY wanted to call for a medic, but we assured him our nurse was on her way. J.J. asked if he could pet his explosive-detecting dog, but he answered no because he was working. But he did give J.J. a baseball-type card with his (and the dog's) picture on it.

The kids all walked back to the Mall after this to paint whatever they chose - Katherine painted a beautiful park bench watercolor scene. Then the group played ultimate frisbee for awhile. J.J. was tired, so we went back to the hotel and ordered Chinese for dinner. Went for a quick swim and then tucked J.J. into bed in our hotel room (he was very bummed he didn't get to sleep on the ship a second night, but he got to bed early and got the extra sleep he desperately needed). My feet were sooooooooooooo tired from all the walking in D.C. - I could barely move and it kept me awake a bit during the night.