Because I'm a boss, I got up before 6 every day we were in DC, went to a nearby park and ran 5 or 6 miles. This is where I learned that no one on those paths in the morning likes to make eye contact - but I stubbornly said 'hi' to the majority of the people I passed each of those days. I'm sure I started a chain reaction of friendliness and some sociologist 3 years in the future will write a paper about this mysterious change. Also, I learned how it is that farmers got up so early back in the day: they lived in one room homes with their kids, so they had to go to bed when their kids did. Going to bed at 9:30 sure makes it easier to get up at 5-something.
For our first full day in DC we drove in to the city, parked our car (for about half what I expect to pay to park for a day in Chicago) and headed for the East end of the Mall. First, we went to the Library of Congress. In planning our trip we set up a spreadsheet with all the possible sights to see and everyone in our family ranked them to help in our down selecting and prioritizing. I'm totally certain that all families do this and we are not weird in any way. The Library of Congress was generally low on the list, thanks mostly to a very low rating from me. It turned out to be more interesting than I thought. It was also less interesting than the girls thought it would be. (For the record, the Young Readers Center is pretty much just the kids section of your public library. Except you drove 750 miles to get there.)
The Jefferson Building is very ornate and fancy, and a good reminder of how much we as a nation aspired to be so very Greek in our architecture. I guess it was the style at the time. We went on a tour of the building which showed a lot of the art work around the place, saw a Gutenberg bible, and Thomas Jefferson's book collection (which re-started the Library of Congress after the British burned down the first attempt).
We then headed for our tour of the US Capitol. Our Senator's office was nice enough to loan us an intern to take us on a tour. And, for a 20-year-old intern with 2 or 3 weeks experience, she actually did a pretty good job. The capitol dome is being restored (it seems like it was last time I was in DC, also) so there aren't great pictures of that, but it was good to see the inside of the building. I'm not always much of a picture taker, so you'll have to take my word for it that most of it is pretty. Among the more interesting things I learned is that the Supreme Court met in the Capitol building until the 1930s (see picture below), and that rather than pick an actual flower for decorations in the building, the politicians invented an imaginary flower, because then, as know, they can't actually agree on anything, no matter how trivial.
The day was hot, and we were quickly learning that the girls did not enjoy following tour guides around learning fascinating details like who was the model for this painting, and where did that former president sit when he was a senator. So, we decided to skip the Botanical Gardens and move on to the Air and Space Smithsonian.
The Smithsonian museums are terrific, free and completely packed by 8th graders. As you might be aware, about half the country ships their 8th graders to DC for a field trip every spring, and I'm sure there isn't a week between March and July that the place wouldn't be full of them. Really, they were pretty well behaved, but they sure could be both numerous and loud at times. Also, for as big of a nerd that I am, I don't actually get all that excited about airplanes and spaceships as you'd expect. But the girls had a good time poking at every single exhibit. I was too tired to take pictures, but we saw the Wright Bros. airplane, and moon rocks and other stuff.
The one picture I will share from the museum isn't so much to show off Ella's photography skills (need to work on those), or to showcase the cardboard cutouts of Orville and Wilbur, but to highlight Shannon's shirt, which was apparently a big political statement or something. She got comments from multiples strangers on the street, security guards and pretty much everyone. I wore a BYU shirt later in the week and got one comment. Pedro is, apparently, much more popular. (And the Brigham Young statue in the capitol is about as far into the corner as it can get.)
We returned to our hotel thinking we were tired. But we hadn't even scratched the surface of weariness.
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