With little sleep and a hot breakfast under our belts, we headed out on our first day of DC adventure. Scheduled for a tour of the US Capitol at 1010 with tickets we were able to obtain at the last minute (as well as additional tickets for 1030), we looked forward to riding the metro and touring the National Statuary Hall. Armed with maps, cameras, souvenir money and little else, we arrived at the metro station where we found no parking spaces. After driving up and down the entire parking garage, we had just about given up when The Scribbler spied a space in the basement near the exit. We eased our car into the spot and raced for the station. Five minutes shy of the time when we were allowed to buy a day pass at a discounted rate, we waiting impatiently at the kiosk for 930 to arrive, realizing that arrival at the capitol at the appointed time was slipping away. Bolting onto the train at 935, we anxiously watched the map of the station stops as we slowly progressed towards our station. Racing up the metro escalator, we arrived at 1020 to find that we were too late for the 1010, but could still use the 1030 tickets for the line queuing up at that moment. Knowing there were others coming, I was able to score some additional tickets for a 1040 tour AND I was able to bless some individuals with our extra 1030 tickets too! The rest of the group finally arrived after some urging on our part to hurry as time was running out (cell phones proved to be invaluable for relaying information and staying in touch with others) and we began our group tour. Below is a picture of the inside of the dome taken in the rotunda. I think it is amazingly beautiful. I love to visit capitols and didn't realize we would be in two state capitols during this trip-Trenton and Richmond. However, we missed seeing those due to the limits of time.
Also, in the rotunda are huge portraits of events in the history of our country as well as statues of famous individuals. Each state donates 2 statues that represent an important part of their history and are often made of native rock, marble, or granite.They used to all be housed in the Statuary Hall, but the weight of 100 statues proved to be too much for the floor there so there are many throughout the building. One of Washington State's is Marcus Whitman. Our guide shared many interesting facts about how high the dome is and how long it took to build, but I don't remember them........
There is this beautiful circular frieze on the wall as well. At first glance, it appears to be carved, but is, in fact, painted to look 3D.
Additional photos of the hall are below. Within the hall there is a spot called the whispering spot. It is marked on the floor and when one stands on it and someone stands across the room on the other spot and talks at normal volume, you can hear as clearly as if they were standing next to you whispering. Legend says that when the House of Representatives met there, John Quincy Adams would put his head down on his desk to give the appearrance of napping while he listened to private conversations taking place across the room. He could then use this information to his or his party's advantage. Our guide seemed to think there was no basis to this story. The Scribbler wrote a wonderful research paper on this unique portion of our history. Our tour guide did go across room and give us directions that we were able to hear very clearly!
Within this room, was the office of Eric Cantor and as we exited we saw the office of Speaker of the House, John Boehners too. I wish we could have met them. Most of the Senators and Representatives are officed in other buildings as there is not room in the capitol. This was a week when everyone was recessed to their home states so no one was around.
We walked to our next stop, The Library of Congress, through a tunnel connecting the two buildings. We also visited this building on our last trip, but I just love the ceilings and architecture of it. A friend had told me to go there, reassuring me that I would really like it, but I remember saying, "Why?" to her when she recommended it. Once there, I knew why she had sent me. Perhaps you will understand as you look at the pictures too.
Trying to appear......Thoughtful? Intelligent? Contemplative? Sleepy?
The Scibbler with a good friend, Phineas (not her real name, of course) right before we departed for other places. They had never been here and were ready to spend more time than we were!
Outside, we were greeted again with weather similar to the Northwest-cool and cloudy-although the cherry blossoms were beginning to bloom which brightened the day and our mood. We stopped briefly at the Supreme Court and then ambled our way down the mall towards the Smithsonian Museums. Our goal today was to see how far we could get before succumbing to fatigue and sleep.
Having fun in front of the US Capitol, we stopped for pictures as well as for lunch packed and brought to us by our traveling buddies who wisely had slept in before coming downtown.
Can you guess our next stop? When Farmer Girl saw this, she said, "Why did they put aluminum foil all over it? That looks dumb." She is always good for a laugh! We told her that is what it looked like orignally and we had come a long way since then in our progress. We had our "sinking spell" here at the Air and Space Museum. The Scribbler loved it and was intrigued by it all. We tried to humor her, but we were so tired. I took lots of pictures and we did see almost the entire building with some brief respites on a bench resting. She drug....I mean encouraged us to come with her to see some amazing photos taken of space. I have to admit they were quite amazing to look at....if only I hadn't been so tired. As I contemplated the map of the mall and where we were on it, I realized we were smack dab in the middle between two different metro stations. One to the south had nothing of interest on the way there, and the other to the north, had the National Gallery of Art where Farmer Girl really wanted to go. We headed that way around 4 PM. I couldn't believe we were still standing and coherent after our day of traveling and only 3 hours of sleep. We met some of our fellow travelers on their way out of the museum. A bit upset with some of the "art", they were headed where we had just come from. There were some amazing Rembrandt works upstairs that we truly enjoyed seeing, even amidst the nudity and inappropriateness of the other works. However, it was downstairs that we got to see Monet and Cassatt, those I truly admire.
I had no idea that Saint George and the Dragon was so very small and I took this photo to show it's relative size to people. I think that is a Vermeer behind Farmer Girl. It was neat to see how many we recognized from having played The Art Game many times in the past. I had also taught a class on Impressionism many years before in our co-op.
I wish we had more time to truly appreciate this place and stop in every room, reading the descriptions etc, but we were exhausted and ready for a meal and a return to our hotel. The girls had rehearsal that evening too. We met up outside with our "traveling buddies" and walked several blocks trying to find a place to rest (resting being my top priority!) and eat dinner. After many blocks with little affordable choices, we opted to jump on the nearest metro and get something near our hotel. Below is the station near the National Gallery of Art and the National Archives that we had bypassed in favor of food. It was a pretty spot with the pink cherry blossoms and old buildings.
Bolting, racing, rushing, and jumping were action verbs that defined our day and the days to come! I hope you enjoyed remembering our adventures and sightseeing with us as we did all of the above!
Love Ellie~
Love Ellie~
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