Day 2 in DC

June 5th
Vacation Post #2

Derek and I had a general idea of what we were going to be doing each day of our vacation, but our kids didn't! Every night they asked what we would be doing the next day, and every night we had an answer for them. :)

Our second day was all about 3 things: the National Archives, US Capitol, and Library of Congress. We made our way there on the metro and were excited to see what the day held. 

We quickly discovered that early June in DC is filled with groups of 8th grade students. Everywhere we went, we ran into group after group of 8th graders. There were not many vacationing families, just 8th graders. TONS of them. By the end of our time in DC we had discovered some ways to avoid them. And Derek and I both agreed we would rather do just about anything than chaperon a group of 8th grade students in Washington, DC.

Anyway, we arrived at the National Archives first. The line moved faster than I thought it would. Reviews on Trip Advisor made it sound like we would be there for hours. While we waited, Kaleb and Aaron played with the leaves from the magnolia trees. It was the prettiest sunny day--not too hot, not too cold. We really did have great weather on our vacation.

Kaleb and Aaron with their leaves

Outside of the National Archives

Our boys look so small on these steps!

We were not allowed to take any pictures inside. We saw the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the United States Constitution. The room with these documents was dim, ornately decorated, and closely watched by guards. One of the guards told Derek that these documents are protected better than the president himself. I'm not sure I believe that, but that is what he said. So much fading has occurred, that they were very hard to read. Still, it is neat to say we have looked upon them with our own eyes. There is a very large museum inside, and we could have spent hours in there. We saw what we could, and then found the cafeteria for lunch. By now I was starting to feel feverish, and I had no idea that would continue for 3 days and turn into pneumonia. It felt good to sit down with a bowl of soup while my boys all had hot dogs and brats.

Next stop was the US Capitol. For this I had arranged a tour through our congressman's office. We were a bit early, and there was some confusion with our tickets, but we ended up with a pretty good tour. Our favorite parts include standing on the Speaker's Balcony and sitting in the upper deck of the Senate Chamber during live Senate proceedings. It's probably not called the upper deck, but you get the idea. :) The House was not in session, which is why we were allowed to stand on the Speaker's balcony. It gave us the best view of DC! The Rotunda was undergoing some renovation, so there were large drapes hanging high up in there that looked like a big donut shaped diaper. It was crowded, oh so crowded, in the Capitol Building.

Family photo in front of the Capitol!

The back of the building, with an entourage of black Suburbans. Hmmm

This is one of the fountains with a skylight in the middle.
The Visitor's Center is below the skylight. See the large group of people behind it?
Probably a group of 8th graders!

Standing by Lady Freedom.
This is the plaster cast used to make the statue that sits on top of the Capitol.

We saw some STRANGE people inside...the boys stared and I tried not to.
Aaron is standing in the very center of the dome.

The Rotunda from the inside looking up, diaper and all. :)

Just a glimpse of how crowded it was!

Standing by Ronald Reagan for some reason.

Awesome view from the Speaker's Balcony!

We took lots of time in the Capitol. I had no idea we would spend that much time in there, but I guess that's what the day was for, right? Next we walked through the underground tunnel to the Library of Congress and barely made it inside before they closed that entrance for the day. By now we were wiped out. Our feet hurt, we were tired, I felt crummy, and Derek felt hungry and shaky. We breezed through the Library and saw 2 very large old Bibles, looked around at the beautiful architecture, and decided to call it a day.

Library of Congress

On our way back to the metro station we walked by the Supreme Court. If I could do this trip again, I would have planned a Supreme Court tour for the next day. Oh well, at least we walked by and saw it. I guess this will have to be on our list for next time, ha! :)

US Supreme Court

By the time we made it back to our hotel we were exhausted. We ordered pizza and had it delivered to our room. We didn't have plates or napkins--just a roll of paper towels from our vehicle. But nobody cared. It was just a relief to not get back out again. The boys looked at their souvenirs and we were very happy to call it a day!