Another good night with us waking up and having some down time this morning before it was time to leave. Today we headed first to the National Archives. We did circle a few times trying to find a parking spot, but eventually found a decent one right in front of the archives.
There we saw all of the documents and even walked around a few other exhibits including one about spots. I am always impressed with the Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
After seeing the archives, we went right back to the car for a snack. Then we walked all the way down the center of the National Mall towards the capitol building. It was about a mile and we did remember why they call it capitol hill. We did end up walking up the hill!
Our first stop on the other side of the capitol was the Library of Congress. I don't think that I have ever been inside of it. It was my most favorite stop. That building is insanely beautiful. I really wanted to be able to go into the reading room and just sit and read in that massive gorgeous library. Keaton took quite a few picture of the architecture for me.
We then saw the Supreme Court building before going to meet our tour for the Capitol. We had assumed, wrongly, that we would meet the man from Senetor Cotton's office, and he would take us to join a regular tour of the capitol.
That was not the case. We went inside one of the senate buildings and found Cotton's office. There we met some staffers, and the one who showed us around the capitol. The other folks who were supposed to be on the tour with us did not come, so it was just the Dennies.
When Robby went to DC when he was little, he vividly remembers riding on the tram between the Senate offices and the capitol building. I though that he was about to jump for joy today when we walked up to it to ride. That was really neat.
Then we started touring the capitol. Our guide lives in DC right near the capitol and shared a one bedroom apartment with 2 other guys and pays double what we pay for our house each month. He also has a car that he parks in Virginia and gets each weekend so he can deliver food for extra income. He also tutors German as well. This was all super interesting to me.
Back to the capitol tour. We saw the old supreme court chambers as well as the dome area. Robby had to move the car and peeled off from our tour. He knew he was going to have to do this, but he was fine with it. We also saw the old senate chambers and lots of other areas. I found the plaque dedicated to Flight 93 very interesting.
By having our personal tour guide we were able to see a few different things than the other tours. It was all great, and I know that the kids will remember it. After the tour, we met Robby-and good thing he went to move the car. Once he got to the car, he just sat in it for a few minutes. And at 4, they sure did start towing them from that area.
We then found the traffic and headed to the IKEA which is right on our exit. We walked right to the dining area and bought ourselves some Sweedish meatballs. Everyone got their fill, and Robby took everyone home but Keaton, Campbell and me.
The three of us walked leisurely through the store. I don't really know when I have walked through Ikea and not been rushed. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything much that we needed today. I did buy two bags and 2 oven mits.
Robby came back and joined us through our last little bit. We even stopped for get pretzels for the girls and cinnamon rolls for Robby and me. We then came back to the campground. Keaton, Campbell and Whitman rode their bikes to the playground. Anderson joined them later. Robby and I walked around this whole place before we all made it back to the camper.
Some of us played Uno tonight and most of us had some cookie dough after the game. Tomorrow is our last full day so there are quite a few things still on the list for us to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment