The Dang's: DC Day 2: Capitol Hill & Smithsonian

It rained all day on our first full day in DC. We started off our day by taking the Metro over to Capitol Hill and then walking to the Hart Senate Building. Once there, we went through security and then made our way up to Senator Franken's Office. I had arranged a private (small group) tour of the U.S. Capitol through his office. I chose to go through his office because the was the only one of our senators/reps that offered them at a day and time that would work for us.

photo from mom

Our tour guide, Ian, led us around for the next few hours. He did a really nice job, providing interesting info and entertainment. Especially for his first time!

First, we went through the tunnels from the Hart building to the Dirksen and Russell Senate Office buildings. We then took the U.S. Capitol Subway over to the Capitol building. This was pretty cool to ride in as it's only open to the public if they're with a staff member.

photo from mom

Once in the Capitol Visitor's Center, we had to wait around a bit for crowds to go down so we could enter. This was kind of annoying, but wasn't horrible.

Finally at 11, our tour of the Capitol began. Our first stop was in the Crypt. It was designed to be the final resting place of George Washington, however, he stipulated in his will that he be buried at Mount Vernon. In the Crypt, there is a star in the floor which marks the center point of Washington, DC from which it is divided into four quadrants.

photo from mom

photo by Adam

photo by mom

We then walked through the Old Supreme Court Chamber. Originally, the Supreme Court did not have it's own building to meet in. From 1810-1860 this was the courtroom for the Supreme Court.

Most architecturally impressive was the Rotunda. On the sides, it includes paintings depicting significant event's in our country's development. Above are painted friezes featuring the pictorial history of the U.S. beginning with the landing of Christopher Columbus.

photo from mom

Painted at the top in the dome is Brumidi's "The Apotheosis of Washington." In this fresco, Washington is depicted in the heavens surrounded by figures from mythology and 13 maidens representing the original colonies.

Next, we entered Statuary Hall which includes two statues from each state representing notable people from their state. Some of these statues are also in the U.S. Capitol Visitor's Center in Emancipation Hall.

photo from mom

Our tour concluded with Ian handing out our passes to the House and Senate. Originally, he had planned to leave us on our own at that point. However, all our coats and umbrellas were still in Franken's office, so he kindly decided to stay so we could return with him to the senate building via subway.

photo from mom

First we entered the House Chambers. No photos or electronic equipment are allowed in so I have no photos from either chamber. There was nothing going on, so we didn't stay long. We had to get our belongings back and redeposit them, then go through security again before entering the Senate chambers. Lucky for us, the Senate was in session. Barbara Boxer from California was speaking about immigration. But the room was empty except for a few people up front. I think that was the most interesting part to me. Apparently this is a common occurrence - the Senators usually aren't all together except for to vote. Otherwise, when someone is speaking, they speak to an empty room. It is recorded, and then broadcast in all the Senate offices for them to watch at their leisure. Most of the discussion and debate actually takes place in committee. Strange! As we were getting our stuff back, they concluded for the afternoon. We got lucky!

We finally got back to Franken's office and picked our stuff back up at 1:30! What was supposed to be a 1 hour tour ended up being 3 1/2 hours! It wreaked havoc on my schedule but was completely worth it. It was so interesting!

While we were on our Senate tour, we got an alert that the Twins game had been postponed. Bummer! All 5 of us were supposed to go to celebrate Dad's birthday so we had to regroup. I decided we could use the evening to knock off one of the Smithsonian Museums. We decided on the Air & Space.

We were pretty hungry, so we went and ate in the Senate Cafeteria. Adam and I both got Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. They were delicious! Seriously. I think it was my favorite meal of the trip! Mom and Christine both enjoyed their salads, and Dad had some serious sandwich envy as he didn't exactly love his pizza.

photo from cybershot

Then we were off to the Library of Congress. It wasn't terribly interesting so we didn't stay long. We saw a copy of the Gutenberg Bible and the Reading Room before moving on (no photos allowed of either).

The Supreme Court was our next destination, with a few photo stops on the way.

photo from mom

photo by mom

The front of the Supreme Court was being cleaned/restored so this ugly draping was over the front -

Once inside, we watched part of a video on the Supreme Court before heading upstairs for the last lecture of the day at 4 pm. The half-hour lecture was held in the courtroom which was really neat. Of course no photos were allowed (are you noticing a pattern?).

photo by mom

By this time, the guys were feeling ready for a break and in need of a beer. Outside of the Supreme Court, one of the policemen recommended the Tune Inn. I thought this was a great idea as it has been on my original "To Do" list for the trip. The Tune Inn was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives back in 2010. We were still pretty full from lunch, so we decided to split a few things. We ordered the beer battered cheeseburger, chicken balls (stuffed with blue cheese & hot sauce), and mozzarella sticks. All were good and it was nice to get off our feet and relax for a bit.

photo from mom

My "another photo?!??!" face
photo from mom

Adam had fun with his mustache glass!
photo from cybershot

Feeling all rested up, we hopped the Metro and took it over to the Mall area. From there it was a short walk to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. I wasn't expecting to like this museum at all, but I ended up enjoying it. I was most interested in the space items, while Adam found the air to be most interesting. Going at night was great because it wasn't very crowded at all.

photo from mom

When you walk in, all the aircraft hanging above is very impressive.

We saw the Wright Brothers' plane,

photo from mom

Spacesuits from the Moon Landing race (U.S. on left, Russia on right),

Apollo Lunar Module (never used),

photo by dad

Spirit of St. Louis,

photo by dad

Apollo 11 Command Module,

photo from iphone

and Amelia Earhart's plane.

We left shortly before it closed at 7:30 and headed back to the hotel. On the way back, Christine and I got Slurpees at 7/11 by our hotel.

photo from mom

The guys decided they needed to buy some refreshments for the room, so we headed over to the Watergate Complex (recommended at 7/11). Yes, that Watergate. The first floor of one of the buildings has some retail. Christine was able to get some gel pads for her shoes, and the guys found a liquor store. Success!