Our second day in D.C. just happened to be Asa's 33rd birthday. You might remember we celebrated his birthday at home a few days earlier, with a game of True American and his birthday dinner, but we also tried to do some things on Friday in D.C. that Asa wanted to do most. We met up with Joanne, Ray, Max and Henry and started out with a long walk from our hotel to the National Mall.
We took the Mount Vernon trail, which took us past the airport, and to gravelly point, where airplanes go right over your head.
The trail follows along the Potomac, and while the trek is a long one, it was really scenic.
We crossed the bridge, and made our way past the Jefferson memorial.
It was a few miles from the hotel across the river, and we were all pretty hungry by the time we got there, so we ate at the food court at L'Enfant Plaza.
Asa had said he wanted to tour the Capitol again, and I was lucky to be able to snag some tickets. Most tickets to all the major attractions were long gone when we found out we'd be going to D.C. a couple weeks ago. After lunch, Joanne and her crew headed over to the Air and Space Museum and we went to the Capitol.
After all the walking, the introductory 15 minute video was nice, since we got to sit the soft cushiony seats.
After the video, you are given headsets so you can hear your guide as you make your way through the Capitol building.
The first room they take you to is just below the rotunda.
Just below here is where George Washington was meant to be buried, but of course, he ended up at Mount Vernon.
On your way to the rotunda, you pass by the steps the President/President-Elect takes on Inauguration Day.
Then it's up another set of stairs, and past the only flag that hangs in the Capitol.
We had been on this tour two years ago when we were in D.C., and the rotunda was being restored and had scaffolding all around it. We had hoped it would be finished- but it was even more covered up than the last time we were there. There was sheeting all around the top dome, with only the very top showing, and scaffolding was everywhere. Fun fact: The dome is made out of cast iron, so they are filling in all the rusted out holes.
After the Rotunda, you make your way to statuary hall, but you pass the Speaker of the House's office on the way.
Every state has a statue in the Capitol building. The boys were excited that they recognized a whole slew of them.
We had a Jefferson Davis sighting...
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And Henry Clay!
And William Jennings Bryan.
Statuary Hall is the old House of Representatives, so it's pretty impressive.
And you get all kinds of fun gold plates on the floor giving you a little piece of history.
I bet very few kids are super excited about seeing Millard Fillmore's name somewhere, but Hayden thought it was awesome.
Down that hall is the current House of Representatives, and the doorway the president uses for his State of the Union.
I don't know how long the tour lasts, but it goes rather quickly, and they drop you back off in the visitors center.
There you can find the statue of freedom (the statue that's on top of the capitol dome), and an exhibition hall full of all kinds of cool things. We particularly liked Henry Clay's ink jar, James Garfield's page turner, and the platform used for state funerals. They had a whole list of everyone who it has been used for, and it ran from Lincoln to Reagan. Unfortunately, you can't take pictures in the exhibition hall, so I don't have any to share with you. But, if you ever go, it's worth checking out. Also worth noting, you don't have to do the tour to go into the Visitors center and the hall.
We were there on Friday, and we took some pictures on the cheery trees (which were in bloom when we were there!) out front. A couple days later, you weren't allowed up on the lawn, thanks to some crazy guy with a gun. I feel like everytime we go, there's more and more places off limits.
We walked along the backside of the Capitol, and along the mall before catching the metro back to our next destination.
Worth noting- we also couldn't go on the grass at the mall, it's all being redone too.
We hopped on the metro, since we had done enough walking for the day, and headed over to the White House.
After all, we had to pick up our Easter Egg Roll tickets!
They came complete with Barack Obama M&Ms!
Last time we were in D.C. we could go right up to the gates at the White House, but they had a makeshift fence, so you couldn't get within 5 feet. But, no worries, we knew we'd be ON the White House lawn in a few days.
After a long day we decided it was time to head back to the hotel for a little relaxation, so we took the metro over to the Pentagon stop.
Since we had gotten off at the Pentagon stop (which was not pedestrian friendly getting back to the hotel) we decided to walk to the other side of the Pentagon to go to the September 11th memorial. I had gone before, but nobody else had ever been.
Every person who died that day has a bench in their honor.
They're organized by year of their birth.
The benches face different ways depending on who was on the plane, and who was in the Pentagon.
You can also tell where the Pentagon was repaired, since the stone is a slightly different color. It's a really nice memorial, and definitely worth the stop if you ever get the chance.
After hanging out at the hotel for awhile, we were off to dinner at Nando's Peri-Peri, Asa and Peyton really like the spicy chicken, but I just went with a bunch of sides. (The squash and corn was AMAZING!) Joanne and Ray treated us for Asa's birthday, which was super nice of them (Thanks guys!)
They also have bottomless fro yo to combat the spicy stuff, which is always a hit.
Then we were back to our room to hang out for the rest of the evening.
I couldn't get a picture of it, but Joanne's fit bit said she walked 12.8 miles. We took the metro a few times, so we were a bit less than that, but I'm sure we still walked a whole lot.
Next Up: Memorials, Presidents, and Jumbo Slice!
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