National Mall, Day 2

We had a plan today, and it worked fairly well.  Despite the warnings of the hotel staff we drove to downtown Washington DC today, and we lived to tell the tale.  We also made our own lunch (lunch at the museums is more expensive than airport food).  I, William, dropped the girls off at the Capitol Building, then went to park the car about one mile away.  I ran to one museum to look for a locker to keep our lunch and backpack.  The Capitol tour (thank you Senator Feinstein) does not allow cameras, food or water, so we needed a place to leave our belongings.  I finally found a place to leave belongings and ran up Capitol Hill to join the group.  It turned out that someone left a stroller unattended near the entrance, which prompted a level purple national alert, and the police moved everyone out onto the street and delayed our entrance into the air conditioned building.  We had to wait outside with about 50 Mennonites.

After neutralizing the abandoned stroller threat we were put back in line and allowed into the building.  Now, the air conditioning is a blessing (I can't fathom how people worked and lived in Washington before air conditioning), but for diminutive Julia it is something of a curse.  She gets very cold inside, and she was protesting the temperature inside, so she and I went outside while the other girls took the tour.  We ended up going inside the Supreme Court building, which is a very impressive and sober building, and then crossing the street to the Library of Congress.  In my opinion the Library of Congress is the most beautiful and impressive library I have ever seen, and I am a fan of libraries.  The artwork covering the walls, the history, the sculptures and the reading room were just beautiful.  When we went to the American History Museum I felt deep emotion when I saw the displays for the Vietnam War and the 9/11 display.  In the Library of Congress I felt a surge of patriotic pride, it is a building and a collection of which all Americans should be proud.

One aspect of Washington DC of which I am not proud is the level of service from people in restaurants, service and security guards.  The guards are especially unfriendly and curt.

Did you know that we are running in 2012?

Lucia self portrait at the Lincoln Memorial.  It was the end of the afternoon, we were sweaty, hot and exhausted.  The Lincoln Memorial was really impressive.  On one wall is the Gettysburg Address, on the other is the speech from Lincoln's second inauguration.  The building is massive, and the statue is an iconic presence.

Ana and Lily in front of the White House.  There was a beehive near Michelle Obama's garden, which is hard to see in the photo, but it's to the left of Ana.  We were really hot, and the sun was shining relentlessly.  The locals told us that the weather was actually really nice for this time of the year!  There was a breeze, and it didn't get over 90.  God help us when we get to Texas, which has had over 50 straight days over 100 degrees.

After eating lunch on the lawn of the Capitol Building we took a taxi over to the White House.  We went into a gift store and took some photographs.  The gift stores around DC have great stuff, and the girls have learned that there is one attached to nearly every museum and historical building.  In the Supreme Court gift shop they had a game for children called 'Lawsuit!'.  I'm going to have to look into that for a Christmas gift.

Tomorrow we plan on going to the National Zoo to see the pandas and then going on a 7pm walking tour after dinner.  Thursday we plan to go to Mount Vernon to see George Washington's house.  Friday we go to NYC.


Short video at the Washington Monument
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-OA65LnMG4