Welcome to Washington, DC

Our first stop on our itinerary is the U. S. Capitol. We arrived on time and again made it through security. We had a few minutes to be in the visitor center before viewing a short video about the Capitol. We received a headset to wear to hear our tour guide because the rooms a so large as well as the crowd so the guide's voice gets lost easily. We went to the Crypt Room where Washington was to be buried but was not since the building was not completed before his death and he also wished to be buried at Mount Vernon. It is marked be a 13 point star in the floor which is also the center of Washington DC and is the point from where everthing else in DC is measured and laid out as a city. Then we went into the Rotunda to see the magnificent paintings surrounding the walls with many of the statues from the states of which each state provides two. Alabama's are ________________Wheeler (can't remember first name) and Helen Keller as a child. Other statues are commissioned by Congress such as Martin Luther King, Jr.'s. We saw where bodies "lie in state" and "line in honor". The frescoe painting in the dome is beautiful. Then on into Statuary Hall where many other statues are located as well as the "Whispering Spot" and where bronze floor plates mark where President's desks sat when they were in Congress as Senators or Representatives. The kids loved it and I was proud as they answered all the questions the guide asked them!
We then proceeded to the Library of Congress. Though tourists can't go into the actual rooms of books, we did get to see the Jefferson collection which was purchased to begin the Library. Beautiful architecture and artwork in this building as well. But as the kids are now approaching empty stomachs and tired feet and legs, I'm afraid some of it's beauty was lost to them!! We are now looking for any and every opportunity to sit down!