Good morning! This morning we are off to Capitol Hill and do you know what? It truly is a dang hill. By the time we hiked up to the visitor center, I was definitely feeling the grade. Unfortunately the dome of the building is under renovation due to several hundred cracks so we are unable to experience it's full beauty. Once we enter the Visitor Center, it is an underground entrance through Security and into the Capitol itself. At that point, we wait for our guide to get everyone set up with headphones and enjoy the wonderful statues surrounding us. King Kamehameha and Sakakawea side by side. Love it.
We enter the Rotunda where the paintings on the wall are explained along with the roped off area. That is where the tomb for George Washington is at. Yep, it's empty because the family has chose to leave him where he wants to be. So --- the Rotunda has a wonderful empty tomb in the center of it.
As we travel into the next area, I stop for a quick shot of Sam Houston. I asked where the second statue from Texas is (Stephen Austin) but it is in the House of Representatives Hall and we are not allowed to enter that area. Yep, one just thinks that this is OUR government. We are now in the National Statuary Hall and it is a huge room with statues circling all around and basically shoved everywhere. Just to be fair, here is the statue from Montana -- Charles Russell.
The ceilings have actual gold painted on them and our guide shows us what happens when conversations take place in this room. He asks us to remove our headsets and he walks to the other side of the room and speaks very softly. We can hear is crystal clear. He returns to tell us that the Senators and Congressmen HATE this room for that very reason. Oh, too funny. Oh, the white statue up above the columns? It is the Liberty and the Eagle statue and many locals refer to is as the original statue of liberty.
As we exit the building, I am able to take a picture of the North Wing which houses the Senate. It looks pretty quiet there today, but as we are walking past, guards appear from all directions as well as several cars. Someone must be arriving.
We gather near the Grant Memorial for a professional group photo and are able to check out the nearby statues. First up: the Artillery Statue.
The Grant Memorial has some interesting tidbits. It faces towards the Lincoln Memorial, as that he was the President during Grant's wartime. It also marks the eastern end of the National Mall, as Lincoln's Memorial marks the western end. He is flanked by four lions to represent the Calvary and Artillery who protected him.
After the group picture, we are off to the National Archives where we can view the original Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution. No pictures allowed though -- sorry.
I am suffering a bit today with hot flashes and this building is so stuffy to me that I must get out. I leave Jen and Jon to explore some more and wait out front, enjoying the sun. (Yep, proof that I am indeed here and not just making this stuff up.)
Jon and Jen join me and he proceeds to make friends with the birds. A few more minutes and he would have had them eating out of his hands, but several other classmates show up precisely at that time.
We are still on the move, but people are hungry so we are heading back to the bus where lunch is waiting for us. Not fancy today -- box lunch on the bus an a quick trip to the Souvenir shop for those who still need "something" to take home. I was smart and got Mister a pen while at the Capitol. That's it for me.
After lunch, we are off to the Newseum where five centuries of news history meets up-to-the-second technology. They even have the Unibomber's cabin here. What?
A height measurement shows that Jon is cheating by standing on the platform. Silly boy.
Parts of the Berlin Wall: (graffiti on one side, stark blank on the other)
Up to the minute newspapers from each state. Houston is representing Texas today. The architecture in this building is pretty dang cool. BUT, finding your way around is a bit of a challenge. The floors only connect in one place and it is not always at the same end. There is a 9/11 display and film that are very good and the one item that the kids have been told to make sure they see. They were not alive for it but hear about it all the time, making it something to definitely study.
We are now on our way to Ford's Theater and as I am drinking some water, another lady walks by and bumps into me (sitting straight forward in my seat) so hard that my water literally goes all over me. Yep, this looks great to be going to a place of honor. Yay me.
The basement of the theater has a museum in it but today we are lucky as the theater is also open for viewing. We quickly descend the stairs to cross the museum and climb the stairs into the balcony.
From here, we take seats and listen to a presentation on the theater and the events of that fateful night.
The entire time, we can see right across into the place it all took place and if you use your imagination can see it all as it plays out while the talk is given. So incredible that this is still here for us to experience.
Back in the museum, I decide to have a wee bit of fun. The President seems to be enjoying himself so I join in.
From here, we cross the street to the Petersen House, where the President was taken after being shot and later died. It still includes the bed he was in at the time and the parlor that Mary used while waiting for the doctors to attend to him. She was rather hysterical as one would no doubt understand. This building also contains a museum but it is not open today. In the gift shop, though, I see this tower of books written about President Lincoln. Wow.
As we wait for the bus, several of the boys have purchased musical toys and have created a band. Nice. I like fearless people. One even gets brave enough to cross the street, drop a hat, and play. He makes 11 bucks in about 15 minutes. Pretty good wages.
Everyone else shops while waiting for the bus. Of course. Hat anyone?
Is our day over yet? Not by a long shot. The next stops are at the Lincoln, Vietnam, and Korean War Memorials. We are now at the opposite end of the National Mall and there are memorials everywhere we look. I need to do some research to understand all of them and when they were place.
Again, I need to do some research. I had no idea we lost so many in the Korean War.
I think I like this Memorial the best of all of them. It impacts me the most. The faces are so real. The agony on them, the trepidation. It's very moving.
Etchings on the wall beside the soldiers.
Our last stop in this area is the Iwo Jima Memorial. We are only here for a few minutes, but it is enough to read and think about what happened here.
Across the park is another structure that is not on our list. I take a few minutes to wander over and see what it is about. It is the Netherlands Carillon, a gift from them to the people of the United States in 1954 to thank us for the aid given in World War II. It contains 50 bells and each one carries an emblem signifying a group within Dutch society. The smallest bells represent the youth of the Netherlands. Pretty cool little addition. A drive of the Pentagon finishes up our afternoon and we are off to Alexandria for dinner.
Dinner is at Gadsby's Tavern - where it is said that George Washington ate quite often.
What a delightful little place.
I love the exterior and the interior is even better.
Our group takes up three entire rooms -- yep, the whole restaurant. The servers are dressed in period clothing and the food is period as well. It is also very good.
After dinner, we are off for a "ghost tour" of Alexandria and we meet up with our guides. The group is split into thirds and taken in different directions. Our guide is soft spoken and definitely gets the kids jumpy. It's pretty funny to me -- oh not that I don't believe in ghosts, because I do -- but the students are getting more and more skittish as we go along.
As we return to the buss, there appears to be a problem with the lift used for the wheelchair. It won't go back down and is hanging off the side of the bus. After almost an hour of fiddling with it and us laughing ourselves silly - almost to the point of peeing my pants - the decision is made to jam EVERYONE into one bus to return to the hotel. Oh my. Here we go. Good-bye Alexandria, I would love to come and spend more time here in the future. You are now on my list.
Mister and I are off to the Dallas Arboretum for Dallas Blooms. It's a nice cool morning and a walk amongst flowers seems perfect. We pick up a couple cups of coffee and are on our way. Eye candy everywhere. This is pretty much a photo blog entry today.
Mister came home from work and we thought a cheese tray with a glass of beer seemed like a good dinner. Just as we finished it, our friend Jennie called and wanted to know if we would like to meet around 7 for dinner. That's two hours from now so we looked at each other and said sure. Let's go.
I am in the mood to cook again today. How odd, I know. Let's do Harvest Green Beans, Ham, and Penne. What can we make with that? Oh, and throw in some yellow summer squash too. I start by prepping everything: 8 oz fresh green beans, cut into 1 1/2" pieces (about 2 cups), 1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges, 2 small yellow summer squash, sliced, 1 cup bite-sized cooked ham strips, 1-2 teaspoons fresh oregano. Also gather some penne pasta, olive oil, and lemon-pepper seasoning.
There is time for an impromptu group shot before everyone heads for the water. I so want to line them all up side by side facing the water and photograph them with the monument in the distance and everyone silhouetted along the river. But, I am not in charge and moments after taking this picture, they were all asked to get away from the edge. Ah well.
Now to put a different spin on things, we are on our way to the Spy Museum. Yep, that's right - we are going to learn all about the spies that are all around us each and every day. 
This museum is really filled with fun things from both reality and fantasy. James Bond's car is here along with several prop items from the movies -- seriously, an entire James Bond wing is here. There are also all kinds of cool gadgets that are actually used by spies both past and present. Fun, fun, fun cameras.
There is even a wall of famous people who were spies at one time. This one just cracks me up but since I know her husband worked for the government, it isn't too terribly shocking.
As we arrive, the rain decides to make it's presence known. Of course it does. We are to be outside for the next couple of hours. Okay, time for some purchases. We pop into the gift shop right away and get a couple of umbrellas and a rain poncho for Jon. We are set. Time to walk.
At Arlington, everyone always thinks of the rows and rows of white stones, but there are older, varied stones there as well. One entire hillside looks down upon the rest of the cemetery. Between 1947 and 2001, one could privately purchase space here. This area is almost filled now so that rarely happens today.
After the changing of the guards, we have a couple of minutes before I notice that the guard has gone into a little covered area to the side of the tomb. This signals the start of the next ceremony, one the school is participating in. It is a wreath-laying ceremony and 4 of Jon's classmates will be involved. Again, the video is too large for here but please click on this LINK to watch it. It was perhaps one of the single most inspiring moments for me. What reverence - what respect - I am in awe.
The USS Maine Mast Memorial is the last one we stop at. Everyone is cold and wet but somehow our timing is still screwed up today. I am toast and head for the bus while everyone else figures out what to do. I walk back with Joe, our driver, and we brainstorm things to do to kill time. Our schedule is now over and we have 5 hours before our flight. I am not at all thrilled about hanging out at the airport for that long.
Jon is impressed from the moment we walk in the door. This place is HUGE! I am not kidding. One section even contains the Space Shuttle Discovery. That tells you how big this building is. And this is only one section. There are planes everywhere.
I leave Jon and Jen to wander and do their thing and discover that there is a tower we can go up in. I do not have time to tell them about it as the last ride up for the day is about to board. I hop in and am soon up with what would be a wonderful view IF it was not cloudy and rainy. Oh well, I do spot our bus waaaay out there in the parking lot though. 
