Washington DC, a recap part 1

Well, it doesn’t take long for memory to fade. We have been home for less than a week, and already the details are starting to get foggy. Its a good thing that I took pictures and video. Since I mention it, here is a description of the stuff that I didn’t earlier in my blog due to time and energy.

On Friday, Bionca wanted to go to Torrid that was in the Mongomery Mall. Here is what happened.

Ya, you saw that right… 2 hours. Let me say this again if I haven’t already. The roads around Washington DC are terribly marked and confusing. But we got there, and Bionca did her shopping. She even restrained herself by staying under $100.

Once we got done shopping we went back to Union Station and parked and decided to take the tour bus around and see what there is to see. The bus goes to 24 stops in all, and one of the first is the Capitol Building. We got off, took some pictures, and played in the leaves a bit.

On Katie’s suggestion, we decided to see the Library of Congress (Jefferson Building). At first, I thought that we would be in and out. When we first went into the building we noticed the security at the front, and I realized that I had made a mistake. There are a few things that I regularly carry in my pockets, and some of them include a lighter and a knife. I knew that they would not be allowed, and I confirmed that they did not have a way to check them in. My alternatives were to either go back to the car, or to leave them outside. Luckily Bionca found a great spot behind a little gate. (I have some pictures of it). I figured that it was pretty likely that they would be gone by the time that I got back, but I didn’t really have much of a choice.

We went inside, and were just in time for the tour, and right from the start I was enthralled. I came to find that the building is not only a library but a Temple to Minerva. The whole building has a classical feel, much in the style of old churches, but with very few religious elements. I was almost obsessed with finding each architectural element, and cranny of art and then divining its meaning. One of the most unique things on the tour was that we got to go into the room that the Senate uses. It had cleaned it, but it had not been fully restored. After the tour, I even went back here with the docent and we discussed some of the art that was in there. She had said that there was not depiction of god in the building, but I thought that I had seen one on the ceiling of that room. We went back, and there it was. On the panel that was for the color yellow was the the big guy with the white beard and the yellow halo. While I didn’t get to learn what he was about, I did get to learn more in general. I really had a great time here.

We did try to get a library card, but it is for researchers only. Next time we go, we will have something to research. I can’t wait to see more of this magnificent national resource.

Since we didn’t get up early, and we spent so much time with finding the mall, and since I wanted to spend so much time in the Jefferson building, we really didn’t have time for a lot more. I did get my knife and lighter back though. We went back to the bus, and finished the tour. Bionca and I wanted to take some good pictures, so we rode up top. This was probably the coldest day and as the sun set, it just got colder. We rode up front with a family from California, and we all suffered together. The driver was pretty cool, if a bit of a crazy driver. I can’t believe all the stop signs that she completely ignored.

One by one they abandoned the top for the warmer interior until it was just me and the youngest boy of the family. We stayed up there until it was their stop in George Town, and after I went inside, since it wasn’t fun alone. It was a great tour, and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting DC, if you can afford it, since it is a bit pricey.

Later, we went to the National Mall and checked out the monuments there. We went to Lincoln, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War Memorials. While the Lincoln Monument was great at night, the others are more impressive during the day, although the Korean War Memorial is rather haunting at night, and we got to talk to someone at the Vietnam War Memorial that experienced it and lost a brother because of it (he became an alcoholic and it ruined his life).

After this we were so cold that we decided to just go back to the hotel. After all, we were exhausted.

Its dinner time now, so I think that I will end this here, and add the pictures after.