DC Trip: The Library of Congress, the Capitol, and the Supreme Court

So prepare yourself, this is going to be a lot of pictures! I arrived and met Matt in DC on Thursday and then Friday morning we got up to be at the Library of Congress for opening at 8:30 AM. We were the first ones in and got to see the amazing building when there was no one else in it. It was definitely beautiful and it was especially cool to see the Reading Room. One day I will get to go in there and do some research, just have to figure out what! The LOC also has some really interesting exhibits, including one on Bob Hope, and a copy of the Gutenberg Bible.

Almost felt like I was back in Europe

Just stunning

The Reading Room

The Gutenberg Bible

After our tour of the LOC, we headed over to meet up with our tour guide for the tour of the US Capitol! Several months ago I had arranged through our congressional office tours of the White House, Supreme Court, and the Capitol. A few days prior to the trip, I get an email offering us a private, staff-led tour of the Capitol. If you get a chance, I highly recommend you take them up on this offer. We had an intern show us around parts of the Capitol the 'big' tours don't get to see and it was excellent getting to skip the lines, too!

The next few pictures were taken prior to our tour of the LOC,
around 8 AM, hence why there aren't throngs of tourists :)

Now inside the Capitol, this was the Supreme Court Chambers from 1810-1860

A replica of the Magna Carta 

Now THIS is what made the staff-led tour especially awesome. This is from the
Speaker's Balcony. That larger balcony below is where the president makes his Inaugural Address.

Inside the dome

The Old Senate Chamber from 1810-1859

And finally we went to the Supreme Court! This was more interesting than I expected and we learned all sorts of cool things about this building. Did you know it wasn't built until the 1930s? Until then, the Supreme Court met in the Capitol.

You could take pictures looking into the chambers but not once you were inside.

We were able to enjoy a rather informative 30-minute 'lecture' on the history and architecture of the Supreme Court. Again- highly recommend it if you're able!

DC Trip: National Mall & Monuments

While wandering between the Smithsonian museums, it is inevitable that you will wander the National Mall. Dude. That Mall is WAY bigger than it looks on maps. It definitely took a long time to walk from one end to another (at least 30-40 minutes walking at our quick pace) so we definitely got our exercise on the trip! I wish we could have ran around parts of it in the morning hours as it was so pretty, but we ended up not having the time to do so. Oh well, next trip! 

This set of pictures also includes the monuments. We took a Monuments by Moonlight tour though there was less moonlight than if we had gone in a different season. The tour itself was awesome and we loved having the tour guide to tell us random historical points about each monument. Plus we didn't have to talk, so that was a plus!

One of our first views of the Capitol

On our tour, we didn't stop to see the Jefferson Memorial
unfortunately, so this is the best picture I got.

Part of the FDR Memorial

Where MLK Jr made his speech
standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

Looking from the Lincoln Memorial towards the Capitol.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Korean War Veterans Memorial

Marine Corp War Memorial

The WWII Memorial

Looking towards the Lincoln Memorial. So many geese!

The Mall and the memorials are obviously quite picturesque and beautiful. They are also much larger in person than you could imagine and it is cool to look back and remember the history of our country. The different veterans memorials were particularly touching, so I highly recommend taking the time to visit them and don't just rush to the next thing.

DC Trip: Smithsonians

We knew going into our trip that as we only had 2 full days there, we weren't going to be able to see everything. We tried to prioritize the attractions we wanted to see and were happy with what we got to fit in. The only thing we missed was the Panda bears at the zoo, but it would have been too long of a metro ride to make it work. Oh well. 

Of course one of the things you have to do while you're in DC is see the Smithsonians. We visited the Air and Space, US History, and Natural History museums. All were fantastic though definitely crowded. I recommend getting there at opening! We arrived at the US History museum right when they opened and literally just walked through several exhibits to see what was in each-- they were all empty! Within 30 minutes it was a lot harder to see and read things in great detail, so it is good to prioritize what you want to do and see most. 

But enough text, here are the pictures with some commentary :)

First off, the Air & Space! And a Messerschmitt

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter; first US jet fighter to fly Mach 2

THE Wright Flyer

An assortment of rockets and other projectiles

Ha I made him :)

Something a little bit more up this girl's alley,
some pretty jewels representing my birthstone!

Natural History Museum. So many skeletons.
I spared you. You're welcome.

Back at the Air & Space briefly. Matt with the Spirit of St. Louis!

Matt wears so many shirts. This is with a very old
 fire engine at the US History Museum

THE lunch counter of the Civil Rights Era

I would love to go back and see those museums in more detail as well as the others that are there, but we're glad we got to see what we did. Plus-- they're FREE!!

Quick Update

And we're back from DC! And Houston. Well, I'm back from Houston. Due to a family emergency, I had to make a last-second trip to Houston to take care of my niece and then drive back on Wednesday prior to flying to DC on Thursday. Thankfully all is better now, just made for a crazy week!

I don't have time for a full trip recap quite yet (SO MUCH WORK TO DO), but wanted to share some fun pictures in the meantime :) Until then, rest assured we had a great time, ate a lot, walked a TON, and got to see some really cool things.

Overlooking the reading room of the Library of Congress

Standing on the Speaker's Balcony at the capitol,
AKA one of the COOLEST views ever.

Marine Corp War Memorial

From the steps of Lincoln Memorial looking towards the capitol

Matt & the Spirit of St Louis at the Air & Space Museum

Changing of the Guard at Arlington National Cemetery

Right after our White House tour.

While we didn't get to see the president or anyone famous, we did see Marine One fly by on our last day and we're now 2 degrees of separation from a former presidential candidate. But that's a story for another day!

Miscellany Wednesday

Well hello out there! Hope someone is still out there reading this :)

Figured I should resurface and let everyone know we are alive. The summer heat has really come upon us here in Texas but I guess it is July (dude, how did that happen?). To be honest, my lack of posting has been less to do with being too busy and more to do with not much blog-worthy things going on. With that said, here is a collection of random comments and happenings for you to read this hopefully-happy Wednesday.

• Comps prep is going well. Most of my days are spent reading (mostly) interesting articles. The days when I make flashcards are the most anxiety-provoking as I have 2 300-flashcards-holder boxes basically full already. Memorizing isn't going to be fun, but let's not think about that til later, k?
• We are prepping to leave for Washington, DC in a few days. Matt will go down first for his work-thing and then I will follow him a few days later. It is going to be a whirlwind couple of days that we're there. Unfortunately, there are too many things to see, too many places to eat, and not enough hours in the day to see them all. Oh well. We know that going in so hopefully we can still have a good time!
• Speaking of my husband- he got a promotion/new job! He applied for a new job within the same company about a month ago and found out last week that he got the job. He is really excited about the new job and I'm so proud of him! :)
• We went swimming in our new pool this past weekend and had a great time. We wondered why we had waited to long to do that and bought some cheap pool toys to play with next time we go. Because deep down, we're still kids.
• I officially started my half-marathon training. I went from running 2-3 days a week to running 4 days a week. My legs & feet definitely felt that transition last week but I'm still glad to be doing it. Ask me in about 2 months how it's going-- the answer may be different!
• Our Fourth of July was pretty relaxing. We went out to a movie and dinner beforehand, then came home and watched the NYC's fireworks show on TV. No crowds + AC + PJs made us happy!

There may be other things but those are the highlights. Do you have any DC tips or suggestions for us? We were fortunate enough to get tours of the White House, the Capitol, and the Supreme Court. Plus I really want to go to the zoo so I can see one of these guys! Cross your fingers that we get lucky!

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