Day Two started with stories of bedtime and our West Coast roots getting the best of some people. Some claimed four hours of sleep, some said five... but nobody would admit to getting more than seven. So, undeterred, we set out. Our first stop was the Capitol for a 9:45 tour. Unfortunately for us, the Capitol is being refurbished and having a lot of repairs and maintenance done to its exterior. It was noted more than once that the scaffolding, both inside and out, effects our picture taking! Still, we forged on. Our tour guide was great.., funny, knowledgeable, engaging... the best we've ever experienced on any of our trips.
We toured the crypt, Rotunda and Statuary Hall while there, with plenty of Q&A's being shared between our guide and the students. I dare you to ask them about whether a tomato is a fruit or vegetable. Hopefully their knowledge (both horticulturally and legally) will impress you. In the end, it was decided that Nolan and Shannon were his favorites!
After the Capitol, we took the underground passage to the Library of Congress. We did a self-guided tour, seeing Thomas Jefferson's personal library, an exhibition they had on the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and saw the main reading room. The building itself is majestic... certainly one of the most impressive in Washington.
Next, we went next door to the Supreme Court. After touring the main hall, fielding questions about Earl Warren and the importance of the Warren Court, noting the precedent set by William Howard Taft of being president and then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (Obama?), and seeing the courtroom from the observation area, we had to decide if we wanted to commit another 45 minutes to actually going inside the courtroom.... or go sit somewhere and have lunch. In the end, hungry teenagers won the moment and we left.
We had lunch in Penn Square before heading for the White House via Ford's Theater. Crazy how far they set you back on the front side of the White House. Car bombers and fence jumpers have made it so that you're probably 200 yards away. So we went to the back side where, in the midst of a least a half dozen security guards, you're a mere 75 yards away.
Finally, around 4:00 pm we made it to the Metro station, headed back to the hotel. We'll be in the hotel for a couple of hours before we head across the Francis Scott Key bridge to Georgetown for dinner and some touring. Tomorrow, it's "museums" day... Holocaust, Smithsonians, etc...
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