Day #12 in DC: The US Capitol

2015-08-10USACapitol, dc, downtown Standard

[Photos from 10 AUGUST 2015, published on 28 29 October. ~~Probably~~. Definitely.]

Our hosts were a little worried that we’d never make it downtown to see the touristy sights, since we seemed to be in no hurry whatsoever to do so.

And, yes, they were right about the reluctance, because aside from the San Francisco Exploratorium, we’ve derived relatively little joy from visiting museums with small children in the past, even highly rated ones like the New York Natural History Museum.

But, our hosts figured out a way to trick us into touristing, which was to book tickets to visit the US Capitol (aka the US parliament building), and then offer up a sacrificial adult to babysit the hoard. There was no way to say no, so downtown we went! (45 images total.)

Finnur with the US Capitol building behind him.

We arrived just in time for our allotted slot, dropped Þráinn off to get the tickets, and then ended up parking on the wrong side of the building! Not only that, but since we had no cash, we had to install an app on the phone to pay for the parking space, which took a while because our phone number is Icelandic, and yadda, yadda! But it worked out in the end!

So we raced towards the building, looking for the visitor center.

They have a lot of grass to maintain.

Since we were about to be late, Finnur asked a security guard for directions. That’s when we found out we were on the Wrong Side Of The Building. Doh!

Security cameras pretending to be birds.

Of course, there's no walking past the building. You have to walk past the GARDEN!

Of course, there’s no walking past the building. You have to walk around the GARDEN surrounding the building!

Finally, the front side became visible, and more friendly security people told us to keep going, further and walk down steps far far away from the actual entrance to the building. Whaaa?

Finally, the front side became visible, and more friendly security people told us to keep going further onwards, and walk down steps far far away from the actual entrance to the building. Whaaa?

Well hidden steps down to the visitor center. The front of the building it self is behind me here.

Well hidden steps down to the visitor center. The front of the building itself is behind us here.

After a security check, we walked to the main tourist hall and found…

Icelanders!

We stood in line for a little while.

We then entered a big screening room, where they played a fancy video documenting the history of the Capitol and the United States. After the video was over, it was back in line.

We were herded through the Capitol Crypt, where lots of fancy statues live. They all looked so fashionable! Look at those skinny pants! And those boots!!

The center of the crypt, looking crypty.

Lincoln, soooo not impressed with the tourists.

This is such an old building, it’s got nooks and crannies and hallways everywhere. But we could explore none of them, as there were guards Everywhere!

Magna Carta replica in gold. Because how else will you know that a piece of paper is important?

The line moved so slowly, I had plenty of time to look at the statues, which were rather amazingly detailed!

Fancy shoe and socks. I guess statue-makers were the 3D printers of their time?

This must have taken absolutely forever to make!

This must have taken absolutely forever to implement!

Overview of the many statues.

There were so many people there!

Pretty mini dome.

First Senate Chamber. Yes, since the usual tourist part of the Capitol is under construction, we got to see a reconstruction of a room where Lincoln was said to have argued cases. Or something?

First Senate Chamber. Yes, since the usual tourist part of the Capitol was under construction, we got to see a reconstruction of a room where Lincoln was said to have argued cases. Or something?

The room in question. Most impressive though was a guy who recited the same spiel about the story of the room, sounding incredibly enthusiastic. Every. Single. Time.

Then it was down some stairs…

… and we were back where we started! I think this huge statue is a replica of the one that stands on top of the big dome itself.

This was during the lunch break, but I’m sure this room is often overflowing with people!

They do have an open exhibition about the story of the Capitol and role of Congress.

They do have an open exhibition about the story of the Capitol and the role of Congress. Also, thanks to the fancy video at the beginning, I now finally understand the weird sentence Out Of Many One.

Knowledge!

Neat model of the way things were.

It’s only been 200 years!

This is from many decades ago. Pretty big difference!

This is what the front of the building looks like, and I think this is where they swear in new presidents?

There we are!

We decided to complete the circle around the building as we walked back to the car!

A nice puddle.

Another touristy view.

We were too lazy to walk around, so we just drove around. Here’s to document we’ve seen the Washington Monument with our own eyes, somewhat up close.

We drove past this fantastic signage.

No dyslexia allowed!

We drove past the White House as well. This is as close as you can drive to the front of it.

This is the closest you drive by the back of it. But there’s a park there you can freely walk around.

With one last parting shot, we said goodbye to downtown, thanked our lucky starts we didn’t drag the kids along, and drove to home base. And then I probably went shopping!