Washington D.C. Day 3

I decided to give day 3 a post all it's own because we packed SO much into this one day! If you missed days 1 & 2, you can read my recap here. We got another early start because we had an 11 o'clock tour of the Capitol Building that we'd scheduled through our local congressman's office. Well we got to the Metro station only to find out that the train we needed to take was closed all weekend for repairs, and there were hoards of people waiting in line to board busses. We freaked out just a little because at this point it was close to 10:30 and we were almost 3 miles from the Capitol. We decided we would just power walk all the way when thank God someone stopped us and told us that if we just crossed the street, there was a bus stop with a bus that would take us right there 🙌. Thank you, kind stranger! We literally boarded the bus seconds before they closed the doors, and we were SO relieved to have made it.

We made it!

This is the visitor's center in the Capitol Building. Those skylights are actually at ground level, and you take stairs to go below to get to the entrance of the building. So when you're standing up top in front of the Capitol, there are signs telling you not to step on the glass.

We had what I presume was a really interesting tour....unfortunately Henry decided during this hour to be the fussiest he was the whole trip. Really one of the only times he fussed at all! The tour started with a video on the history of the Capitol Building, but I had to take Henry out as soon as it began. He was tired, but refused to fall asleep, so we spent pretty much the whole tour trying to keep him quiet so as not to disturb the rest of the group. 

Inside the Rotunda

The dome of the Rotunda. Pictures don't do it justice!

Not a great picture because it's only the ceiling, but this is inside Statuary Hall. Each state gets to have 2 statues in the Capitol Building, and many of them are kept in this room. The guide told some interesting stories about what this room has been used for over the years, including a marketplace with livestock!

After our tour, we walked a few blocks to eat at We the Pizza, which was delicious! We headed down Capitol Hill toward the National Archives, and we just a about died of the heat! We're all from Alabama, we're used to the heat; we just don't normally walk miles and miles in it! 

 We got to the Archives and first went to check out the area where they house the Bill of Rights, U.S. Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence, among other important documents. I so wish we could have been in there alone to have really been able to take our time looking (doesn't everyone!), but despite waiting in a crowd to get a glimpse, it was pretty incredible. They've faded a ton over time, but it is just amazing to think what those documents meant back then and still mean today, both for our country and the world.

Jessica and Aaron decided to leave and check out a couple other Smithsonian museums, but Caleb and I stayed at the Archives for another hour and a half or so. This was one of my favorite things we did. There was so much fascinating information about what is stored in the National Archives; marriage and death certificates, immigration records, patents, war correspondence, etc. There were TONS of things to read, so if that's not your thing you might want to move on (like Aaron and Jessica did 😜). They had patents and original blue prints for lots of inventions ranging from Tinker Toys, to typewriters, to light bulbs. There was some kind of wax cylinder that had a recording of FDR giving a speech. They had documents from the 50's on a couple of Soviet spies that had been de-classified and were now on display. It was all SO COOL! And then at the end they had an area about preserving archives for the future generations, and there was a video about how the cases that hold the Charters of Freedom were made, which is also right up my alley (I love any "how it's made" stuff!) I just loved the National Archives!

Caleb and I went and did a little shopping afterwards. Anything to get out of the heat, and when will I ever say no to shopping? 😀 Up until this point in his life, Henry had only ever worn footed pajamas, and that's all I had brought for him to wear. Well bless his heart, the poor baby was outside all day in sweltering heat in long sleeves and long pants, with his feet covered. So we found an H&M and bought him a pack of short sleeved onesies to wear for the rest of the trip. 

Of course we had to see the White House! I honestly don't know how Caleb got this picture; there were people and protestors EVERYWHERE. You'd never know by the picture!

We met back up with Aaron and Jessica and went to Bobby's Burger Palace for dinner (Aaron's pick for his birthday!). OMG take me back now! I am a burger fanatic and this one was delicious! I was tempted to pick it for my birthday the next day.  Plus everything tastes better when you're worn slap out and have sweated buckets from walking so much 😜.  It was close to sunset, so we headed over to the Lincoln Memorial because we were told to go see it at night. So glad we listened! It was absolutely beautiful to see all lit up! 

 Looking away from the Memorial

Breathtaking. A picture can't capture the sheer magnitude.

Hot and tired, but having the best time!

They had a neat little museum below the memorial that we only found because we needed the elevator for the stroller. I don't think many people knew it was there, because most go up the steps,  so we basically had it to ourselves. There was information on how the design was selected, how it was built, how the statue was carved, etc. Again, my favorite kind of info! 

Afterwards, we headed straight back to the hotel and collapsed in bed yet again. It was a long and exhausting day, but SO wonderful!