Out of Our Rut: Washington DC

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Early in the week, we had called our congresswoman's office to see what was involved with getting tickets to tour the Capitol. We were given the email address to send the request to and had gotten a response back that we could tour on Thursday at 1 PM and we could stop by to get passes to get into both the House and Senate meeting rooms.

We weren't exactly sure what to expect so we headed that direction mid morning with the plans of spending the bulk of the day there. First we stopped at Louise Slaughter's office to get passes. She wasn't in, so we couldn't say hi. At the Capitol, there was the standard long line just to get through security. Once in, there were other lines to stand in to get your sticker to go on the tour - one line for people with passes and one for those without. Since we were about 2 hours early, he put us in with an earlier tour so only needed to wait 10 minutes or so.

Other Side of Capitol Building

After a 15 minute orientation movie, we are split into several groups, given wireless headsets and provided with a tour guide who must really enjoy her job. I found it hard to believe somebody could be THAT enthusiastic about the Capitol. It's a big place and quite ornate but worth the tour - especially since it is free.

Looking up at Dome

Closeup of Painting on Dome

Painting Around Dome Looks 3 Dimensional

Some Big Paintings Seen on Tour

Extremely Ornate

Some of Many Sculptures

Intricate Ceiling Detail

We headed to the cafeteria for a quick lunch before exploring more of the displays. Then we decided to use our special passes to get into both the House of Representatives and Senate meeting rooms. Neither groups were working so it wasn't going to be much more than a viewing of the rooms. We found it odd that at no point were we asked to see our special passes. Maybe it was because it is off season and the crowds were smaller, or maybe since nothing was in session the demand isn't that great?

King Kamehameha

Chief Washakie

Statue of Freedom in Visitor's Center

Capitol Dome Seen From Visitor's Center

To get into the House, you needed to check all your electronic equipment - cameras, phones, and even our watches. We went thru the maze of hallways, elevators and stairs to get to the room where you sit in the upper balcony overlooking the room below. Maybe it would have been more interesting if there was something happening, although from what I can tell, even when they are in session, there really isn't much actually happening!

After picking up our possessions, we head over to the Senate side. Much the same but no need to check any possessions but still no photography is permitted. The Library of Congress is in a building adjacent to the Capitol and since we were already through security, it was quicker to head there via the tunnel rather than exiting and having to go thru it all over again.

We had timed it perfectly and got in on a tour that was starting in just a couple minutes. A brief video was followed by splitting into groups and touring some of the library. I am generally much more of a minimalist and haven't liked the ornately decorated buildings we have seen so far, but this one was different. Yes it's over the top, but I found it beautiful.