DC: Day 5

Day 5 was super cold. Or to my SoCal blood it was freezing. I had on my coat, and a couple layers below it, plus my scarf. BRR!

We didn't get to see the monuments on our hop on/off tour the prior day, so we used our 2nd day pass to go see as many as we could. We stopped at the Jefferson Memorial, and spent our time leisurely checking him out. Did you know that he faces the White House? When FDR dedicated the Jefferson Memorial, he had the trees in front of the South Portico of the White House removed so that President Jefferson could see it. Kinda cool, huh?

From there, we walked over to the FDR Memorial. Really, the FDR memorial is a series of statues and waterfalls among granite. There are references to the Great Depression, to the war, and also a statue to Eleanor Roosevelt, the only first lady with a memorial.

From there, we hopped back on the trolley to head back to the Capitol building. We had a tour there, and we were really looking forward to it. I have to tell you that we were not disappointed. The Capitol is just massive, and yet beautiful. The House was in session, and I'm thinking that it was Nancy Pelosi's car that I saw parked out front surrounded by Secret Service. The tour started with a short video, about the history of the Capitol building itself (for instance, did you know that it was built during the civil war, when metal was at it's most valuable? Lincoln insisted that the Capitol continue being built as a visual reminder that the United States would once again be whole - interesting, huh?? OK, maybe it's just me.). From there we walked around to the Rotunda, where several presidents have laid in state. We went to the hall of presidents. Each state may have 2 statues in the Capitol at any time. Sometimes they switch them out, but they can only have 2 per state. California's statues were Junipero Serra, and Ronald Reagan. We also got to see where the Supreme Court used to preside. That room was rather dark, and it was about the same time that my camera batteries died. The architecture is truly amazing, and I highly recommend it for anyone visiting the Capitol to take tour. It's free and it's worth it.

From there, we walked across the street to the Library of Congress. The architecture here is spectacular. We walked all around, to the different exhibits. We really didn't have the time to really read everything. There was a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution on display. Plus, a whole exhibit on starting our country. It ended with an exhibit that looked like a mini library, within the Library of Congress. At one time, while Jefferson was president, the British attempted to burn down the Capitol where all the books at the time were held. Thomas Jefferson was appalled that all of that valuable information was destroyed, so he offered to sell Congress his books at whatever price they deemed acceptable. He had a huge collection varying from gardening and cooking, to philosophy and law. Every book was purchased, and became the start of the Library of Congress. Some volumes are missing, so the display shows which were in his actual library, and which have been replaced. It also shows which were in his library, but are not locatable, so they have place holders. It was really amazing.

We didn't stay long, though because we had plans to meet with Danita and her family for dinner. She picked us up at the metro stop outside Andrews AFB, and we met with her hubby and 3 kids for dinner. It was lots of fun, but I loved it when Danita told me that Alyssa, her 5 year old, had decided that I was half her aunt too. For a 5 year old, blended families are a lot to take in and understand, but I thought that was pretty perceptive of her to try and be included. And I'm fine with that really. At dinner, Alyssa shared a very funny story, that I will now share with you. I'm not sure that I"ll get the entire hilarity of the story here, but I assure you, I died laughing. But before that, a little about Alyssa. She has long blond hair, and its a little curly in the back. And she really doesn't like for it to be brushed. So here is our conversation:

Alyssa: "I sleep with a rat!".
Me: "you do?"
A: "yes, and sleeps right here (pats the back crown of her head)"
M: "really?"(at this point I'm thinking it's a stuffed animal)
A: "yes, and it makes a nest every day! That's why I call it my rat's nest"

And she proudly shows me where Daddy could not get the tangles out, so there is a rat's nest on the back of her head! Too funny!! What kids say, I swear.

After dinner, Danita dropped us off at the metro, and Brianna came back with us to the hotel. She was going to get to spend the day with us, and we couldn't have been more thrilled. We decided to go see the Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian Castle, the Washington Monument and the Old Post Office. Alyssa was none too pleased that Brianna was getting to go and she wasn't, but Danita explained that Alyssa's daddy sees her all the time, so any time Brianna can see her daddy's family is special. She seemed to get that. Maybe next time we are here, we can spend more time with Alyssa.

Back at the hotel we hung out and talked, and finally went to bed. Brianna stayed up late watching TV, which was fine with us. She eventually went to sleep, and wasn't too cranky in the morning.

But that is for Day 6 - our final day in DC... stay tuned...