June 4 - Washington DC

Wellllllllllll, today has been a whirlwind! We spent the day in Washington, DC and Arlington, VA. It's midnight here and we're all still awake - breakfast at 6:20 tomorrow should be great!

We began with a brisk walk (led by the speedy Uncle Wayne) to the Library of Congress.

On the way there, we saw the Washington Monument (middle), which we will be visiting tomorrow. The next 2 photos are other buildings we saw along the way.

 

 We also saw the Capitol building! More on this later.

 The first big monument we saw was the Library of Congress, built in the 19th century. The general public can access this, and anyone can check books out from here with a library card. Here are some pictures of the gorgeous architecture. 

 
 

 

 

 
                                                 "Only the actions of the just smell sweet and blossom in the dust."

 

 The Supreme Court building - didn't go inside this though. 

 Lots of walking today.

 Entering the Capitol!

 This was the statue upon which the Statue of Liberty was based.

 Watching a very educational film.

 Guided tour of the Capitol.

 Congress has commissioned over 150 of these statues

 
 Entering the rotunda.





For 2 years, there is a safety net here as part of the restoration project. 

 Famous painting, woot

 Another famous painting - smart Seth knew all about it

 Good ol Abe Lincoln

 

 

 

 Another view of the Supreme Court. 

 Man, these are some photogenic juniors and seniors!

 
Cornerstone in a picture.

 Next, we visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery (after an interesting subway ride). 

 

The changing of the guard, which occurs every half hour. 

 

Everlasting flame.

Here, JFK gave a speech overlooking the national mall - some of the words and the Washington Monument can be found here. 

Lisa made a ham sammich!

 Ending the night with a late dinner and some singing.

-Julia