Day 4 of D.C.

Another day completed.

Destinations for the Day: The Supreme Court, Library of Congress, Capitol Building, Botanical Gardens, and a short outing to a jazz concert.

We have been in the habit this vacation of asking each family member what has been the "best part" and "worst part" of the day.

This is Lindsey's summary. Worst part: falling down in a puddle. She took care of this feat first thing this morning. This was the second day of rain we had here, so while walking to the Supreme Court, I think she was more interested in her umbrella than making sure one foot was in front of the other.

The rest of the day for Lindsey was something like this: Botanical Gardens were the best by far. (She liked the plants and we ate lunch there.) The Supreme Court was just a building full of heads (i.e. busts of former justices of the court) and lectures. The Library of Congress was bad because all the books were locked up in a box. (i.e. the 6,000+ book collection of Thomas Jefferson, encased in glass.) All she remembered from the Capitol was that a man tried to shoot the president, but the president beat him up (i.e. an assassination attempt on Andrew Jackson).

The tour of the Capitol was a highlight for me. Once again, the architecture and history of the building is impressive. We were given a tour by an intern in Sen. Charles Grassley's office. I highly recommend anyone visiting D.C. to call their senator or representative to arrange a tour. It was much better than anything the visitor's center at the Capitol offers. It was our family plus three more people. So, we got to hear everything the intern said, and we didn't feel like such a herd going through the tour. Also, we were able to take the private underground subway/train from the congressional office building to the Capitol building.

We came home a little early to relax and then we made our Eastern Market meal--prosciutto, parmesan, field peas, and spinach fettucine noodles, topped off with some cantaloupe for dessert.

In the evening, we walked through the rain to the National Gallery of the Arts where we heard a group from Howard University--Afro Blue. Great a cappella jazz.

Tomorrow, we are headed to the Nat'l Archives, Museum of Natural History, and....we're not quite sure yet. If the kids can stomach another art museum, we are probably headed to the Nat'l Gallery of Art.

Also, we're looking forward to sunshine tomorrow. We've had nice rains, but if asked, I prefer it on my garden, and not on my vacation. (I'm not expecting to be asked, but the forecast does sound a little more tourist friendly.)