The Capitol

Something I just recently learned. Washington D.C. is the CAPITAL and it contains the CAPITOL building. Seems like they're related enough that we could use the same spelling for each.

Back to my Washington D.C. tour. We happen to be going to the Capitol building today. You have to set that up through you congressperson's office well ahead of time. We got four of those tours. One we did already. Today leads off with the Capitol, so we had to hunt down his (Greg Walden's) office. We did that. Their offices are in big buildings next to the Capitol. So we met there and get to take an underground train to the Capitol. I wasn't totally excited about the tour. I've been on it before. And it has gotten to be super crowded. They crowd literal hundreds of people into the rotunda and all the group leaders are pointing out things. Ours told us the French surrendered to the colonists at Saratoga, which is wrong, but otherwise, she was great.

Then we got to meet Rep. Walden. There were about 10 of us on our tour and he talked with us for about 15 minutes. That was fun. Congress always gets low marks, but people keep sending them back. I think that is because they really are pretty smart and hard working. They just don't work or play well together. Rep Walden seemed great. His schedule is jam packed and talking to him he seems really smart and knows things from all kinds of different area.

So now onto the Supreme Court. I've been there, too, but its not nearly as hectic, so I enjoyed it more. You can't take pictures in the actual room, but you can stand just outside the door and take all the pictures you want. Why not just let us take pictures in the room? There you go. A great example of a pointless rule made by some pinhead bureaucrat. And all taking plac right in the middle of our nation's capital.

Next, the Library of Congress. How do make a tour of a library come alive so it is an exciting adventure? You can't. I was very bored.

To end the day, I wanted to find the Washington Hilton where President Reagan was shot. It took a little doing, but that's the fun of it. Its the same fun I have in finding famous people's graves in graveyards. Not everyone, (e.g. my family) seems to see the fun of this kind of thing, but trust me it is. The 95 degree temperature and bone melting humidity just added to the adventure.