On the way to DC...

Oh the weekends. We look forward to them all week and then they are gone in a flash. Saturdays are the days which especially fly by. On the 14th, we went downtown with our friends Dave, Meg, and McKelle Clark. Dave works at Lockheed with Chris. The Clarks attend the Seneca Ward which meets before us (Quince Orchard Ward) on Sundays. McKelle is just a month and a half younger than Liz so these girls always have fun with each other.

Driving down George Washington Parkway (a place to visit in itself--so pretty), we went straight downtown towards the Capitol Building. The Clarks made us a reservation online so we went right in. There was a fifteen minute movie about our US History and then off we went on the tour.
What a magnificent building. We observed the Rotunda and its beautiful frescoes and reliefs,

the old House chambers with its whisper spots,

the crypt where George and Martha Washington were commissioned to be buried (they rest in Mt. Vernon however, because that's where they wanted to be),

as well as some of the exhibits around the building. This is a replica of Freedom, the statue which sits atop the Capitol Building.


From there we took the tunnel that connects the Capitol Building to the Library of Congress. What an interesting building--I've never seen architecture quite like this. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the research room, but if you've seen National Treasure, then you've seen the research room! We were able to get a ton of pictures of the lobby though.



Here is the outside of the building.


When we left the Library of Congress, the Capitol Building was in a perfect spot for picture time :)




We had to move our cars before they got towed (gotta love DC parking) so we drove over to the Washington Monument.

Love this! It doesn't seem like it is stationed in any particular place, but when you reach the base of the Monument you see how awesome its placement is. In each direction there is another Washington DC spectacular: the Lincoln Memorial,

the White House,

the Capitol Building,

and the Jefferson Memorial (it was a bit obscured by trees so I couldn't get a good picture). It really is a cool sight, right in the middle of everything.

We walked over to the White House and we saw a flat screen on. Someone was watching TV (upper right hand window)! Pretty cool.

Unfortunately at night, the White House doesn't capture well on film, thanks in part to the double fencing around the grounds. But we tried! You can see it in the corner. Our daughters were peacefully sleeping in their strollers at this point!



We spent an hour trying to get out of the city (major accident on the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge) and by the time we got back to Germantown, we were FAMISHED. Only one way to cure hunger: FIVE GUYS! ;) Thanks Clarks for a fabulous afternoon!