D.C. Day 4: Capitol Tour, Library of Congress, Air and Space Museum

The Capitol

On Tuesday, Day 4, we had a Capitol tour scheduled with our state representative's office. I booked this tour by going to our state rep's website and emailing his office to request a tour. I figured it would be fun for the kids to interact with the office of our representative who has a home office just down the street from us! Note: These tours are free! I would definitely recommend booking a tour to guide you through the building. You can also book them through your senator's office, or with the Capitol itself.

However, we ran into a snag--we packed lunches for the kids most days this visit because we're gone all day, and so we don't stress about finding food while out and about. The whole trip we were able to find meals, but there's not as many options just walking around the National Mall cso we pack them just in case. It's fine going in most places with closed lunchboxes and water bottles. EXCEPT the Capitol, which for excellent and understandable reason, has security tighter than the TSA. No food or drink containers allowed. 

We'd planned to stow our items in lockers at the Library of Congress across the street, since there is a tunnel to the Capitol and we would be going there afterward anyway. But on this day, the Uber took extra long to pick us up, traffic was exceptionally bad, and we arrived right at the time we needed to be meeting the staffers. The security line at the Library of Congress was around the building.... so that was a problem.

Thankfully, and to my deep embarrassment, the staffer was really really nice, and she was able to get us through security at the Capitol. The kids felt like celebrities when the staffer and her 3 interns in tow pulled us out of the Capitol security line to go through a different line!

I'm sharing this story for any travelers planning to visit the Capitol. Give yourself like an hour to go through security at the Library of Congress if you have any of the items on this list and want to go into the Capitol. Otherwise, leave those items at home!

Replica of the Freedom statue on the top of the building.

Old Senate Chamber

the rotundas are so beautiful

Presidents take photos on these stairs!

National Statutory Hall

National Statutory Hall

With a Texas statue! Sam Houston

Rosa Parks

Thomas Edison

We were able to go to the House Gallery and sit in on a session. Extra extra security (of course) and no electronics or cameras. They had just recessed for lunch, but it was very cool to sit in that room. I feel like if I lived in DC, I probably would go there to watch the goings-ons all the time. LOL That was my favorite part of the tour!

We spent about 90 minutes in the Capitol.

After our time in the Capitol, we walked through the tunnels to the Library of Congress. We had a free time-stamped entry and got there right on time. This is the most extensive library in the world, and it spans multiple buildings. We stuck to the main building, and the kids were given a scavenger hunt paper for the visit. There were lots of QR codes connected to audio tour guides around the space.

A GUTENBERG BIBLE!

The Main Reading Room was so very cool.

Thomas Jefferson's personal library once replaced the books in the Library of Congress after they were burned in a fire.

 

My bibliophile heart was so happy!

View out the window at the library

We spent about an hour at the Library of Congress. You can reserve time in the Reading Room, but you have to be over 16 (I believe). I just wanted to see the space!

We had planned to eat lunch at the Library of Congress cafe, but it's in another building. We walked all the way around that building and eventually did get in, but the security guards both said the cafe wasn't worth eating at (LOL) so we decided to walk toward our next stop, the Air & Space Museum that was about 1.2 miles down the National Mall. Google said there was a Jimmy John's on the way. Joke was on us--it was in an official-looking building with security (Meaning scanners and metal detectors). They did say we were allowed in as the general public, but we were surrounded by people working on Capitol Hill. We even passed the House Ways & Means Committee room! That was the least expensive meal we had on our trip, and we were surrounded by young interns eating their lunches. But the building was cool!

Wilder's top sites to see for this trip were the air and space museums. On this day, we went to the National Air And Space Museum in DC. We had (free) time-stamped entry, but for being one of the most popular Smithsonian museums, it didn't feel too crowded. Lots of airplane and space enthusiasts. Wilder was in his element!

Racing a racecar

This is THE Wright Flyer, considered the crown jewel of all Smithsonian artifacts!

Neil Armstrong's space suit!

One of Wilder's favorite WWII planes - the Fokker.

We were tired from all the sightseeing, so we stopped for coffee and cookies in the Mars Cafe at the museum. We stayed fro 2 pm to close at 5:30 p.m., and didn't quite see everything, but had a great time.

We met up with my San Antonio friend Ariel that evening--we grew up going to the same church, and she's lived in Washington D.C. for years. While we waited to meet up, we sat in the cool green grass on the National Mall and encountered an albino squirrel!

We had sushi in Chinatown at Absolute Noodle - it was such nice weather and we enjoyed sitting outside! Really good sushi, too.

On theme - Japanese old fashioned!

Ariel!

While sitting outside with our dinner, a man walked by and made eye contact with Wilder. He spoke with us, gave a motivational speech and was really nice to Wilder. And gave him a brand-new ball cap. We gave him $ for it (he was asking for donations), and it became Wilder's favorite souvenir of the trip.

Metro ride back to the Pattersons with his new cap!

Next up: Day 5 in D.C.: African American Museum and Smithsonian Zoo

Honestly, Abby

This post has been taking me a long time to finish! I've been nominated by my friend Katie to receive the Honest Scrap blogger award! Basically, I have to tell you "10 honest things about me that you possibly do not know." A lot of you know me very well, so we'll see how this goes. Check the end of the post to see if I tagged you for the award too!

1. I wish I'd given campus tours at A&M. Maybe it's because I'm a tradition freak and I love to know and share trivia, but this is one regret I have from my college years. I think it would have been fun to walk backwards, telling potential Aggies all about the school I love. I also wish I'd written for the Battalion school newspaper.

2. I was a voracious reader as a child. Before the 8th grade, I read every book in my mom's library and my own bookshelves at least once. Sometimes more than that. And many of the (grown-up)fictional books at the church library. My brother David thinks I read faster than anyone he knows. I don't know about that, but I do read pretty fast! I still love to read, even more now that I have time after college. I've always been the kid completely content with a book and even today, if I have a book, I'm not bored. Also tied to this-- I've read several horse magazines consistently every month since age 8. Thanks Mom!

3.  I have a very real fear of becoming a cat lady someday. I have always had cats with great personalities, and right now I've got two that are like people. I talk to them like they are human all the time, just like my other cats in the past. They're like my 2 roommates. I didn't even notice this was out of the ordinary until friends pointed it out! For now, it's all ok, but I do fear becoming that single elderly lady with a lot of cats and no other friends.

4. Frizzy hair is my mortal enemy. I've finally made peace with my long, very curly hair, but I've spent more than a decade battling the dreaded FRIZZ. Curly girls know it's the downside to what many people think are beautiful curls. Through trial and lots of error, I think I finally have it figured out, but nothing makes my day worse than ending up with frizz before i have to go out the door. That's when it all goes into a bun. Take that!

5. I would love to visit Israel again and stay for a while. I don't have a scanner, or I'd post my favorite pic from Israel. Just picture me on a camel on the Mount of Olives. This is also a pic of Jerusalem. Visiting Israel in 2004 was life-changing for me, and it sparked a passion to travel internationally. My grandma and I spent 15 days touring this amazing country and I really want to go back. I know things are dangerous there right now, but I do hope to visit again.

6.  I took piano lessons for 12 years and have a piano in my apartment. Katie and I both took piano lessons at one time from Mrs. MacReynolds. I tried a lot of things as a young girl: ballet, gymnastics, etc. I finally narrowed down the classes I most enjoyed to horsebackriding and pianos. After graduating high school, I quit taking piano and (obviously ;-)) kept up riding. I played piano off and on for fun throughout college and after moving to Fort Worth, my grandma gave me the piano from her house. Yay! I don't know many people my age who have an upright piano in their 2nd floor apartment--aside from actual musicians and piano teachers. I'm so blessed to have it. I don't play enough and I don't play all that well, but I enjoy playing for myself and I know enough theory to learn songs I think are pretty. 

7. I have never broken a bone. Knock on wood, but I've never worn a cast or walked using crutches. I'm past the age where it was a badge of honor, so hopefully I can keep up my record.

8. I'm distantly related to Laura Ingalls Wilder. Referring back to #2, I read the entire Little House series literally at least 12 times growing up. When my Papa Wilder told me as a child that Almanzo Wilder was in our family tree, I was so excited. My hero was in my family! I wanted to BE Laura Ingalls. I had the high top boots and all I wanted was a gingham pinafore and a bonnet. I did my hair in braids and I watched the TV show religiously. Hey, it was educational!

9. I was homeschooled all the way from kindergarten to high school graduation. A lot of you probably know this, and if you didn't well, my bonnet photo probably gave that one away. :-) My mom started Drills, Skills & More when I was really young and we traveled to homeschooling bookfairs selling her products all over the country every summer during that time. Because I was homeschooled, I was able to ride my horse with my trainer and compete more. I really think this helped me get on the Equestrian team at A&M. I had tons of friends, was really active in my church youth group, went to two proms and graduated with a group. I didn't have any academic or social adjustment issues in college and had a great time... eventually getting a good job right out of school. :-) There, I think I answered all the FAQ. :-) It's definitely not for everyone and at times I did wish I had gone to school, but once I got to A&M I didn't mind at all. A fellow homeschooler Stephanie was actually my first roommate at A&M and she did well too! 

10. I was a lifeguard and swim instructor for two years and I can't swim freestyle to save my life. It wasn't my idea to become a lifeguard. I'd intended to work the snack bar at the tennis club. But they needed lifeguards, so I signed up to get certified. I barely. Barely passed the swimming part. I can swim like a frog awesome, and breaststroke--I'm on it. Freestyle is the death of me. But I passed everything else with flying colors. Then my future boss required all of us lifeguards to get swim instructor certified. MORE swimming laps and that class was much harder! I eventually passed that too, but I really can't get the hang of freestyle. Or butterfly(as the michael phelps photo shows) for that matter. Sigh. Maybe it'll be like running and I'll eventually figure it out. :-)

This was really hard but fun! I tag Jashley, Alisha, Faith and Megan. I'm interested to see what y'all have to say!