Thursday, the 17th of June, Katerina and I flew to DC. Quick funny story: flight from College Station to Dallas was fine. We had a layover and stopped at Chili's to get some lunch. About 30 minutes before our flight left, we paid our tab and headed to the gate. There were plenty of people sitting down and we just sat also and waited for them to start boarding. We are talking away and then all of a sudden hear the words over the intercom "Final boarding for Flight xxxxxxx". It was our flight! Apparently, they boarded everyone right before we sat down and apparently, everyone sitting was hanging out waiting for the next flight. It was no big deal, as there were still 10 or 15 minutes by the time they called "final boarding". But, it was pretty entertaining to think we almost missed our flight just be sitting there. However, we did make it to DC and to Whitney's house. Whitney only lives about 10 minutes from the house buildings, so we were right in the center of the city.
Friday and Saturday were spent going to Arlington Cemetery, the Natural History Smithsonian, and the monuments down the mall (Washington Monument, WW 2, Vietnam, Lincoln, etc.) We also walked by the White House and by the Library of Congress and Supreme Court (both of which were closed so we will have to check those out the next time). And, lots of fun eating out in Eastern Market! Eastern Market is just so fun with all of the cute houses, cute little restaurants, fun flea markets, fun people-watching. All A-dorable as Whitney would say. I digress. We also got to visit Whitney's office in the Canon House Office Building and best of all....a dome tour!! Even after living in DC and seeing many of these sights before (except dome tour), I loved getting to see them all again. I really really really enjoyed my time there as an intern and it would be fun to go back more often for the non-tourist stuff. That was one of the nicest things about staying with Whitney! Katerina and I could totally act like we owned the town!
So, the dome tour was obviously, one of the most awesome tours yet! Whitney knew someone in the Whip's Office so we tagged along with some other people for the tour. The rules for touring the dome of the Capitol are that you either have to be with the Whip's Office or led by a congressman. As an intern, this was not something I got to do. I forget how many steps you take up through to get to the top - but I think it's something like 300. It's a long way up and when you get to the top of the inside, you cannot imagine going any higher. Here is a picture of the painting on top of the dome "The Apotheosis of Washington". This is what it looks like for the average tourist on the floor of the capitol:
And this is what it looks like when you are at the top behind the railing:
And some other pictures:
And, then just as you think that is too awesome and you are so glad you got this tour, your tour guide takes you higher up and outside to the railing right below the columns that have the Statue of Freedom sitting atop. Here are some pictures:
I also wanted to post a picture a picture from something cool that we did. We had been walking the mall for awhile and it was super hot and humid outside! So, we get to the Lincoln Memorial and just as we are about to leave, Whitney and her friend Patrick who had accompanied us for the day, took us to the back of the Lincoln Memorial. There is nothing to see and nobody really walked back there, but it was so nice and calm and peaceful and looked out across the Potomac and towards Arlington Cemetery. It was just so nice to sit for a little bit and visit and not have the crowds of tourists around. Here is a cute picture of Whitney and Katerina!
Overall, it was fast-paced and Katerina and I were both really sore from all the walking and stair climbing we did, but had a great time. Plus, we both read Harry Potter on the flights and since I am loving Harry Potter at the moment, it made it even better! Especially since on one flight I got stuck next to a woman who tried to point out a bird that she saw flying at least a 100 miles away. That is no big deal except I politely told her I couldn't see it and she continued to point it out to me. Now let's think about this here: it is sometimes impossible to point something out in a big gigantic sky to someone else. But, she was extremely persistent. Finally I saw the dumb thing and thought my conversation with her might be done. Oh no - as we were landing, she pointed to a lake and asked "Is that real water?". I mean, I am easygoing, but I was more than ready to be done with that flight. I digress again! Thank you Whitney!!! We are ready to come back and crash your house to visit again!!!!
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