behind the scenes at the Capitol

If we thought Saturday was cold, we were mistaken. Thursday of last week was absolutely bitter! Highs were in the teens and low twenties with some pretty good gusts of wind. But we braved the chilly weather and headed out for a behind the scenes tour of the Capitol through Senator Tim Scott's Office. Stepping into his office was like heading back to the south! We heard some "y'alls," were offered peanuts and received some sweet hospitality.

A nice (if not slightly inaccurate) intern gave us our very own tour. She just didn't know she would be leading a tour with Patrick the history buff and Anna the government groupie. It was really neat starting in the Hart Building which is office space for all the Senators because we were able to take the underground tunnel to the Capitol. We had no idea they had a trolley system there! There's even a barber shop and ATM in the tunnel too.

an old trolley car that used to be used in the tunnels

taking a trolley ride under ground

Once in the Capitol, we saw the center point of DC, the statue of Calhoun donated by SC, the old House and Senate, the original Supreme Court and historical paintings of the founding of America. We actually studied several of the paintings so it was neat to see them in such grand scale.

the cast used to create the statue on top of the Capitol called Lady Liberty-it's huge!

the original supreme court inside the Capitol

the old House still used for secret meetings because it is not wired for sound or television

Our favorite stop was the gallery of the House of Representatives. They were not in session, but it was so neat to sit there and envision the process at work and see the President give his State of the Union Address. Patrick and Anna were definitely dorking out. To get in we had to leave all electronic devices at a very secure check point. That includes key fobs and cell phones. So no pictures.

After our tour I took the girls to eat in the Senate cafeteria. They had quite an array and none of it was taxed! Also strangely enough we were not allowed to take pictures there.

Next we headed back outside (brr!) and went to the National Art Gallery. We're in the middle of a study in Michaelengelo and wanted to check out some impressionist work  as well. The girls had fun sketching and wandering around the exhibits.

After our grand adventures, we made it back to the Metro and on our way home for our last ice skating lessons. It was a full and fun day.