DC Day One

Hopes were high for today. Arrangements had been made months ago for tours of the Library of Congress, the Capitol , and the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. Tours are requested through your Congressman and you don't have any say in dates or times. So our first appointment was made for us to visit the Library of Congress at 8:30am and the Capitol at 11:30am.

We thought that leaving at 6:30am would be plenty of time even with traffic and a 50 mile commute. By the time we wrestled with the likes of traffic we have never before seen, and found a parking garage that would accommodate our large van it was after 10am and we were in danger of missing our 11:30 tour of the Capitol. Touring the Capitol is like getting on an airplane...you must arrive an hour in advance to go through security. Because we had rushed, we had items in our bags that had to be tossed out at the last minute (mints, gum,nail clippers).

And after all that I have to say that the Capitol tour was disappointing. The building is stunning and the statues in the rotunda are wonderful works of art, but our tour guide, although well-meaning, did not have any wind in her sails. The whole thing had a kind of cattle drive feel to it and it did not measure up to our expectations. It was raining as we left and we had not planned what would be next. Everyone seemed game for a museum so we headed to the National Portrait Gallery on the subway, which was its own educational experience. This was a great place to visit and we would like to go back if possible.

We do feel a little more confident about going into the city tomorrow, now that we have found our way around a bit and have decided where we shall spend our time. There is so much to see but it makes sense to pick a few places to enjoy thoroughly rather than trying to do it all. We might get a little more rain tomorrow but we hope to also see some sunny skies over the National Mall.