End of DC/Maryland Trip

On this last full day of our vacation we were car free. Due to some increased weekday rates we had to drop off the car in the morning. The people at enterprise were kind enough to drive us to the train station. The Marc train from the Baltimore airport was great, I'd advise people to stay there when visiting D.C. however the locale train only runs on weekdays which is unfortunate it seems that there could be support for at least a reduced schedule on the weekend. It was a quick, and very affordable ride.

First on the agenda, we decided to go to the U.S. Botanical garden since we had time to kill before a scheduled Capitol tour. I appreciated the garden much more than when I had seen it as a kid. I can imagine if I were locale I'd be a frequent visitor, especially in the winter months.
The Capitol tour had changed drastically since I was a child. Previously you had to get a tour pass from your senator or representative, as you still do for the white house. Now there is a new imposing visitors center which is built under the ground adjacent to the Capitol. We got passes ahead of time from the internet, but I'm not sure it really put us at much of an advantage. When I saw the capitol as a child, I got to see a detailed guided tour in a small group of about 20 people. Approximately two groups at a time were being led through the building. Our guide was intimately knowledged of the building and we had ample time to ask questions. Additionally we saw all of the chambers as well as the rotunda. For the tour Kate and I went on, about 1/2 of the time we spent in a large IMAX style theater where a watered down congressional history was told to us, while flashing various social reforms and expansions levied by our legislative body. Next a tour guide brought us through three rooms over the course of about 20 minutes. Our guide quickly rattled through a rehearsed speech. Having seen this tour before I was unfortunately aware that she was butchering it, leaving out portions, and giving little detail. For example she described the statues in the rotunda as simply "Statue of Presidents", giving no reason for why the selected presidents had been chosen, when this practice began, or where any of them came from.I wanted to get my picture with the new Reagan statue, however we were being sort of rushed through. We probably could have snuck over to it, but it didn't seem worth the risk. This statue is new this year, and is significant because only presidents deemed as having substantial historical impact are allowed a statue here. Our guide seemed reluctant to talk about it.

The National Statuary Hall has statues representing an important individual from each state in the country. It is a beautiful room and has a unique feature where someone at a distant portion of the room can clearly be heard talking at the other side of the room, even when whispering. This effect was a little lost in the steady drone of a couple hundred tourists who where in the room at one time.

After the brief tour of 3 rooms was concluded, I irritably asked the guide "That's it?" I was just blown away how casually they rushed us through. I joked with Kate that we might as well have been put on a train and taken by some singing puppets in place of a guide. Our irritating tour guide told us that we all did a good job, as though we were dogs or something. On top of her incompetence she was incredibly fake, fake smile, fake voice, with an irritating upward accent on everything she said. I had mixed feelings because on one hand I wanted to see the Halls, the Chambers, and the old Supreme court chamber, but then on the other hand I was glad to be rid of the guide. Apparently we had to go through this ridiculous process again to see these other attractions, as the tours have been split up. I think Kate appreciated it because she had not been there, so hopefully my irritation did not tarnish it too much for her.

Next we headed to the Library of Congress. This was site an attraction I had not seen as a child. It was quite good, however it is more of a history/art museum than an active library. There is an active library but it is not open to tourists, however there were windows where we were allowed to peer down on the expansive reading room. Kate and I looked down inside and speculated about who the young men and women were who populated it. The building is spectacular and is worth a quick walk through. I took a picture of this mosaic which has a topic close to my heart.

We checked out an exhibit of a Gutenberg Bible, as well as an extensive exhibit on Bob Hope that celebrated his life and career.

We were kind of tired from the busy morning, and I think both of our blood sugar levels were running low. We talked it over and decided to head over to Union Station's food court to get lunch. We found a Mamma Ilardos pizza stand which became our token pizza for the vacation. (We always sample a pizza place) It appears that it is a chain, however it seemed really popular in D.C., and personally I have not seen any of this franchise any where else, although their site claims NYC, Nevada and California have locations. I am comforted that their home address listed on the web site is out of Maryland. Kate went with the think crust, and I with the deep dish. All of that cheesy goodness and a nice soda really hit the spot.

Oooohhh an all Obama store. I'll have to see if they ship things!! Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas!

Next we took the time to head out to Washington Cathedral, which was a very cool attraction. While it isn't a real Gothic cathedral like the ones I saw in Germany per se, It was fascinating in its own right. It is uniquely American, and its decor often tells the story of not only Christ, but of American history, be it our Nation's birth, space exploration, or even pop culture. Reportedly there is a Darth Vader gargoyle some where on the church. The stained glass windows are perhaps the most stunning I've ever seen, with a type engraving and glass staining that causes them to change in appearance with the time of the day. Our tour guide was excellent, making up for the lousy guide at the Capitol building.

After visiting the Cathedral we took a pleasant walk to Georgetown, an affluent, trendy area of D.C. Below is a picture of one of its many picturesque streets. They are lined with high end clothing stores, restaurants, pubs, galleries, and the occasional antique shop.

Ben's Chili Bowl is a Washington D.C. institution that we went to for supper. And oh what a heavenly supper it was....

Your arteries are going to clog from just looking at these pictures!!

We decided to take a later train back to the hotel and walked around the monuments after eating.Here I am in front of the expansive FDR monument.

The WWII monument, one of the newest, and arguably the most elegant of the monuments.

Sunset over the Potomac.

We took our relaxing train ride back to the BWI station, and the hotel sent a shuttle bus over to pick us up. The next day before leaving the hotel we swam in the pool for a little while to take advantage of the last of our vacation and a beautiful day with crystal blue skies.

Till our next Vacation!