Our time in Washington D.C. started at the Capitol Building.
The star inlaid in the floor here marks the spot where Washington D.C. is divided into its four quadrants. It's said that it's good luck to walk over the star.
The original Supreme Court Chamber can be found here. This room was used from 1810-1860 and it was here that the landmark case which established its authority to interpret the Constitution was heard.
The Rotunda is majestic and houses large paintings depicting the development of the United States.
Exterior. Grand and inspiring. It's hard to not stand here and feel incredible patriotism, pride, and respect for our country and forefathers. To hear their stories, to stand where they stood, it's something I hope you can experience someday, if you haven't already.
We visited Arlington Cemetery and I chose to not take any pictures there, with one exception. For me, it's such a sacred personal place that it's something I wanted only to remember in my mind. My one exception was in the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. In taking pictures of this symbolic ceremony and sharing them here, I am paying tribute to our soldiers.
The Supreme Court building was undergoing annual maintenance, but stood no less grand. There is more marble in this building than any other in the world.
Inside the building, there are 2 spiral marble staircases, each self supporting, meaning there is no central support to each staircase. Each step is anchored into the marble wall on one end, and rests on the step below on the other. If one step were to be removed, all of the others would come crashing down, as if a trail of dominoes.
The Supreme Court Chamber, where rulings are made based on our country's most important document: The Constitution.
The Library of Congress:
The Library of Congress houses more than 32 million cataloged books, the most extensive comic book collection in the world, and more than 5 million maps, among many many more collections. It was here that we learned about Mandatory Deposit, which simply put, mandates that two copies of all works published in the United States be submitted to the Library of Congress. Nearly 10,000 of the 22,000 works submitted to the library each day are retained. Those not retained are distributed to other agencies and libraries.
And, the White House:
We visited many other sites and found this city and its people to be incredibly warm and welcoming. If you ever have the chance to visit, I highly recommend it.
Notes:
We had the pleasure of having a personal guide for our visit. Because of her extensive family history in the area and depth of knowledge as the author of three books relating to Washington D.C., we learned more than we could ever imagine. You can find out more about her here.
Labor Day weekend is a glorious time to visit. The weather is warm and there are no crowds.
