Washington DC - Day 5/6

Hello...hope you all are enjoying my journal of the 8th grade trip to DC 2013.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

I'm just a bill

Yes, I'm only a bill

And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill

Well, it's a long, long journey

To the capital city

It's a long, long wait

While I'm sitting in committee

But I know I'll be a law someday

At least I hope and pray that I will

But today I am still just a bill

~School House Rock

After the 6:30am wake up call and the 7:30am breakfast, we were on the bus and headed to Capitol Hill. 

Sunrise at the Capitol

First we had the traditional group photo on the steps in front of the Capitol. Always a great souvenir of this trip. Then we headed around to the entrance of the building...

Always a lot of security around this building :)

Here I am - in front of the "front" side of the Capitol...yes, I was a little chilly

Once we arrived at the entrance to the Capitol, we went through security and got in line for a short video about the history of our country and then we started the tour of the capitol building.

Everyone got their own set of headphones so that we could hear the tour guide talk. This way, several groups can be lead around the different rooms of the Capitol all at once without disturbing each other.

Matthew and his classmates listening intently in the statue room.

One of the most beautiful rooms in the Capitol is the Rotunda...there are bronze statues of our founding fathers as well as...Ronald Reagan :)

 And then there is the ceiling...the top of the dome. It is gorgeous!

Here is the group learning about the Rotunda.

After the tour was over, the group had a couple of choice. They could either visit the US House of Representatives or go to the Library of Congress. Since the wait for the House was long, I decided to join the 1/2 of the group that went to the Library....and I am definitely glad I did. Another beautiful building!

We looked around the building for a while, even got to go to the Civil War exhibit that was there. We also got to peak into a window of the actual Library...where all those books are, especially the famous "President's Book of Secrets". Once the 2 groups met up, we all walked to the US Supreme court building where we just had enough time for a group photo :)

Then it was off to lunch! Today's lunch was in the food court of Pentagon City Mall. With over an hour for lunch, many of the kids also enjoyed some shopping time! I on the other hand had the great opportunity to visit with my cousin, Charlie, who I haven't seen in over a year. It was great to see him and catch up. While the visit was very short, I appreciated the fact that he slipped out of work to come over and see me...Thank you Charlie!

 After lunch, we headed out of the mall and boarded the bus and off to Mount Vernon - George and Martha Washington's house.

The front of the Washington's house. 

Before we took the tour of the interior of the house, we walked around the grounds. Here we saw the lower garden, the "necessary" (aka outhouse or potty), the farm yard where there were sheep and the gravesite of George and his family.

The back of the house, which overlooks the Potomac River. It is a gorgeous view!

And here is the group...

Once through the tour, and after a visit of the gift shop (something that we always ended up with after every tour), we headed off to the evening activity...the Nationals Baseball game.

We had great seats...down pretty low, behind 1st base.

Matthew sitting in the stands with his classmates...it was a little chilly that evening-hovering around 40 degrees (honestly, who goes to a baseball game in this cold weather? Hockey, I understand...but baseball?????)

Even though it was $1 hot dog night...the burger from Shake Shack was a hit!

With numb fingers and toes, we all were very happen when the game ended mid-9th with the Nationals leading 3-0 and we were able to leave the park. It was time to head off to the hotel and begin to pack up, as our trip was coming to an end...

Until next time, remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa