Sen. Al Franken

Our super-exciting vacation so far: flying to Toronto, exploring Niagara Falls, 8K race and the Blue Jays, swanky hotel and the Tigers, The Henry Ford, family history and the Nationals.

With Wednesday's late night, we slept in a bit Thursday before heading back to the mall area. It was still very hot, but thankfully it cooled just enough to end the sweat pouring down our faces.

First stop: the National Museum of American History:

We shopped and explored the exhibits for awhile before heading downstairs to the very nice cafeteria. The view as we ate lunch:

Weariness was setting in, and we hung out for a bit.

So tired...

Then we headed to the Capitol for a visit to the Senate Gallery.

We were not allowed to take anything with us inside the gallery, so I don't have any pictures :(

I've been there before, but never when the senate was in session. Very cool! 

Just a few people were present, including the important people who sit in the front, a whole bunch of very young pages in suits, and the person reading his or her argument, letter, etc. They were basically talking to an empty room.

We saw several senators speak, Dems and Repubs, and after a while the presiding president was replaced... by Sen. Al Franken! He was very attentive and seemed to really be paying attention, unlike many of the others in the room.

The whole Capitol experience really saddened me. Since 9/11, security has become so intense that you can't go into the actual Capitol anymore - unless you're on a tour (or have gallery passes like we did, and then it's really restricted as to where you can go).

My first time there, we simply walked in the front doors and wandered around and explored. It was so cool to be in such a powerful place. Now, you can't even walk up the steps. :(

 

Despite the cooler temps, it was still around 100 degrees, and we were pooped. Right next to the Capitol is the Taft Memorial.

When we spotted the fountain, we made a beeline for the water:

Dad and I were supposed to be meeting Mom and Eryn at nearby Union Station, where they were getting our train tickets. Instead, we sat in the fountain for about a half hour and made them come to us!

Felt SO good! I Capitol police officer came up and told us that we're not supposed to be in the fountain, but because it was so hot, he wasn't going to stop us! :) (I think he really wanted to join us!)

We had another long walk from the subway to our hotel. Minutes after we got inside, it cut loose outside with a huge storm. More flash flooding and continuous thunder and lightning! Very glad we arrived "home" when we did!

Up next: on the move again... Philly and then Seattle!

:)