Perfect timing!

Disney on Ice is here this weekend. You can catch their salute to classic Disneyland attractions like the Jungle Cruise and Pirates!

We're here! We got in last night, but we were so tired we just had dinner and went to bed. We're leaving in a few for the Capitol. Hotel is nice, but our only view is of the HUD building. We can wave to the office workers...

Enjoy your trip, You will be getting some slightly better than average weather!

I'll be down around the Lincoln Memorial Sunday morning, wave if you see me.

Have a great time guys! Take loads of pics!

I'm glad you made it safe and sound. Have a wonderful time and take lots of pics!

Say hi to Barack for me!

We were planning on "doing" the memorials on Sunday. Maybe we can meet up.

Day One:

We had reservations for the 10:10 tour of the Capitol. We left the hotel about 9:00, and got to Capitol Hill around 9:30ish. The Capitol Visitors Center is beautiful. After a 15 minute film, we were given headphones (to hear our tourguide) and whisked up a long escalator and into the Capitol. I was kind of disappointed by the tour. It only lasted about 30 minutes, we only got to see a couple of the historic areas of the building. And we were sped through so fast you couldn't really see much of even that.

After the tour, we had an early lunch at the buffeteria in the Visitor Center. Very good food, but (as with everything here, we're discovering) a little pricey. There was a nice gift shop there too (actually, 2 identical gift shops). I saw a cool book on the architecture of the Capitol, but it was huge, and felt like it weighed about 20 pounds. There was no way I was getting it home, so I passed. (And it was only $40... Sigh...)

Next, we went up to the plaza east of the Capitol. It was interesting to note the guards armed with machine guns standing on the steps of the Capitol - steps that are now off limits. I can remember being there as a kid in the 70's and climbing those stairs. Back then, you didn't need a prearranged tour, and could wander all over the building. Times have changed.

Then it was on to the Library of Congress's Jefferson Building (the original LOC building, built in the 1890's). The interior is an incredible Victorian confection. After the British burned Washington in 1814, Thomas Jefferson sold his entire personal library of over 6,000 volumes to Congress. This became the core of the LOC collection. Two thirds of the Jefferson books were lost in a fire in 1851. The LOC is now trying to recreate Jefferson's library. There is a display room where they have assembled the 2,000+ surviving originals along with period and modern copies of about 3,000 of the lost volumes. The plan is to replace the other 1,000 or so missing volumes in time. The books are all arranged as Jefferson originally categorized them, using a system of his own devising. It was fascinating browsing over the shelves, and seeing what topics caught his interest.

The LOC also had an interesting temporary exhibit on Lincoln. Included was one of the five copies of the Gettysburg Address in his own handwriting, the Bible that he used at his first inauguration (and that Obama used last month at his), the items in his pockets the night he was assassinated, and the handwritten notes from his autopsy that are stained in his blood.

After a brief stop to take pictures at the Supreme Court Building (we didn't go inside, except to take a peek into the outer lobby) we headed over to Union Station. This massive Gilded Age edifice has recently been restored - the original platforms turned into a huge shopping mall. After poking around there, we headed a couple blocks to an Irish pub/restaurant, recommended to us by a friend, called The Dubliner. We had a lovely dinner there, and then came back to the hotel.

Day 1.5:

People who check into a fine hotel with 20 rambunctious teens, and then do nothing as said teens run up and down the halls screaming and slamming doors at all hours of the night even after five visits from hotel security, should be taken out and shot.