DC…Day 2
I returned the next morning to “downtown” DC hoping that my walks would not send me into another 12 museums. I know this may sound really ridiculous to some readers that I seem so attached to my walking cards, but they provide some structure and order to my explorations, and for the most part they aren’t focused on museums. DC just happens to have a bunch of them….
I finished up the museums by seeing the National Gallery of Art and the National Sculpture Garden and thought that was enough for one and a half days, and I started onto another section of DC…Capitol Hill and the government buildings. The weird thing about the transition from the museums to government buildings, is that after seeing a few government buildings you have the same feeling after seeing a few museums.
I headed towards the State Capitol and got a ticket to enter the Capitol at a certain time and then made my way to the US Supreme Court (which didn’t seem that Supreme from inside). I spent less than 10 minutes exploring its halls and poking my head into the Court itself before taking off and checking out the other sights of Capitol Hill (Library of Congress Jefferson Building, the Madison Building, Folger Shakespeare Library, Senate Office Buildings, etc..). I returned to the Capitol Building when I was instructed to on my ticket, and got onto a lengthy line. I had about 20 minutes until I was supposed to be admitted into the Capitol building, but somehow I ended waiting over an hour and a half to finally make it inside the building.
From its exterior the US Capitol is really a wonderful sight. It’s size and its dome top reminded me of St. Paul’s in London, or St. Peter’s in Rome, and I thought it was really great that the US could use this ancient style in some of their government buildings. I just hoped that the building would be worth the 2 hour wait and the frisking I received when I went through security. There was someone at the entrance of the building that made some jokes, and I also remember how many alternative ways of getting to the door and the warning they had on signs about the amount of walking that was required to get to the entrance of the door. I can totally understand having elevators or escalators or whatever for the elderly or the sick, but I was convinced that these extra routes were created for people who couldn’t “carry their own weight.” I just get confused when I think that someone could reach a point where they can no longer walk a short distance or even a longer distance to see something.
Anyways, I got to the door, where this one guy was cracking jokes and speaking in 10 languages showing off why he was working in DC at the State Capitol, and even though I found it impressive I wanted to see what the hell I was waiting in line for 2 hours for. I entered the Capitol, and I guess I was somewhat impressed, but also confused why I didn’t see statues of Christ hanging from the wall, and candles burning at an altar, and pews lined up for people to pray to Christ in. I had seen so many buildings that looked like the State Capitol that were either churches or cathedrals, and I guess it was weird to see a secular building that had so many religious connections.
As I passed through the halls and entered the heart of the building I was surrounded by tour groups and guides and felt that I was one of a few people who was wandering solo. I checked out the House of Representatives and saw some politicians talking about some bill that put me to sleep in a few minutes, it was very similar to when I went to the House of Commons and almost passed out watching the Tories and Labour Parties discuss some random shipping policy. I quickly left the House of Reps, and examined the Senate room where I don’t have much of a memory of what was happening.
I walked around the building for about an hour or so, if not more, and eventually left the Capitol Building a little tired. I had spent another full day checking out government buildings and museums and felt good that I was seeing a lot of DC, or a lot of what you’re supposed to see in DC, but I wanted to know where the life of the city was. There had to be more to DC than government buildings and museums….so when I got a call from one of the girls saying they were goin to a bar that night I got all excited and was psyched to be around people my age again.
Tags: Summer 2007 Road Trip, Travel
