A heat wave is rolling over this part of the east coast, so we were up relatively early this morning. First stop: Anna Eshoo’s office in the Cannon House Office Building. She’s our Congresswoman for the 18th district, and I’ve learned that our Representatives are also guides for trips to Washington. I started too late, but with advance notice they can help get you in certain places. Of course, one can get into most of them by just showing up at the visitor’s centers equipped with some patience. However, the House & Senate galleries do require a pass from your congress person, and the White House requires time in advance. In any case, here’s her office. Note the bills she has authored or co-authored that were passed & signed into law on the wall!

Equipped with gallery passes, we went to the Capitol Building and took a tour. Then used the passes to check out the galleries. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed in either, so no pix of empty galleries as bother houses seem to be taking Independence Day Week off. Douglas (who you can see in the red coat) gave us a great tour, and this is just a sampling. (The exterior pix are mostly in my previous post.)  Capitolism…?

We beat the heat by taking the underground tunnel from the Capitol to the Library of Congress. We toured on our own, checked out the displays, and viewed the Reading Room from above. Read this…

After a spot of lunch, we made our way to the adjacent Supreme Court building. In addition to a movie, we listened to a lecture, both about the court, the building, and the process & procedures of the Judiciary branch of the US Govt. I was pleased to learn that Confucius is depicted on friezes, both on the eastern exterior and in the actual courtroom interior. Can you identify some of the justices depicted here…

After the Supreme Court, we took a cab to the Lincoln Memorial. After Charlie read to me his Second Inaugural Address (engraved on the right side wall facing Lincoln’s statue), I gave him a five dollar bill (strangely appropriate, no?). Then, we walked to the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial. Daddy Bob had mentioned a friend of his, Fred Moore, so we found his name at 3E 19 (third panel on the east wing, line 19). It was interesting to watch the visitors – including what looked like some Vietnamese people. War, huh, good God ya’ll…

The heat and a long day of sightseeing wore out the troops, so we found another cab and headed home to our Airbnb. Nice dinner, R&R, and we’re off to bed in preparation for another adventure tomorrow…