Washington DC Day 2: The Capitol

We got started a little late on day 2 (about an hour to hour and a half behind schedule if I remember correctly).  We didn't have reservations anywhere, so it was ok.  We all knew that since the day before had gone so smoothly, something was bound to go wrong....

*We rode the metro to "the Mall" area.  For those of you not familiar with DC, this is not a shopping mall, but the National Mall of monuments and government buildings.  Once we got off the metro, Maysen threw up.  Poor girl.  Luckily for all of us, she didn't get any on herself.  She rode/slept in the front of the double stroller for most of the rest of the day.
*We walked past the Library of Congress buildings, Supreme Court, Hart Senate Building (where Cole works), and saw Cole's apartment.

*Cole gave us a special tour of the Capitol building.  Because he is an employee, he was able to take us places that people on the regular tour don't get to see.  Upon entering the building, all food and drink had to be discarded.  That included the applesauce, fruit snacks, and airheads I had in my bag for my girls.  I honestly forgot they were in there otherwise I would have left them at Cole's apartment.
*The tour began with us watching a short film called "E Pluribus Unum," which means "Out of Many, One."  It is the phrase that appears on the Seal of the United States.  It is very motivating and empowering and should give every American pride in their country.
*Cole gave a spectacular tour of the Capitol.  I am so proud of him and was very impressed with all of the knowledge he had about the Capitol building.

 

 

 

 

*A little ways into the tour, I began to not feel so well.  I thought Maysen had gotten sick from the speed and motion of the metro.  Now, I was convinced that the two of us (and luckily just the two of us!) had caught some bug.  I turned green (my dad told me so) but still plugged through the rest of the tour.  The Capitol building is so amazing and I still feel bad that I got sick there.  NOTE: my sister said (something like this) to me later "being a mom looks like a lot of work....you can't ever really get sick, can you, because you still have to take care of your kids."  She's due with her first baby in March :)
*We took a late lunch (2:30), as did about half of the tourists and locals.  We wanted to try "Good Stuff," but ended up at Pour House, which had average food.  I was feeling better (for the time being), but Maysen fell asleep right on the table.
*My dad and I took the three kids back to the hotel so we could sleep off our germs.  The rest of our crew toured the monuments at this time.  It's a bummer that we were sick, but the monuments wouldn't have meant anything to the girls, I have already seen them, and so it actually worked out well so that Brandon could see those glorious tributes without being distracted by the girls.  Sometimes things go "bad" for a reason.  It all worked out.

White House

Brandon in front of white house

Washington Monument

 WWII Memorial

Lincoln Monument

 Martin Luther King Jr. Monument

*Everyone was feeling much better after a nap so Papa took the girls swimming at the hotel pool (Myah's favorite part of the trip).

Thanks for sticking with me and for checking back as I try to catalog our trip.  It was so wonderful and of the three full days we were there, this was the best day for us to be sick if it was going to happen.  Another great day overall.  Days 3 and 4 are coming soon!