6-18-09 Washington, D.C.
Today we opened the Washington, D.C. chapter of our Northeast Tour. The highlights included meeting with Congressman Donald Manzullo at the Capital Building, a tour of the inside of the capital, observation of the House of Representatives in session, lunch at Union Station, a visit to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, dinner and games at the ESPN Zone, a visit to the Lincoln, Vietnam, and Korean War memorials, and finally a swim at the hotel before bed checks. Today was about using the past to understand the present.
We got underway at 7:00 am with breakfast at the Silver Diner located about 3 blocks from the hotel. We pre-ordered our meals so we were fed as soon as we sat down. The pancakes, french toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and home fries were very tasty. The motif was 1950’s with lots of chrome.
We got to experience Washington, D.C. rush hour traffic at its finest (or worst) as it took us 90 minutes to travel 15 miles from the diner to the Capital Building. We left plenty of time for this very situation and we arrived in time to meet up with Congressman Don Manzullo on the House of Representatives steps of the Capital. Mr. Manzullo was very gracious and spent about 15 minutes with the choir posing for pictures and listening very intently to us sing. It was a very nice visit and we are grateful he spent time with us. I have written before about unlikely moments coming together? Well, a church group from South Carolina listened to us sing Siyahamba, the African folk song. It turns out this group listened to this song on their bus this morning. Weird.
Next we took a 60 minute guided tour of the Capital Building that took us under the grand rotunda, down a hallway to the old House chamber (Speaker Nancy Pelosi walked by us in a hurry) and down to the floor directly beneath the rotunda where all the sandstone support pillars are holding up the building.
Our next stop took us into the gallery of the House chamber where we witnessed two votes on amendments to HR 2793, the Road Reconstruction Act of 2009. The New Hampshire Amendment passed 439 to 0 and the California Amendment was on the way to defeat. It looked just like C-SPAN.
We walked to Union Station, about three blocks and had lunch and did some souvenir shopping. While we were eating, it started to rain sheets. We decided the rain was our sign to go indoors so we bussed to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. We spent about two hours looking at all aspects of aviation from the Wright Brothers to the Mars Rover. Of course there was a souvenir shop to have fun in.
We had a buffet dinner at the ESPN Zone and the boys spent an hour in the game area. We blew off some steam. Even Mr. Ross showed us his skills with the roaring rapids and an inflatable raft video game.
We worked our way down to the Lincoln Memorial where the Lincoln Legacy came alive. The inscriptions of the Gettysburg Address and his second Inaugural Address witch makes up two-thirds of the words of our song “The Words of Lincoln.” We sang at the base of the memorial to many passersbys who showed their appreciation by thanking us and letting us know how much they appreciated it. We visited the Vietnam and Korean War Memorial next, very powerful.
The day ended with a swim in the pool and bed checks. Another jam packed day with a short night ahead. Good night.
Today we opened the Washington, D.C. chapter of our Northeast Tour. The highlights included meeting with Congressman Donald Manzullo at the Capital Building, a tour of the inside of the capital, observation of the House of Representatives in session, lunch at Union Station, a visit to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, dinner and games at the ESPN Zone, a visit to the Lincoln, Vietnam, and Korean War memorials, and finally a swim at the hotel before bed checks. Today was about using the past to understand the present.
We got underway at 7:00 am with breakfast at the Silver Diner located about 3 blocks from the hotel. We pre-ordered our meals so we were fed as soon as we sat down. The pancakes, french toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and home fries were very tasty. The motif was 1950’s with lots of chrome.
We got to experience Washington, D.C. rush hour traffic at its finest (or worst) as it took us 90 minutes to travel 15 miles from the diner to the Capital Building. We left plenty of time for this very situation and we arrived in time to meet up with Congressman Don Manzullo on the House of Representatives steps of the Capital. Mr. Manzullo was very gracious and spent about 15 minutes with the choir posing for pictures and listening very intently to us sing. It was a very nice visit and we are grateful he spent time with us. I have written before about unlikely moments coming together? Well, a church group from South Carolina listened to us sing Siyahamba, the African folk song. It turns out this group listened to this song on their bus this morning. Weird.
Next we took a 60 minute guided tour of the Capital Building that took us under the grand rotunda, down a hallway to the old House chamber (Speaker Nancy Pelosi walked by us in a hurry) and down to the floor directly beneath the rotunda where all the sandstone support pillars are holding up the building.
Our next stop took us into the gallery of the House chamber where we witnessed two votes on amendments to HR 2793, the Road Reconstruction Act of 2009. The New Hampshire Amendment passed 439 to 0 and the California Amendment was on the way to defeat. It looked just like C-SPAN.
We walked to Union Station, about three blocks and had lunch and did some souvenir shopping. While we were eating, it started to rain sheets. We decided the rain was our sign to go indoors so we bussed to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. We spent about two hours looking at all aspects of aviation from the Wright Brothers to the Mars Rover. Of course there was a souvenir shop to have fun in.
We had a buffet dinner at the ESPN Zone and the boys spent an hour in the game area. We blew off some steam. Even Mr. Ross showed us his skills with the roaring rapids and an inflatable raft video game.
We worked our way down to the Lincoln Memorial where the Lincoln Legacy came alive. The inscriptions of the Gettysburg Address and his second Inaugural Address witch makes up two-thirds of the words of our song “The Words of Lincoln.” We sang at the base of the memorial to many passersbys who showed their appreciation by thanking us and letting us know how much they appreciated it. We visited the Vietnam and Korean War Memorial next, very powerful.
The day ended with a swim in the pool and bed checks. Another jam packed day with a short night ahead. Good night.
I am really enjoying your blog postings. Thanks for spending so much time making the trip come alive for all of us back home. Know how tired you must be at the end of the day, so it is especially appreciated!
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