Bucket List History Day

Day 252
​Washington DC

Another day in DC means more time to tour some cool stuff. We have been breaking up our visits into 4-5 hour chunks and then calling it a day. That may not seem like much, but it is a 45 minute drive one way in traffic. Add on the time to park and walk to the attractions and you've got yourself a full day. Today there is a specific goal in mind. We want to see the capital building. Over the last 8 months we have toured many state capitals and it only seems fitting that this gets added to the list. We step into line and begin the wait to get through security. A drug/bomb dog walks past me, stops, and comes back. He walks right up to my pants and start sniffing away. The big guy with a gun on the other end of the leash watches me for twenty seconds and waves me on. Must have been a classic "hey this guy has a dog" sniff. We get inside and immediately feel like we have been jipped. There is a line of about 3 busloads of people waiting to to get tickets for a tour. Nah-uh. I'm not a line kinda person. Moving around the inside of the basement shows us a sign that points to the library of congress via tunnel. Let's roll.

The collection wraps all the way around us.

Inside the meticulous building are you guessed it; books. Lots of books. I'm talking over 16 million books and 120 million other items that are catalogued and put away. It's a mind blowing figure when you really think about. One prime exhibit is this collection of books from the 1700's. After a fire had broke out mid-century, Thomas Jefferson donated his personal collection. One third of the books in the picture above came from his house at that time. 
Pass through some security measures and you too could have access to browse through the 532 miles of shelves that contain the largest known collection of human history in the world. Just don't plan on checking something out and taking it home.

We pop outside the building and figure out where we have ended up. It's so close to the Jeep that we stop and have lunch. Ah yes, another glorious day of eating at the cafe de Shirley.

We suck down some chicken sandwiches and then drive down the road to look for more parking. Our two hour time limit at this spot is up and we can't stay. Driving down Constitution avenue I see a spot and swing in (my parallel parking is getting pretty dam good). I look at the map to discover we are parked in front of the National Archives. I know what's in that building. Legit history that's what. The parking meter gets a half hour added on and we head inside for a quick tour. Inside are some VERY specific signs saying photography of any kind is not allowed. Past security and up two flights of stairs takes us to the Rotunda. One of the three well armed police officers lets us know what is in the room and tells us there is no line. See what you want. And there it was. Face to face with the Declaration of Independence. To the left was the Constitution, and to the right was the Bill of Rights. They may not be the oldest pieces of paper in history, but they are our most important.

We leave the building and look across the street. The meter gets pumped with some more money and we extend our time to the max. An hour and a half allows us to see the visitor center castle, and the gardens next door. Last on our list is the Hirschorn art museum with some really lame stuff inside. One of the exhibits was a bunch of yarn hanging from the ceiling in a straight line. A more visually stimulating display was this wall of cloth.

Time's up. We must face the hour drive home in rush hour traffic. An hour to travel 17 miles. I'm getting tired of this place and am looking forward to moving on. Sometimes this life on the road gets tiring.