Capitol Tour

After our White House tour in September, Brad and I set a goal to visit all three branches of government (or rather, the buildings that house them) before finishing our time. We got to the Supreme Court in October, and we squeezed in a Capitol tour in December. The day of our tour was gloomy and cold (but at least it wasn't raining...ahem...Supreme Court). We visited the day before the impeachment hearings, so there was a definite vibe (and camera crews and reporters), but we had a great visit anyway. The big girls did SO WELL on a rather long tour in a group of adults. I like to think that all the times we dragged them to museums and other tours had prepared them for this moment.

Thank goodness for coat check; we were wearing so many layers.

The official tour is about an hour. No strollers, no food...something we were a bit better prepared for, given all of our other tours. I basically feed them a steady stream of food for an hour leading up to whatever the food-free tour is. I was literally making them swallow and throw away food packaging right before we walked in. I was so nervous that they were going to get bored and tired and start whining, but they all hung in there so well! We wore Brynna in the Ergo carrier (one of the MVP's of our time in the District), and they other two walked the whole time, listening carefully to their headphones (how the tour is conducted. There's an in-person tour guide, but to cut down on cacophony and to make sure everyone can hear, you listen through a headset). Our tour guide grew up in Durham, NC!

I mean...

...how cute are these little tourists? Not sure what her hair was doing here. Hat hair, probably.

The Capitol rotunda really is magical and breathtaking. There is so much to look at, and it's all beautiful.

Suffragettes who did the work...

...so these gals can vote one day.

Hamilton and our Hamilton fan. 

For one of his half-marathons, he basically trained exclusively to the Hamilton soundtrack. He's no good at rapping, but he does know all the words.

The Baptism of Pocahontas. It's so beautiful. I had to wait for a long time for people to move out of my picture.

Statues of famous Americans by state

Rosa Parks for Alabama

This tour ended up being a favorite for me, which is largely to do with how well the girls did. They were marvelous! We even had other folks from our tour group stop us to tell us how well the girls did. Yes, I did, in fact, reward them with chocolate when we got home.

Is this not SUCH a "dad shot?"

On our way back to Union Station, we got some good shots of the Supreme Court. Still gray and gloomy, but again- not raining this time.

And a distant view of the Library of Congress

We did it! All three branches. I'm so glad that we made them all happen, even though it was a lot of work. I know the girls won't remember much about it, but I will. I love these memories! And, we'll take them back when they're a little older. No worries.