Washington, DC - The Smithsonian, Capitol, Library of Congress, and Ford's Theater

The Smithsonian Institute is a collection of museums and archives that store some of the treasures of the world. There are 19 Smithsonian museums, but most of the goods are stored off-site in warehouses. The Smithsonian is where you can find fun historic items like Dorothy's (Judy Garland) ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz, original airplanes made by the Wright Brothers, and lots of scientific stuff...if you like science. I could spend an entire day at any of the Smithsonian museums, but we decided on the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

Photos below:
-Inscriptions on the wall outside the Smithsonian Museum of American History
-My cousin and my mother sitting in the 1950s train simulation
-Available fabrics during WWII rationing
-WWII poster
-President Calvin Coolidge's wife's dress. This was taken for my college friend who claims Coolidge as her favorite president.

Next, the U.S. Capitol building!  This is where all of our federal legislation takes place:

This is the dome from the inside.  

Without passes from a state senator or representative you cannot go into the gallery to watch the happenings of the House and the Senate.  So I made a congressional visit and got some passes :)

Bingo.

Next, after obtaining these, I happen to run into this guy who would be speaking in the House later in the day.

That was pretty cool. It is not everyday you meet someone that frequently makes national news. 

To pass the rest of the day I obtained a library card for the Library of Congress.  The LOC has over 90 MILES of shelves, so it can take up to 2 hours for a librarian to find what you need.  Because of this, I requested my items the night before online.  You cannot leave the LOC with any materials, so you are sent to a reading room to look them over. 

The view from the desk I chose at the LOC.  Isn't it beautiful?

Lastly, my mother and I went to see Ford's Theater where President Lincoln was shot in 1865. The book store has a tower of all the books ever written about Lincoln. Look how tall it is!