Spring Break DC- Capitol, Art and Tornados

Monday morning we had to be up early to get the metro figured out and get to the Capitol on time for our tour.

Luckily the forecasted rain wasn't too heavy until we made it into the building.

While we waited for the tour to start we looked at some of the state statues and reminisced about Aunt Laurie's long lesson about Helen Keller the last time we were here.

The very center of the Capitol under the rotunda and above the crypt - build for Washington but never interred with a body.

The rotunda with its famous paintings, freeze, and domed ceiling.

Emily was disappointed to learn that the two statues from Idaho were both white men totally unknown to her.  She is determined to start a petition to get us some new statues...but who?  That proves to be a difficult question.

We stopped by the Library of Congress to find out it is closed Mondays...on to the Supreme Court building.

We were allowed to go into the court room to get a little lecture on how the court works, who sits where, and what kinds of cases they hear.  It was very informative.

By the time that was over we were starving and started walking towards the Natural History Museum thinking we would eat there but we were too hungry so we stopped at the Art Museum for lunch.  After lunch we decided to do a quick look at some of the more famous works of art.

While viewing an announcement came over the loud speaker, "The museum will be closing due to tornado warnings.  Please exit the building by 2:00 and seek shelter in the nearest sturdy building."  We found this ironic because the art building seemed pretty sturdy and all the nearest buildings were part of the Smithsonian and thus closing as well.  I guess this explains why Aunt Laura told me to be careful the night before while texting me about the weather - everything had looked fine to me except some rain 🤷.

We stayed as long as we could then faced the weather, which actually felt quite lovely if not for the ominous sky.

We grabbed some photos of the castle and started walking toward the monuments.  Emily and I figured we might as well see a few more things before we called it a day - Lily was rather uncomfortable with this plan and was justifiably angry when the rain hit quite suddenly drenching us and sending us back tracking to the subway.  Maybe we should have listened to her, but then again a little water never hurt anyone.

Soaked, we joined crowds of others seeking shelter from the storm and trying to make their way home.  The afternoon was cut short but we made the most of it by resting our feet, stretching, filling out our March Madness brackets, eating Italian nearby with incredible service, and driving a bit to grab Crumbl for our sugar needs while we watched a movie before bed.