Tuesday

Long day... Good day, but LONG day...

When last we left our heroes, it was WAY TOO EARLY.
Somehow, still, we were late... The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, however, was nice enough to accommodate us at 8:45 instead of 8:15.

Today we saw hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was a little sickening, really... to think of how big a role MONEY plays in my days, and then to see people handling it as if it were NOT what it IS... tough to reconcile. There was a sign - it said "Just think, I just printed my whole life's earnings in a few minutes!" It makes me nervous to have even a hundred bucks cash on my person - and to watch as $32,000 just flies through the maching every second... WEIRD!

The weather today was still pretty cool - but not the rain they expected to continue. So our walk to the Capitol complex was a brisk one, but nice. We stopped first at my Congressman's office, Representative Bill Foster, to pickup our passes for the galleries of the Senate and the House. Then we headed to the Library of Congress - one of the PRETTIEST buildings in D.C. From there, we went to the Supreme Court, but our scheduled lecture was on hold as the Justices were hearing a case. Instead, we went to the museum downstairs, before we headed to lunch.

After lunch, it was off to the Capitol building. We did sit in the galleries of both the House of Representatives and the Senate - and then wandered through the museum at the Capitol until it was time for our tour. Our tour guide took us to the Crypt, the Rotunda, and the ... uh oh... I think I need to check the brochure... the brochure is no help on this point... the National Statuary Hall??? Where the Representatives used to meet but now they house the Statues??? Illinois (and all other states) are allowed 2 statues - one of our allotments is of the first Woman statue to be presented in the capitol... nice!

From the Capitol building, we went to the National Botanical Gardens. There was an Orchid Exhibit that was simply stunning, and then rooms representing flowers & plants from all over different types of landscapes - the desert, the jungle, even Hawaii and a room representing medicinal plants. It was a really pretty way to end our day.

I'll tell you now (or Peter will tell you later), that I landed us on the wrong train coming back home (oops!) Just one stop til we corrected our mistake... I think its really the best way to become an expert at the transportation system - making mistakes!

Tonight, I think Jessica has some impressions of the day to share - not sure if anyone else does, so I'll get away from the laptop now!!!

~JSW