White House at Lafayette Square/Park

One last visit to the front of the White House.  This area is the closest you can get to the White House from the outside.  This is also the area where protestors can assemble to voice their concerns.

Arlington Cemetery & Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Arlington National Cemetery is a sobering tribute to the men and women who gave their lives to protect our freedom.  The JFK gravesite displays Kennedy's inaugural address.  Robert and Ted Kennedy are buried here as well.  The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier changing of the guard ceremony is worth standing and waiting for -- happens every hour on the hour during daylight and every 6 hours at night.  On our visit the Army band played several songs including the National Anthem and a soldier played taps.  Its very moving and everyone is silent throughout the ceremony.

Bureau of Printing and Engraving aka "The Money Factory"

The Bureau of Printing and Engraving also called the “money factory,” gives a tour of the printing machines and process of how we print our money.  You cannot take photos inside the factory, only in the lobby/gift shop.  95% of money printed is used to replace money that is deemed worn and as it is returned by banks, the Federal Reserve issues new money. Engravers intern for 10 years to learn how to design the money. 

International Spy Museum

As you enter the spy museum you can select and identity and memorize facts about the person so that throughout the time, you go through check points and see if you pass. It’s a fun and interesting place.  There are real spy artifacts from U.S. and KGB spys.  Guns are camouflaged in umbrellas, flashlights, lipstick tubes and on and on.  It was so interesting I forgot to take any pictures so clipped all of these from the Internet. 

The museum chronicles the history of spying from biblical times to the early 20th century. It explores such phenomena as the institutionalization of spying in the early years of the Soviet Union and traces the rise of espionage technology, such as spy photography. It also examines the role that women have played in espionage and reveals well-known historical figures who were also spymasters, including George Washington and author Daniel Defoe.

There are exhibits, films, and videos examine espionage through World War II, showcasing real-life spy stories such as Julius & Ethel Rosenberg. The lives of more recent double agents such as Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen are covered. An exhibit on celebrity spies details famous figures who had separate careers in espionage unbeknownst to the public, including singer Josephine Baker, chef Julia Child, baseball legend Moe Berg, movie director John Ford, and actress Marlene Dietrich.

you can see the flashlight and umbrella guns here

U.S. Marine Corps Iwo Jima Memorial

After dinner we went to Arlington, VA to see this memorial. It was inspired by the iconic 1945 photograph of six Marines raising a U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.  The war memorial is dedicated to all U.S. Marine Corps personnel who died in the defense of the United States since 1775.

United States Capitol

Our Congressional office for our district in Oregon, Greg Walden, set up the tour and a congressional intern took us through.  Underground tunnels connect the Capitol office buildings, Rayburn and Longworth.  The Capitol also has it’s own separate water and air systems. We saw a lot more than the tours you take via a tour bus company.  We walked the underground tunnel that is also serviced by a monorail type train for staffers only.  We were able to see the old Supreme Court that was used from 1810-1860 and is still preserved as it was.  From there we went to the Senate Speaker’s balcony for a great view. 

Old Supreme Court

waiting in Greg Walden's office for the tour

Staff tram in subway

Balcony just outside Senator Mitch McConnell's office.

Box Magna Carta was delivered in -- diamonds in back

Rosa Parks

Office of Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan

Top of the Rotunda

View from balcony

The Capitol Crypt was designed to support the Capitol Rotunda.  George Washington was to be buried in the center but in his will, he asked to be buried at his beloved Mt Vernon farm. The crypt was used for bicycle parking. It is now a main thoroughfare for the underground pathway through the building.  Also, President-elects wait in this area then walk out to the Capitol steps to be sworn in on inauguration day.

Great Britain gave the U.S. the original copy of the Magna Carta and it was delivered in this case which is encrusted with diamonds -- guys were looking for the diamonds!

The Rotunda is awesome and surrounded inside by statues and paintings of the early events in U.S. history.  Each state can provide 2 statues for the Capitol building; others are commissioned by the US Congress and Senate. 

 Statue of President Ronald Reagan has a layer of stone from the Berlin Wall.

 Rotunda has statues all around.  There are many more statues throughout the building.  The white doors on right are the entry to the office of Majority Whip, Steve Scalise.  He was the senator shot in June 2017 at the congressional baseball game.

 This is a mold of the statue that sits atop the Capitol Rotunda.  Amazing that the mold has been preserved for so many years.