The Events of Monday, December 6, 2010

          The problem with late nights is early mornings. Although we were to follow our “typical” morning routine (typical for our time camping in Maryland while we visit D.C.) this morning everything seemed to take a little longer. For one thing we were all tired and therefore moving very slowly. For the other, it was FREEZING. Not figuratively, but literally complete with icicles on the RV, it was a cool 31°‼

          We had discovered yesterday that our propane tank was basically empty. Not a good thing to discover on a Sunday as we seem to do on a regular basis. No one is open on Sundays to sell you propane, and this included our campground. It would have been really convenient to get propane yesterday when we were already unhooked for our day’s adventures, but no such luck. So this morning, we slid in the slideouts, secured the loose items, unplugged and drove about 50 yards from our site to fill up our propane tank. Then it was just a matter of driving back in, leveling off again and hooking back up to electricity. We haven’t been hooking up to water or sewage as it has been below freezing and we don’t want to burst our hoses. Finally, all was set at the campground and we hopped in the van shuttle and soon were on our way to Washington, D. C.

          The plan for today was to tour the Capitol. (As I tell my kids:  Capitol with an “o” stands for the round building where the Congress meets. Capital with an “a” stands for where the building is “at”.) Anyway, we had to contact our State Congresswoman, Diane Feinstein, to receive an “invitation” to tour the Capitol. The “invitation” came with a lot of rules and limitations. Absolutely NO food is allowed in the building and no bags bigger than 11”x14”x3”. This severely limited our typical arrangement for the day as we have been “picnicking” our way through the capital to keep our food costs down. AND we carry all that food, as well as a variety of layers of clothing in backpacks. Unable to do so, we layered on the clothing (and prayed for a coat check) and each carried a single granola bar, planning to go buy lunch after our Capitol tour.

          Our Capitol tour was scheduled at 11:00 and we were told to arrive 30 minutes early. We actually arrived about an hour early and headed over, figuring we could check out the visitor center and have our snack before the tour. At the door of the visitor center, we were met by a very kind, and apologetic, but firm gentleman that informed us that not even our unopened granola bars could go in with us, not even into the visitor center. We were directed to trash and recycle receptacles to rid ourselves of our “contraband” goods. But we Taylors never throw away good food. So we gobbled down our granola bars, threw away our trash, checked again for “contraband” and headed inside.

          For all the hoop-la, security was surprisingly light. Just place your stuff on the conveyor belt, including keys, cell phones and cameras, and head on through. Once we cleared security, we were directed up the stairs to coat check, where we were able to check our coats for free. Something that never happened in NYC! We headed down to the “check in” desk and were told we could be put on an earlier tour. Guess this wasn’t going to be a personal tour by our state representative or a member of her staff after all. Directed into a series of roped off aisles we ended up at the start of a line for about 120-150 people. First stop was an orientation film discussing how the Legislative branch of government was set up and a few key points about the building itself. After the movie, we exited from the top where we were each handed a headphone set with no explanation. We were directed into one of four different lanes and when we put on our headsets found that it served to amplify our assigned tour guide’s voice. Since the building is full of arched reverberating marble and several tours are occurring simultaneously, I guess the plan is to cut down the overall noise. The device was helpful when our guide was directing our group up some stairs and around a corner, but eerily weird when she is standing three feet away and her voice is not in sync with her lips and there is a strange buzz in the amplification of her words. I found I did better without the headset and just stood close enough to hear the guide.

          Our guide was incredibly smiley, a little too smiley and upbeat for the information she was disseminating. Regardless how you look at it, the Capitol is basically, well just another large marble building. Afterwards we asked ourselves if she was truly that over the top excited about the Capitol or what. Jim’s vote was that she was on drugs, mine was that plastic surgery had stuck her face in a perpetual smile but one of the kids pointed out that it didn’t explain her high pitched excited voice which made each room and statue sound more thrilling than the one before. At one point I noticed Caitlin sitting off to the side with her headset off. Checking in with her, I found out that hers wasn’t working so I gave her mine. Later I found out that Jim had found out about Caitlin’s problem and suggested she stand closer to the guide. But as Caitlin later confessed, she was too creeped out by our guide to want to be any nearer her than necessary.

          The best part of the Capitol was when our guide pointed out where John Adams desk had stood for his time in Congress. At the time Congress was held in a domed room with a parabola located near the front. John Adams had discovered that by placing his desk there allowed him to listen in on the opposition and learn their plans. Our guide turned off her mike and walked over to the other side of the room to demonstrate how this worked. It was amazing how clearly her whispered words came to us from the ceiling. However, John Adams was smart enough to realize that sound traveled both ways and therefore was very careful to move his conversations elsewhere and it wasn’t until after his death that it was discovered why he was so adamant about his desk placement.

          Upon the conclusion of the tour, we visited the exhibit hall. At the front there was a bank of computers which allowed one to take a virtual tour of the Capitol, learn about Congress and take the “Congressional Quiz” which was set up sort of like Jeopardy. The kids were instantly drawn to the computers and I have to admit I was taken in a bit as well. Then we decided we should educate ourselves about the exhibit and perhaps we would do better on the quiz. The visitor center had a brief movie about the Senate and another about the House of Representatives. It was fun in the Senate movie to try to spy Barak Obama as a Senator. Behind the movies were a series of alcoves each discussing what was happening historically over the four phases of building the Capitol and surrounding buildings. Centered in each alcove was a diorama illustrating what the area looked like at that time. The diorama that interested me the most was the one representing the work done since 9/11. After 9/11 it was decided that the Capitol and all our elected representatives were essentially sitting ducks (somehow different than lame ducks) in case of an attack. So a huge area was dug out beneath the Capitol complete with an escape tunnel which leads under the street to the Library of Congress. After reinforcing the ceiling of this underground bunker, it was completed as the “new” visitor center. However, the diorama showed a huge hole in the earth, like a crater had hit and also listed the astronomical cost of this enhancement.

          Then we returned to the computers and were pleased to apply our new knowledge and achieve perfect or near perfect success on the Congressional Quiz. By now our tummies were rumbling, so we decided to utilize the facilities and meet outside the restrooms. Problem. There are several different restrooms located throughout the Capitol on different levels and it appears we divided ourselves amongst them. Finally we all made our way back to the coat check and were reunited there. We took the Metro to lunch. The kids were excited as we were headed to Ollie’s Trolley, a restaurant recommended for having “kid pleasing authentic Washington D.C. food”. Well if $6 hamburgers and $4 fries are authentic food, we were at the right place. We ended up ordering three combo meals and splitting the burgers and fries, much to growing Ben’s chagrin. However, he was placated by the promise of an early dinner given our late, 2 pm, lunch. Then we caught the Metro to the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum, the “most visited museum in the world.”

          Although at first glance it is impressive due to all the planes hanging from the ceiling, the overall experience was, in a word, underwhelming. The organization was confusing. Different eras of aviation were grouped together. Visually, there was a lot to take in, a ton of text to read and the artifacts and explanations were eclectic. I am amazed that this is the most visited museum in the world.

          Over the course of our trip, after visiting many museums and historical sites, I feel I have learned how to arrange a good exhibit. First it would be visually appealing, something that really attracts the eye. Then a catchy title, in large print, would briefly and succinctly explain what the visitor is viewing. Under this, a short three sentence paragraph would explain the point of the exhibit. For those who wish to delve deeper, this would be followed by two or three additional paragraphs of no more than 5-7 sentences giving added detail. The title would be in print about 5 inches high, the short paragraph in print 3 inches high and the final, more detailed paragraphs in print 2 inches high. The lighting would be such that there was no glare or sheen on the exhibit and the font type, color and background would be clearly legible and distinguishable.

          Underwhelmed as we were, we did try to make the most of our visit. We visited the Wright Brothers exhibit, saw the Spirit of St. Louis, and checked out the WWII exhibit as Abby was keen to learn more about the WASPs. Then we swung by the WWI exhibit, drawn in by some Snoopy as the Red Baron cartoons. We watched videos about pilots who had received the Medal of Honor. There was an exhibit about the process of de-regulating the airline industry and the aftermath of that legislation, but I was soon lost in the poor organization of the exhibit. The most amusing exhibit was the evolution of the stewardess into a flight attendant. Back in the days before de-regulation when the government set the airfares, airlines relied on pretty girls in very short skirts and tight shirts to draw in the business traveler. Some of these “fashionable” outfits were outrageous. The kids’ favorite exhibit, “How Things Fly”, was of course geared to kids. There was a paper airplane contest and many hands on exhibits demonstrating the different physics concepts that gets a heavy metal object in the air. While the kids amused themselves, Jim and I took a little nap on the benches in the demonstration area.  

          All too soon, (or not soon enough), it was time to catch the Metro back to the van shuttle which returned us to our campground and awaiting taco salad dinner. We moved quickly through our evening tasks, intent on an early bedtime. We fell asleep, intrigued by what awaited us tomorrow, as the weather forecast predicted a possibility of snow – much to the kids’ delight.