John and Robin's Vacation: Day 2 – Washington D.C. October 3, 2012

Whew…….where do I start. We are exhausted after a full day of playing tourist.

This morning started very early. We were out the door by 6:30 in order to get to the White House for our scheduled tour at 7:30. It was a fairly short walk but it was already warm and very, very muggy. Let’s just say it wasn’t exactly a great hair or makeup day. Unfortunately they don’t let you take any pictures inside but as soon as you exit you’re allowed to turn your cell phone on and use it to take a few pictures. Here we are standing on the circular driveway on the north side of the White House.

You can’t really tell but this is a White House guard heading to or from his station standing guard. What you can’t see is a very big rifle that he’s carrying. Thank goodness they are very serious about guarding the President and the White House.

After heading back to our hotel, eating breakfast and taking a short nap, we headed out for our scheduled Capital tour. We did this a few years ago but we thoroughly enjoyed seeing it again. Here’s a few pictures that I took.

The visitor entrance

The visitors side entrance of the Capital.

King Kamehameha stature representing Hawaii and placed right by the check-in area.

I love this statue of President Ronald Reagan.

This is a picture of one of the ceilings. This one shows George Washington descending into heaven with wings.

By this time we had built up an appetite so we headed out to try one of Guy Ferrari's, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives places. This one is called Tortilla Cafe and features food from El Salvador.

Here’s proof that Guy was there.

It’s painted right on the wall and they are very proud of it.

Next stop, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. We were there three years ago so we decide to focus on just three things, a butterfly exhibit, the Hope Diamond and (of course) the dinosaurs. Here just a glimpse.