The Candrians go to Washington!

Where to begin . . . I feel like I've been all over the place the last few days. My parents flew into D.C. last week and I drove up after work to meet up with the fam at the Washington Nationals game. Good thing my mom called me on the way up to tell me it was raining and to bring a jacket. "Raining" was an understatement! I haven't seen that much rain in a long time.

Right before they called the game due to the rain, Andrea and I made our way down to the center field overhang and yelled to one of the outfielders to throw us a ball. A bunch of guys to the left of us had been doing the same thing and couldn't seem to catch anything. Maybe it was because we are girls but the player gave up on trying to get a ball to the group of guys and threw one to us instead. Who knew that Andrea could catch (no offense, Andrea)?

After the game, with Lincoln and George . . .

The next day was one of the highlights of the trip. Whenever my mom and dad visit D.C. I always try and plan something for them to do that they've never done before (which is getting harder and harder since they've been here so many times). My dad has always wanted to stand on the balcony at the top of the U.S. Capitol dome and he finally got his chance. Good thing it stopped raining long enough to enjoy it!

This is where we ended up . . .

The tour starts out going up a steep set of about 300 metal stairs that wind their way up between the inner and outer domes. . .

About half way up the top, we found ourselves on a balcony located directly beneath the painting the Apotheosis of Washington. This is what the top of the dome looks like from the floor of the Rotunda.

This is what it looks like from half way up the dome.

(oops, I forgot to turn this picture around -- oh-well!)

My mom, the aspiring artist that she is, was in heaven . . .

There were a few fun stops along the way, including this one . . .

One of the octagon cut outs in the dome opened up so we could peer down at the crowds below. I don't think anyone saw us, but I don't know what I would have thought if I looked up and saw someone sticking their head out of the side of the dome.

Here's the view from the top:

It's still funny to me that Andrea and I both ended up working for Congress -- she on the Senate side and me on the House side (this picture was taken on the House side).

Once we got back down into the Capitol, it was after public viewing hours so we found ourselves completely alone. Rob thought he'd have a little fun and slide down one of the balconies since there was no one around to stop him:

(Again, oops, I'm new at this blogging thing -- next time I'll remember to turn the pictures around before I add them to the blog.)


Thanks for visiting Mom and Dad -- come back anytime!