Capitol Tour in our Nation's Capital

I have recently wondered when to use Capitol vs Capital. What is the difference? Can I use the words interchangeably like Color vs Colour? Well, no. Turns out there's a difference. Capitol refers to the building. Capital refers to the city. So for all of you who were dumb like me, now you are smarter. You're welcome.

This past Friday night I was invited by my good friend Muriel to accompany her and some other friends in to the capital for a private tour of the capitol. I've been on a tour of this building before, but this tour was going to be something else. You see, her husband is a capitol (or maybe even capital) policeman, and Friday night he had the master key. He got special permission for us to come, so we met up at the capitol around 8:30 or so and we got an exclusive tour of the building and saw a lot of rooms that are off-limits to the general public. It was SO cool! Wandering (not to be confused with wondering) around afterhours, going in to different senator's offices and 'living rooms', the senate's press gallery, the President's Room, etc was exciting. I kind of had this rush of adrenaline as we walked down numerous hallways and went in to one locked room after another.

Inside the Senators' "Living Room"

One of the things that surprised me the most were the teeny tiny spaces that radio stations broadcast from. We saw where CNN, NPR, ABC, etc broadcast their podcasts or radio shows. CRAZY! Seriously, it was the smallest space imaginable. Like enough room to roll a crappy computer chair in there and close the door. That's it. If you want to stand up, you'll have to open the door and go out in to the hallway because there's only floorspace for the one chair. Just baffling. All sorts of offices were hidden between walls and split in to half-floors. It is seriously like a maze in there. I would totally get lost if I weren't directed where to go next.

We also visited Nancy Pelosi's 'wing' area. Pictures covered the walls of the hallways showing her with famous politicians or her swearing in ceremony or her with her family, etc. Despite the fact that I really can't stand the lady, it was just wild walking through there and thinking, "this is where she spends most of her days, every day".

It was fun to go inside the Senate's press gallery. There is a podium in one of the museums in DC that makes it look like you are speaking at the President's podium. I have taken pictures there. But this was the REAL thing! Of course I had to take pics of this room, too.

The President's Room was something that was totally unexpected. I had no idea the President had a room at the Capitol! Turns out that in 1789, George Washington recommended there be a chamber in the Capitol for the President and the Senate to do business. Early presidents like Lincoln and Grant spent significant amount of time in there. After 1921, however, the President's Room was rarely used by presidents. A few historic events took place in the decades that followed. In 1965, President Lyndon B Johnson chose the room as the site for him to sign the Voting Rights Act, in which Martin Luther King, Jr. was in attendance. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan established the tradition of an inaugural day visit to the President's Room and many presidents have followed suit. Even President Obama, keeping with tradition, entered the President's Room in the Capitol building, where he signed his first Presidential orders, at 1:03 p.m. - just before the inaugural luncheon. Pretty dang cool.

Me sitting on the spot indicating the center of DC

Several times I had to take a moment and look out a window to take in the view. DC is an awesome city. I love living here. The enchantment has not worn off over the years - if anything, it has grown. To just step back and think, "I live here!" is really cool. The Cherry Blossom Festival has been going on, and the parade was put on just this past weekend. Tourists have been crawling all over the city, and it's kind of neat to think that people from all over - even different countries - travel here to experience the beauty of DC during this specific 2-week period. (Even though all the extra people make my commutes super irritating) :)

Outside one of the Capitol windows; Washington Monument

All in all, the tour of the Capitol was just plain rad. This city continues to awe me. Even though the West Coast continually calls my name, I'm not quite ready to leave this area of awesomeness.

Cherry Blossoms in DC:

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