Last Day in DC--HOME!

What a way to start the day!!!

Me in front of the Capitol Building Weds. morning and a side shot of the Senate and Capitol. We spent the morning in the Senate. Senator Lamar Alexander spoke to us and was very, very good. Also, I met Lindsey Graham and had my picture made. I hope the professional picture comes out better than this one!!!

John C. Calhoun, famous South Carolinian who was a member of the Great Triumvirate and Vice-President under Jackson. I think this makes at least my 3rd picture with some type of representation of Calhoun on this trip:)

The ceiling in the Senate waiting area and the Senate hallway. The Senate was much more ornate than the House. Also, less pictures were allowed. However, we did go on the Senate floor and I sat in Senator DeMint's desk. That was cool. Daniel Webster and Jefferson Davis' original desks are both there, by law, and cannot be replaced. It was awe-inspiring to be in that room and think of the political giants who had held sway over its members.

When we left the Senate building, we walked underground, through the tunnel that connects the Senate to several office buildings, including the Dirksen building where we were going, and the Library of Congress. There is a little subway train that runs this way as well, and passed us a couple of times. The flags of the 50 states hang in the order by which they came into the Union. Here is the SC state flag.

Goofing around in the Dirksen Building waiting for our speakers.

Cokie Roberts spoke to our group today and answered questions for about 45 minutes. What a treat!!

Me and Cokie Roberts. How cool is this??? She spoke to us about the involvement of women in history, her role, and what teachers can and should do now. She was a great speaker, full of humor and anecdotes and truly a delightful lady and journalist. I got to ask HER a question:)

The ceilings of the middle of the entrance and down one hall in the Library of Congress.

Me on the second floor. I saw the Gutenberg Bible..Cool, huh???

Interior shots of the main rotunda/hall of the Library of Congress. Incredibly ornate, the designers and Congressmen wanted it to look like Italian Renaissance. They succeeded.

The beautiful marble fireplace in the meeting room. The marble is white marble from Georgia.

The Congressional meeting room in the Library. A carved panel over one door.

The hall ceiling outside the meeting and reading room. A ceiling panel in the meeting room in the Library.

Obviously the reading room for members of Congress in the Congressional Library. Very

peaceful and quiet. The wood is all cherry.

The group I hung out with most frequently and who graciously took many of the pictures of me! From left to right..Suzette from the upper Peninsula, Maureen from Texas, me, Sandy from Maryland, Laura F. from N. Dakota, and Laura L. from Maryland.

This has been a truly amazing, educational, and experience-rich trip. I met many teachers from across the country and made some new friends. I delved deeper into the motives and debates of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, the complex thoughts of Abraham Lincoln, and the intricacies of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Ralph Ellison. I attended lectures by well-known authors and historians and trod in the footsteps of history in Philadelphia, Gettysburg, and Washington, DC. I was truly blessed to have been afforded this opportunity!

Two Days in DC in one

We visited the Frederick Douglass House and Lincoln Park on Monday. Frederick Douglass lived in this house with his 1st & 2nd wife and when she died (after him) they had willed the house to be preserved like a museum. So, nearly everything in the house is original. Douglass died in this house. It is located in Anacosta and sits high up on a hill where there is an excellent view of the Capitol and White House. On Tuesday, we went to the Capitol and House of Representatives.

Douglass's study

Douglass's sitting room

Frederick Douglass dining room and bedroom.

In front of the Douglass House.

The statue of Lincoln in Lincoln Park. This statue was begun by a freed slave woman who donated the first five dollars. Lincoln is giving a benediction to a former slave and the Emancipation Proclamation is on the back.

In Lincoln Park, the statue of Mary McLeod Bethune, a SC native.

In front of the capitol. Yes, my eyes are closed because the sun is directly in them!

The capitol building and the House of Representatives side, which we visited today. It was so cool, we went on the floor of the House, sat in chairs of the Reps. and Senator Wicker of Miss. spoke to us. They were setting up for session while we were there. SOOO cool.

My quote for the day.

The new Visitors Center which opened after 9/11.

The Capitol rotunda. It really is amazing!

A carved relief of the Spanish meeting the Natives. Also, while the rotunda appears to have a carved bas relief around it, it is actually a painting that shows America from the founding to the Wright brothers' first flight.

Cool, huh? We did see John Kerry and Patrick Leahy.

The old spot where the speaker would have stood at a dais and all the representatives would have desks on the floor. John Quincy Adams' spot where his desk was.

Inside ceiling of room where the original House met for years prior to the current addition being built.

As a preview for our day in the Senate tomorrow, me and John C. Calhoun in the capitol rotunda crypt.

Tomorrow is Wednesday, the last full day and then home....