Mary Beth Goes to Washington

My latest work trip took me to Washington, DC, and Mom was able to join me for a few days before the real "work" began. We saw so many things, I can't even begin to list them all...but I'll try:

• Since the House was voting on the Bailout plan, we tried to scout Capitol Hill for congressmen. And we saw Ron Paul.
• We toured the Library of Congress. Amazing architecture.
• Took a Monuments by Moonlight tour. So cool to see everything--the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Capitol Hill, Arlington Cemetery, etc.--at night.
• George and Laura invited us to the White House for a tour. We saw the George Washington portrait that Dolley Madison saved from the fire in 1814.
• The Newseum: A 250,000-square-foot museum of news. As a journalism major, it was fantastic. There, we saw many historic newspapers, an exhibit on 9/11, part of the Berlin Wall, and the actual cabin where the Unabomber lived. No kidding. We spent three hours there and skipped two entire floors of the museum because we ran out of time before closing.
• Holocaust Memorial Museum. Incredibly moving, so well done. Everyone should visit it.
• At the National Archives, we had a quick view of the ORIGINAL (!) Bill of Rights, Constitution, and Declaration of Independence.
• International Spy Museum. We picked up a few tips on the art of espionage. We should not be trusted.
• And after mom left, I saw Lynne Cheney (complete with her secret service detail) at one of the shops we were photographing for the story.

Some photos from the trip:

The world's longest broken escalator. We carried our luggage

all the way to the top...and then had heart attacks.
His sign reads: I need $700 billion & no oversight too.

The Capitol

Library of Congress

Lincoln Memorial

You wouldn't believe who all we bumped in to.

Try the Chili Half-Smoke, fries and a chocolate shake.

From the terrace at The Newseum.

Ron Paul. Don't know why I didn't zoom in.

Wearing these patriotic toe socks, we sure did blend in with the locals. Thanks, Elena!

From the Monuments by Moonlight tour.

We couldn't take pictures during the White House tour.

This is from the top of the Washington Monument.

World War II Memorial

Mrs. Cheney buying some chairs at And Beige.

See the secret service guy in the back right corner?