We started the morning off by going to Senator Harkin's office. We met his aid who gave us a tour of the capitol. While there, we saw statues donated by each state, why Abe Lincoln wore a hat (so he remembered to duck on the staircase), and how John Adams used to pretend he was sleeping while he was really listening in on conversations across the hall (due to the acoustics of how it was made). We also sat in the House of Representatives viewing gallery; however, they were in recess while we were there.
We then visited the Library of Congress. Thomas Jefferson actually sold his personal library to the government because he was in so much debt, and the government needed the books. A win-win situation. We also saw the first mass produced Bible by Johannas Gutenberg's printing press. This library was unbelievable. They have almost every book ever printed, but they are not allowed to be checked out.
After finding some lunch at a local cafe, we met again outside the Supreme Court. Boy were we in for a suprise when we showed up. Many protestors were outside the building, so police were everywhere! They redirected us to a side entrance. We then listened to a question and answer session with an assistant curator inside the supreme court room. We saw where the justices sat and learned about the hearing process.
We were then free to go for the day, so we visited some more monuments and museums before supper. We then all got together for supper at Founding Farmers. While here, we had lots of Iowa food - pan fried chicken, green beans, sweet corn, and pork chops. It was delicious! Needless to say, after today, our feet are very tired. The pedometer recorded us walking over 6 miles! It's time to relax and prepare for the "Think Tank" we are going to in the morning!
Kylie and Kacie
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