Days 3 & 4 in D.C.

Was too active to blog yesterday, leading the kids (well, maybe they were leading me) on a 23-mile bike ride from AK's place in Ballston, Va., to Mount Vernon. Lincoln was the lone voice for making it a roundtrip, but Greta and I were TIRED! Didn't help that it was 85 degrees. So Carey came and picked us up. But not before we toured the mansion and the grounds.

This is an actual key to the Bastille prison in Paris given to George Washington by Marquis de Lafayette. He had the protective box made and ordered it hung it in the foyer on the way in to the main rooms of the house so guests would be sure to inquire about it.

This is the bed where George died on Dec. 14, 1799. His last words were:

"Have me decently buried; and do not let my body be put into the vault in less than three days after I am dead." Apparently being buried alive was a legit concern at the end of the 18th century. 

This is the study where he wrote his voluminous letters.

The lower garden, still being cultivated more than 250 years after it was first planted.

George and Martha's tomb on the estate. George is on the right, can't really see most of Martha's marble coffin to the left.

Today (Thursday) we took the Metro downtown for a Supreme Court and Library of Congress tour. It was blazing hot again.

Look who's advertising in the Metro?

Dissent.

Standing outside the SCOTUS courtroom. There used to be impartial judges who worked here.

Admiring Thomas Jefferson's book collection at the Library of Congress.

A pano of the circular exhibit.

827 days after Jan.6, 2021.

A Capitol flower bed admired by Carey.