The Top of DC

Having lived in the DC area most of my life, I have had the opportunity to do most of the typical touristy things... tour the White House, the Capitol, see the planes take off from Gravely Point, watch the fireworks from Arlington Cemetery, the Mall and the Jefferson Memorial, etc. However, despite living here and having worked at the U.S. Senate for five years, I had never been on a Capitol Dome Tour until last week.

Unlike most major cities, DC has height restrictions on its buildings to prevent any place in our capital being any taller than the U.S. Capitol. On the dome tour, you get to walk up the 300+ stairs to the top of the dome and stand outside, overlooking the city.

It's a long way down...

In fact, if you took the Statue of Liberty off her pedestal and put her in the Rotunda, she'd still have 44 feet of clearance above her torch.

Here was the view off the western side:

(Notice that the water is frozen... it was so cold and windy that one of the kids on our tour would not let go of the wall because he thought he might get blown off the side. He probably could have.)

You can see the airport in Crystal City across the river.

The Library of Congress: Hands down the best looking building in the country. If you saw the inside, you'd agree.

The Supreme Court

The wind was so strong that this was the best picture of me. We took lots. This was me using the building as a shield and seizing the .3 seconds of no wind.

If you ever have the opportunity to get on this tour... do it.

Cold Weather Magic

It's not often that Tim, Tony, Makayla, and Ashleigh are all in the same city at the same time. So when these four were all together for a few days, Tim seized the opportunity to get some family photos. Their last family photo was years ago, and when you have kids, a couple years can mean lots of growth.

With only a short window to schedule the shoot, there was no rescheduling when the day arrived and Tim had a cold and it was freezing outside! This adorable family braved the cold and ditched their jackets at each location to show off their perfectly coordinated outfits. I love the black and pink! It all goes together but they aren't too matchy. Double props go out to Ashleigh for wearing the short-sleeved dress in the cold! Totally worth it.

Here are just a couple of my favorites from the day...

While they all warmed up in Starbucks, I was perfecting my stalker-like shots...

Love the patriotism on this street. No where near the Fourth of July, yet everyone has a flag.

Love you guys! Thanks for hanging out with me on such a cold morning!

Capitol

Earlier tonight I braved the frigid air for the Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting. After only a couple minutes all my extremities were frozen! We were unable to get super close because the line through security was too long, but I was able to get some excellent photos of the Capitol as we listened to the holiday music.

It's really no wonder that I love DC. You can't beat the architecture on the Capitol complex. Just look at that detail!

He Loves Me

It's rare to be on the other side of the camera these days. My camera doesn't have an automatic setting, so it's difficult for most passersby to take a picture for us that is in focus. Luckily, my friend Jenny has pretty much mastered the art. We had a double date to Williamsburg and I was fortunate enough to finally get a couple pictures of me and Brad. This was one of my favorites:

Side Note: We seem to always find fountains for backgrounds in our pictures. Then we stand directly in front of them. Oh well, I love it just the same!