The Supreme Court, the U.S. Capitol, and a Donut?

The United States Supreme Court.
Finally...a place where the students can plead their case and rules REALLY matter!

With tummies full and our energy (mostly) back, we were ready for a 10-minute walk from Union Station to the Supreme Court. The students stood outside in the sunlight and caught a glimpse of the home of the Judicial Branch of our government.

A 180º turn and there it is..the U.S. Capitol looming in the distance.
The renovation underway is scheduled to be completed in time for the (Jan.) 2017 Presidential Inauguration.

We had a scheduled tour of the Capitol Building set for 2:10 p.m., so we had about 45 minutes to walk around the area and look at the Library of Congress and the Senate office buildings. Following a winding path down to the entrance of the Visitor's Center, we entered the Capitol and waited in line for our guided tour. We made sure to listen to the Capitol Police.
Our tour guide, Roberta, was an unbelievable fountain of information! She led us through the original Senate floor, and a hall known as "the crypt," where the center of D.C. is represented with a silver star, and under which the empty tomb for George Washington is located. As we entered the Rotunda, we were directed to look up, whereupon we saw the beautiful murals depicting the history of our country. As the entire Capitol Building is under repair, we noticed large white sheets hanging from the ceiling. The sheets are there to protect visitors down below from falling debris during restoration.

The current state of the Rotunda ceiling. Tour guides at the Capitol fondly refer to this as "the donut."