The Dixie Echoes pulled into Alexandria, Virginia, in
the early morning hours of Friday, October 14, 2005. They were scheduled
to perform that night at 7:30 pm. After we realized that the bus would be
parked only 13 miles away from our nation's capitol, Tracy and Stewart decided
that they would spend the day touring Washington D.C. They woke up at 8:00
AM and had a taxi drive them to the U.S. Capitol where they began their day
long walk.
Stewart in front of the U.S. Capitol, while waiting for our tour to begin.
We took the standard public tour first, then we went across the street to
the office of Representative Bobby Jindal, 1st District of Louisiana. We
were greeted with a very warm welcome and were offered a staff led tour of
the Capitol building by one of his interns. This tour allowed us to see areas
of the capitol that are off limits to the public tours, such as walking through
the underground tunnels that connect the capitol building to the office buildings
of the House of Representatives, and even through the capitol basement. Our
tour of the capitol concluded with a visit to the House Gallery (where the
House of Representatives meet when in session, and is also where the President
gives the State of the Union Address). Afterwards, we had lunch in the cafeteria
of the Longworth House Office Building.
Stewart Varnado & Tracy Crouch in front of the Capitol.
Tracy before he attempted to scale the fence at the White House.
Unfortunately, we had misplaced our personal invitations from George W.
The two Louisiana boys of the Dixie Echoes posing at the World War II
Memorial.
Honest Abe and Honest Stewart ???
After a long day of walking, Tracy and Stewart found themselves at the Lincoln
Memorial, which is at the opposite end of the National Mall from the Capitol
Building. Along the way, they also stopped at the Smithsonian Institute,
Supreme Court, Library of Congress, Washington Memorial, White House, World
War II Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial. Our seven
hour visit to the nations capitol passed by very quickly. It would take weeks
to take in all that Washington D.C. has to offer, but we enjoyed our short
day trip. We then caught a taxi to take us back to the bus in Alexandria.
Hopefully next year, we will be able to go back and see some of the places
that we missed. If you have never had the opportunity to visit Washington
D.C., we would encourage you to do so (just plan on spending more than seven
hours!).
Below are several more photos taken by Tracy Crouch.
The United States Capitol
The Jefferson Memorial
The United States Supreme Court
Library of Congress
The Vietnam War Memorial
The World War II Memorial
The Washington Monument
The White House
One of the many paintings found on the hallway ceilings
of the U.S. Capitol. This one depicts the signing of the
Louisiana Purchase in 1803. |
