Adventure inside the U.S. Capitol

A most excellent adventure for mom and her guy on a gorgeous, sunny President's Day weekend. We ran around an empty Capitol and acted out how a bill becomes a law. Then he took his bike to the Washington monument (while mom ran behind trying to keep up), and ate a picnic lunch on the National Mall.

"Westward!" A mural depicting early Americans off the House floor.

The House "Speakers Lobby," where people like Reps. Paul Ryan and Nancy Pelosi
hang out before casting their votes. The sign says that photos are not allowed. Oops!

Outside the Senate floor. 

Hanging out with Abe Lincoln reading the Emancipation Proclamation.

Vew from inside the Capitol of the Supreme Court.

AP workstation in the press gallery.

The holy grail of our trip: Finding the blood stains on the marble steps on the House side of the Capitol. In 1890, a newspaper correspondent shot a retired congressman-turned-lobbyist after a long-running feud.

The underground trains that the lawmakers take to get from their offices to the House and Senate floors where they vote.