Trip to the District of Columbia -- The Capitol

Last week we drove to Virginia to spend a week with a cousin. Two of our goals was to ride into DC to visit The US Capitol Building and The National Zoo.

Unfortunately, this didn't pan out. The high heat and humidity made even the thought of strolling among large smelly, furry, panting beasts unfathomable. I'm referring to the zoo, now, not the Capitol.

Yet, the heat deterred us at the Capitol, too. Or rather, it was the security guards that deterred us, the ones that insisted that we do not enter with the bottles of water we carried with us for survival. It's not clear that we could even bring in the empty backpack owing to the size limit of 12" by 14" on bags. And we couldn't simply leave our possessions outside the door since that was a security risk. Their suggestion was for one of us to stay outside with our belongings while the other entered and explored the building. I didn't mind staying behind, but my wife's usual confusion about directions was made worse from the combination of high heat and pain meds. And I had no interest in going in alone.

We tried to explain how it took us an hour and a half to get there by way of driving, subway and walking, and it would take the same amount of time to return home, and that the water was vital for us to prevent dehydration and to take prescription medication. The response was, "Please step away from the entrance."

The fact that security at the Capitol is even higher than at airports suggests that Congress is behaving in a manner that invites retribution. Maybe if our lawmakers felt less isolated from the water-bottle-wielding general public, they'd act more responsibly with our tax dollars.

I wouldn't be surprised if security later insist on having us remove all our clothes before entering the Capitol. After all, a tourist could easily throw a shoe at someone, or use a belt as a whip, or use a bra as a garrote. Of course, we wouldn't be allowed to leave our clothing on the premises -- we'd have to undress at the Park & Ride and ride the transit system naked.

Anyway, you can find the official list of prohibited items here.