Snow in DC

I am used to snow in Ohio, but I was surprised to see the snow in D.C. at this time of the year. When we woke up my friends and I headed to the top of the apartment building to check out the first snowfall in D.C. this year.    

I was pretty happy that it was snowing and I headed down to the Mall to take some pictures of it snowing. I was also able to go to the United States Capitol with one of my friends who is interning there. We were able to walk around the Capitol and go places that the normal tours don’t show you. We were able to go to the basement of the Capitol and see the hallways, which lead to a number of the adjacent Senate buildings to allow members of Congress to walk from building to building without going outside. We traveled from floor to floor in the elevators and were able to walk some of the hallways, which have huge paintings of past political leaders on them. 

The best part of our visit was when we were able to walk out on the steps of the Capitol. Standing on the steps of the Capitol, I was surprised of the great view I had looking out onto the National Mall. Most people will not be able to freely travel the halls of the Capitol, but I would recommend going to the Capitol to take one of the general tours. On the tours you would be able to walk through the Rotunda and walk around Statuary Hall. 

From the Capitol we walked to the White House to see the National Christmas Tree. Once we arrived at the National Christmas Tree, I was surprised to see the number of people there and everything that was going on. There was a stage with people tap dancing to Christmas music, children talking to Santa Claus, and model trains. Surrounding the National Christmas Tree were smaller trees representing all 50 states, the five territories and the District of Columbia. All 57 trees are lit form dusk till 11 pm in order to help conserve money. The decorations on the Christmas trees are enclosed in plastic bags to help preserve them. There are a number of performances every night of the week and no tickets are required to attend these events. The National Christmas Tree was planted on the Ellipse in 1978 and is currently 46 years old. I thought that it was interesting that the same tree is decorated year after year.

If you are here during the winter I would recommend going to the South Lawn of the White House to see the National Christmas Tree.