Washington, D.C. - Day 3

We got a late start this morning and made our way to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing about lunch time. The line was short, but we realized this was because the next tour didn't start for over an hour, but we decided to wait anyway. It was a cool tour and the guide explained things well. The kids liked the gift shop the best.

I think the most interesting thing was that the bills are all printed from a master engraved plate that several master engravers make, each with a certain area of expertise so no one engraver could recreate the plate in its entirety. The engravers also go through a ten year apprenticeship.

Looking back toward the entrance. We are sitting waiting to watch a short introductory movie. This is the next group.

There was absolutely no photography of any kind on the tour and there were signs that warned that your cell phone would be confiscated if you took pictures with it. This guy here was in the gift shop showing how they printed money a long time ago (I forgot what year). He added ink to the plate and then ran it through this machine (a spider press, I think) to make the print below. It was very cool and informative. The kids loved it.

We got over here early enough to eat a ridiculously expensive lunch in their cafeteria and then tour the Supreme Court. I thought it was very cool...the kids were a little bored.

This part was informative, but obviously for tourists. It is on the bottom floor.

This is a little model replica of the Supreme Court chamber.

You can not enter the Supreme Court from the doors at the top of the main steps, but if you could, this is what you would see. The entrance to the main court room is at the very back. You could exit the building from these main doors, but had to enter from the lower floor.

We attended a 15 minute "lecture" in the courtroom that was interesting. Again, no photography was allowed inside the room. This picture was taken from outside the door after the lecture concluded.

There were statues, busts, and little shrines everywhere inside the building, but this one was particularly prominent. John Marshall was the fourth and longest serving (34 years) Chief Justice in history.

Just one of the stairways from the bottom floor to the main floor. They were pretty cool looking