March 8th, 2011

My friend and fellow intern Jake Young decided to give me an in-depth tour of the Capitol today. He was a Senate Page in Summer of 2008. The Pages run errands on the Senate floor and there are only 30 of them so it is highly competitive. He was able to show me some things that I saw on the C-Span DVD last semester in Legislative Process class. We toured the Mansfield room, the Senate Reception room, found the old Senate bathtubs as the Senators used to literally do everything at the Capitol back in the day. He also showed me where the Senate Chaplain's office was with a great view of the National Mall. We also went out onto the West front where they temporarily build the stage for Presidential Inauguration every four years. It was a great tour and I was glad to see things I probably would not have found on my own. We also toured down the hallway where Speaker of the House John Boehner has his office. We didn't go in but it was neat to see where it was hidden away! There are numerous stairways that could take years to figure out where you are. One of the coolest rooms was the Howard H. Baker rooms where Minority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell has a fireplace that wafts its smoke out into the rotunda area. I have to remind tourists that I am giving tours to that the Capitol is not in fact on fire like in 1814 when the British burnt the Capitol. Lots of laughs ensue when they discover the reason for the smoke smell. I will post pictures when I upload them from my camera.