Today I spent the day the way the tourists do.

Unlike the tourists, I did not wear an "I Heart DC" t-shirt, a baseball cap turned backwards, or a fanny pack. I did not stand on the wrong side of the escalator on the metro. And I didn't ride a Segway.

I did however, see some of the most beautiful and interesting sights Washington has to offer.

I started at the Capitol where I had gone to meet my daughter the summer intern.

Jesus was there today~

So was this Capitol police with his rifle~

I thought about Bea (and all our other published authors here) at the Library of Congress~

I did not ride one of these~ (although it looked like fun)

I stopped by the pond near the Botanical Gardens and fed some ducks~

I went to one of my favorite places, The National Gallery.

This is the West Building where I spent most of my time with the Botticelli's and other Madonna and Child paintings.

This DaVinci takes my breath away every time. 

  Looked at the waterfall cascading down the building. (Hi aim!)

 Took the walkway to the East Building of the gallery~It is actually a light sculpture called Multiverse.

Where I promptly got off and rode it again.

 The East Building has an entirely different feel to it~

It's light and airy and has the Alexander Calder mobile hanging overhead. 

I stopped at a Picasso~

I stopped to take a picture of myself ~

 Walking along Pennsylvania Avenue, I noticed how enormous the Canadian Embassy is. I think they deserve it.

The Newseum is hands down one of the best museums anywhere.

Outside, the front page of the newspapers are changed daily.

It is so hot today, no one is eating outdoors until the sun goes down.

Yes, I stood in the middle of the street for this shot. Let's see the tourists do that.

No tourists were harmed in the making of this article.