Washington National Cathedral...Wow!

Rachel has a week off from her co-op, so I decided to do a couple of field trips.  We went to DC last week to see the grand re-opening of the American History museum.  This week we went back to DC to see the Washington National Cathedral.  I had never heard of it until I happened upon a PBS special about it.  Actually, I meant to record a cooking show , but when I went to watch it, the Cathedral show came on.  It was amazing!  I wanted to go immediately!  Did you know that you could lay the Washington Monument down the center of the Cathedral?  Wow...what an incredible structure!

The Cathedral is a Protestant Episcopal Church that still holds regular services.  It even has boys' and girls' schools on the property. 

If you are planning a trip to DC, the Cathedral is a must.  Then take the same road toward the National Mall and you will drive right by Embassy row...also very cool.  And you will pass the Naval Observatory, which has the Vice President's house on the property. 

You'll never guess what happened as we drove by the Observatory!   At first, we notice lots of armed police officers at the entrance.  "Gee whiz, I hope everything is OK," I was thinking.  As we drove past, a "herd" of black SUV's surrounded by motorcycle cops zoomed past us in a real hurry.  "I think we just saw the Vice President, girls!" I squealed.  What an adventure!

It is nearly impossible to get the entire building in one picture, but this one came close.  We were out in the Bishop's Garden, which was beautiful even with everything dormant.

 

The stained glass windows were incredibly beautiful.  I was never a huge fan of stained glass before, but that all changed when I saw the amazing workmanship and beauty of this glass.  They were everywhere.  It is nearly impossible to capture what this really looks like.  It is just breathtaking.  Notice the reflection from the other side of the cathedral showing up on the wall below those windows.

All of the stone is hand carved limestone...from Indiana. 

There are five or six different chapels in Cathedral.  This one is the Children's Chapel.  Notice the hand-carved ceiling (wow!) and that cute little door...yep, it was locked.

   

OK, aren't those little chairs and kneeling pads just too darling?  Each one of the kneeling pads has a needlepoint of a different animal.   

A kid size pipe organ...and more stained glass.

Each window tells a Bible story.

The Resurrection Chapel was covered in these beautiful mosaics. 

Again,it's hard to see all the incredible colors, but this is another mosaic in one of the chapels.

 

I just can't get enough of these cool ceilings!

 

This is the smallest of all the chapels.  It's the Good Shepherd chapel and it only has these three seats.  (That is Erin's foot!)

Another view from the Bishop's Garden.

The kids..finally all in one place at the same time.  :)

My camera battery quit right after these shots (bummer), but we went in an elevator to the 7th floor of one of the towers and we could see for miles.  All the way to the Capitol and even the Blue Ridge Mountains.  It is the highest point in DC. 

If you are interested in learning more about the Washington National Cathedral, they have on-line tours at their website.   

Comments

[Jona]

FIRST!!!! First first first first first!!!!! Aha!! :P

[Heidi]

I so so so can NOT believe that Jona beat me to be the first commenter! That Jona! Anyway, I LOVE the new blog, Kelly! Looks GREAT. The design is SO you. Looking forward to keeping up with you and the fam. Love you guys!

[Sandi Bradshaw]

Alright ladies...let's be real...you KNOW the real SHOCKER is that I - I - I - I was not first! Me...who lives with my computer like it's some sort of ball and chain...

OK...now, back to Kelly and her lovely blog! ;o) Seriously Kelly...this is great! I LOVE visiting other people's blogs...so this will be so much fun to be able to regularly see what your family is up to. LOVE the cathedral pictures...what a gorgeous place...you must have been in awe the whole time!

[KellyinVA]

You guys are so funny!