It was a very quiet area with quaint houses lining both sides of the street. They were built on a raised platform with a few steps going up from the small garden, which was separated from the pavement by metal grills. The whole neighbourhood looked cosy and comfortable.
I moved a few blocks up and down in all directions looking at these houses. There were news paper bundles on the steps and some houses had grocery bags in front of the doors. Parked cars occupied both sides of the street. So, people were living there but I did not see a soul during my forty five minutes of wandering except for two or three joggers and their dogs.
After sometime I noticed that every house had an identical metal plaque in front and on close inspection found that the area was the Capitol Hill Historic District and the houses were more than hundred and fifty years old! They were probably protected and being preserved for posterity.
Vishwa had said that the Capitol is within walking distance from the hotel and I saw that one of the streets ended in a barricade and guessed that it should be leading to the Capitol.
The day did not start before ten in the morning for the rest of our party and so, Vishwa left early to get the entry passes to the Capitol, instructing others to get ready fast and be in front of the Capitol latest by ten. He tried to give me directions to the place but since I had already seen the area I nodded my head without actually hearing what he said. I managed to get the rest of the group out by half past nine and lead them towards the barricaded road. On reaching the barricade we made enquiries and found that it was not the entry point and we should have gone in the opposite direction. I pretended that I did not hear what my wife was saying and was relieved when we had the first glimpse of the Capitol building after fifteen minutes.
Another ten minutes walk on that summer morning and we were in front of the Capitol, though not as fresh and enthusiastic as we were, when we started.
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