Awesome

Awe-inspiring, that is. We stopped into the National Shrine yesterday after two years of driving by and thinking that we should pop in for a quick look. The quick look ended up taking about an hour, as this place was so amazing. Begun in 1920 and finished (more or less--there are still some undecorated sections) in 1961, it has dozens of shrines and side altars to the BVM in all her incarnations (Guadalupe, China, but not Knock), all decorated in stunning mosaics. The organist was practising, which was a bonus.

If you look closely, you'll see that a blond-haired, blue-eyed Jesus has been lifting weights.