Getting to see DC

Monday, Sept. 12

A beautiful morning in the nation's capitol and after a brief Metro ride in the wrong direction, I was on my way to take in as much as possible.  Overwhelmed?  Blown away?  Awestruck?  My vocabulary does not seem to contain any adjective that would adequately describe all that I saw.  I knew I would not have enough time to really do the museums or anything else in much detail, so I concentrated on the monuments and memorials.  I did take a brief look inside the Museum of the American Indian - the architecture (inside and out) of that place is breathtaking.

If you have not been to DC, I highly recommend it!  Fast and efficient train system (despite aforementioned misdirection - completely  my fault), and so many things to do and see.  I doubt I'll ever have the chance to return and am grateful for the time spent there.  Photos and videos cannot do justice to the sights and certainly can't convey the emotional impact.

The White House:  Did not appear as big in person as expected; quite beautiful; wish I'd been able to get more close-up views than sticking my nose and camera through the fence.

Do I look like a tourist?  Leslie asked if I could see into the windows with my binoculars.  I could not, but I did get a good look at the sniper on the roof!



The Washington Monument:  interior is closed due to damage from the recent earthquake.  It can be seen from many locations in the Federal Triangle, so I have pictures of it from almost every angle.  I'll just include this one:

Looking through the columns of the Jefferson Memorial

and across the Tidal Basin

World War II Memorial:  A great history lesson just by walking around and reading the inscriptions...

This wall contains over 4000 stars, and each one represents

 100 killed/missing soldiers from World War II. 

Korean War Memorial:  Haunting.  I could just feel their misery...

Vietnam Memorial:  stark, devastating - so many names...

 Jefferson Memorial

 Lincoln Memorial          

That cool "reflecting pool?"  Under construction!

 



The newly opened memorial honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  This particular place was more goosebump-inducing than any.  Perhaps because it is so contemporary?  In my lifetime as opposed to all that stuff learned in long-ago history classes?  A simple, elegant design.  Dr. King faces the Tidal Basin and a 450' granite wall is carved with quotes from speeches.

I'm including this shot to show the scale of the statue...

In the background/left, you can see the two stones through which you pass to enter the memorial.  These are called the "Mountain of Despair."  The section holding Dr. King's figure is called the "Stone of Hope."

Elegant architecture of the Museum of the American Indian

U.S. Capitol

All of the above were seen in one day.  I hope to figure out how many miles I walked - my sore legs were a small price to pay for this experience.