Sunday, August 10, 2008

The vacation before the blog, Part II

We spent a day, which was not enough time, exploring "the Mall" of Washington, DC. Our first stop was the Jefferson Memorial. We were happy that we had just visited his home the day before. We were also sorry to have missed the cherry blossoms, but still enjoyed walking under the trees.

We will definitely need to go back some day to spend much more time in the many parts of the Smithsonian museums. I was surprised to find that this area is also very much a park for the residents of DC. There were festivals, soccer games, softball games, and more happening on the grassy parts.

The Lincoln Memorial was as awe inspiring as it had always felt when viewed as the setting for a scene in a movie. I still have the goal of visiting Springfield, Illinois someday and seeing his home. I am currently reading "Truman" by David McCullough about another modest man from humble beginnings who had to lead the country in perilous times of war.

I like the juxtaposition of the very tall Washington Memorial through the pillars.

Of course, the White House is under very tight security. The President was honoring the Queen of England this day. If you look closely, you will see that there is quite a crowd up close. Before this picture was taken, we watched the guard dogs tear apart the trunk of a car at the entrance and a man being led away in handcuffs. The Queen was in the country in honor of the 400th birthday of Jamestown, but that is another story for part III or maybe IV.

1 comment:

Vagabond Mother said...

Looks like a beautiful time of year to visit. I remember melting in the humidity when I went in July. I'm glad you had the chance to go- looks like you still saw a lot in one day.