Thursday, June 28, 2007

DC In Pictures

As I said in a previous post, the buildings which house our government are huge, impressive, and beautiful. No picture I took can convey just how immense the Capitol Rotunda and Dome are--you have to see them for yourself. Here, though, is a miniscule view of what you'll see.



From the Capitol I headed towards the Washington Monument, on my way to the Jefferson Memorial.

Notice that the bottom third is a different shade than the top two-thirds. Construction was stopped for about 22 years due to money and the Civil War, and the point at which it was resumed is clearly visible since the new material was from a different quarry.

Passing the Holocaust Museum and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (which is entirely separate from the US Mint), I finally arrived at the Tidal Basin, beyond which sits the Jefferson Memorial. As I stood at the water's edge contemplating I kept seeing aircraft in the distance, preparing to land at Reagan International Airport (formerly Washington National). Now, my mind sometimes works in odd ways, but I couldn't help but notice something about those aircraft and the Jefferson Memorial. Yes, this next string of pictures is politically incorrect and perhaps inappropriate, but the scene struck me as comical and I just had to start clicking. Watch the airplane.






When I arrived at the Memorial, I didn't realize that it offered a direct view of the White House--but it does. Again, click on the pictures to enlarge them.


Heading north and east now, I passed this sign. Those of us in Sacramento will recognize Highway 50, which starts here and dead-ends at Ocean City, MD. It becomes Constitution Avenue as it passes through the nation's capital.

I passed the Ronald Reagan Building.



I wanted to go to the Museum of American History, but it was closed for renovations.



I had intended to go to the National Archives to see the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, but the line was too long and I had to meet an old West Point roommate for lunch. These are a few of the pictures I took at the Archives building.


"Builded"???


That quote is, sadly, so true.

Here's my friend Rich and me, your valiant blogger and host.

He Metro'd in from the vicinity of the Pentagon so we could have lunch. Entirely coincidentally, I saw him at the airport when I left a couple days later!

In a previous post I displayed pictures of the Supreme Court Building.

That's it for tourist pictures. At least one future post will have a couple of interesting pictures from events at the Concerned Educators Against Forced Unionism conference itself.

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