Today was devoted to visiting the monuments – something that the US really know “how to do”. Their ability to celebrate their past is unsurpassed.
We boarded a Hop On – Hop Off bus tour that circles the town – you decide when you get on and off. Grace wasn’t that enthusiastic, but we dragged her along – it was just the cold. However, today was relatively mild – it was only -1.
Washington Monument (L) & Jefferson Memorial (R):
Jefferson and part of his declaration:
Franklin D. Roosevelt:
Dr. Martin Luther King:
Lincoln Memorial (last time, he was covered in scaffolding – now clear – yay!):
Looking back along the Mall from the Lincoln Memorial – past the Washington Monument and to the Capitol in the distance:
Korean & Vietnam Memorials:
We visited Arlington, spending quite some time there. Raising the flag at Iwo Jima:
The burial site for one of those who raised the flag at Iwo Jima:
The cemetery 624 acres where the Nation’s war dead beginning with the Civil War, over 400,000. 
JFK’s:
Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They contain remains exhumed from other places and brought here, from World War I, World II, and the Korean War. The Old Guard has been guarding this since 1921 around the clock, without exception.
When popped into the American History Museum (part of the Smithsonian) so Ellie & Grace could have a quick look at Judy’s Shoes (of Judy Garland from Wizard of Oz)…. just a fleeting visit.
Finally, you can’t visit Washington without at least pressing your camera up to the fence in front of the White House:
We were hoping to score a tour inside the White House through various friends, but the security clearance requires a lead time of about 6 months… just wasn’t gonna happen… but we will plan that for the next time, definitely.
Alas, like our last visit from Canada in 2003, we failed to get to the Washington Monument in the middle of the mall – this was our parting glimpse from the White House. Can I say “next time” again?
