A Monumental Day

Shall we just get to the pictures?

Arlington House, home of Robert E Lee

The view from Arlington House

Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown

The Laying of a Wreath

Taps.  It brought tears to our eyes.

To honor those lost in the Challenger

The Kennedys

Some of JFK's most famous words

Moments of excitement!  While we were walking from Arlington, we saw several  helicopters, most like this, which is dark blue and says 'United States of America' on it.  There was another one that was different, green, and Al said that was like the one they use for the President.  This evening's news said Obama visited an Arlington middle school today.  We may have see the President fly over!!!

The view from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  Work began on the reflecting pool last October, and is not expected to be completed until summer of NEXT year.

The Vietnam Memorial

Reflecting on The Wall

The Korean War Memorial

Ghostly Images

some engraved, some reflected

The Jefferson Memorial

The World War II Memorial

4048 stars, explained below

Earlier, Sarah asked if we had seen the snipers on top of the White House and we said 'No'.  Couldn't miss him today!

A Beautiful Sunday in DC

The National Cathedral is simply magnificent!

After services we walked down the hill, fortified ourselves with a visit to Starbucks, and then crossed into the National Zoo.  We were here especially to see the Pandas, but we had to hunt for them!  We had assumed since it was such a nice day that they would be outside.  We overheard several people say that no one could see them.  Finally we saw a zoo keeper cleaning one of the outdoor enclosures, and he told us that they were inside for the day, and told us how to get there.  We first saw a research station, then the bears.  I was surprised that they were in separate enclosures.  The first we saw was quietly eating his bamboo and was easy to photograph.

He's smiling, just for Ryker!

The second one was more active, but a bit shy.

The cheetahs were right next to the zebras, literally on the other side of the fence.  Several people noted that the zebras seemed to be almost taunting the cheetahs.

This one loved the 'zoo' at HIS window!

Poor Tiger!  It must have been past his feeding time.  He kept pacing from door to door, 'RAWR'-ing all the time.  They finally let him in.

Prairie Dog

Ha ha!  Can you read the sign?

A Whole Day with Al

Actually, I had last evening with Al too, which is where our photos start today.  It was a cold night, and breezy, but very uncrowded.

After dinner we stopped by to see if the Obamas were home

This is the Zero Milepost, the point from which all distances from Washington DC are measured

Today began with a tour of the Capitol building.  Which is actually only a tour of three rooms, but they are FABULOUS rooms.  Here is the compass in the room called 'the crypt'.  All streets in Washington DC are measured from this point, and from where the city is divided NW,SW, NE, SE.

The little red brick marks North

Here is our tour guide Zoya in the Rotunda.  Two more groups are across the way.  When we came back through, there were groups all the way around!

The mural at the top of the Rotunda

Statuary Hall.  Also called 'the Whispering Room'

I like patterns and textures.  

From the Capitol to the Washington Monument,  the Mall

The other side of the Capitol from yesterday's view.  I don't know which is 'front' and 'back'.

Grant's Monument

The traditional shot

We DID find some cherry blossoms!

And a quick run through the Air and Space Museum, where we saw 'The Spirit of St. Louis'

This explains the following photo

The Wright Flyer

The day ended with dinner with Sarah Tunall, known from the Forest Grove United Methodist Church, who is attending seminary in Washington DC.  It was great to see her and share a meal and conversation.