Day One

During the final week of June, 2007, I had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. as I often do. This time I took my Palm Treo with me and used my free time to snap some pictures. What follows is a rather rough log of my adventures in our Nation's capital.




Intro:


First, allow me to explain exactly how these pictures came about. My D.C. trip was for both business (checking out American University which may be the next stop on my academic endeavor) and personal (visiting my sister).


I stayed at my sister's apartment. She has a traditional D.C. apartment in the Capitol Hill area at the intersection of Massachusetts and Constitution Avenues. This places her in an area ripe for sightseeing: her apartment sits nearly equal distance from the Capitol as well as the Eastern Market. Traveling just a bit past the Capitol and other prominent sights become available: the main Smithsonian building, the National Mall, the White House, the Holocaust Museum, etc.


Now, here is how this all came together: I love to run. Quickly upon arriving at my sister's, I found this area of D.C. to be a runner's paradise. There was plenty to see, ample space to run with limited obstacles caused by road-crossings, etc and plenty of others to run with. These pictures were taken during my various running adventures; many that became quite lengthy and most tiring.


Here goes!



Day One:


What we have here is the Capitol Building. I took this picture during my initial enthusiasm of seeing such an important place. I would come to find later that there were plenty of better angles to get a good shot. This, however, gives you a good idea of a busy Capitol Hill street scene.







This is the White House from a distance. Again, I would come to find out that traveling to the north side of the White House gave a much better opportunity for picture taking. That picture will be found later. This is the South Lawn.






The Washington Monument and another great place to run. There are trails paved all around the structure and among the many tourists are numerous other runners. A great place to get a little work out.







The World War Two Memorial. This also marks the entrance to many of D.C.'s other famous monuments including the Lincoln, Korean War and Vietnam War. This, to a veteran such as myself, also marked the entrance to one of the more somber areas of the capital. Very moving stuff. This monument has been shrouded in controversy for various reasons. I found it moving and most appropriate for the epic war and the men and women that it honors.


The Washington Monument as viewed from the far end of the Reflecting Pool. To the viewer's right would sit the Korean War Memorial and to the left, the Vietnam War Memorial. Directly behind me sat the Lincoln Memorial. Amazing, emotional stuff.







The Korean War Memorial. For me, this was the single most impacting memorial. It had a very strong sense of realism and it felt like something that I could some how relate to. You can see the anguish and the emotion on each of the statue soldiers' faces as they drive through one of their many missions. This was a very moving tribute to the soldiers and captured effectively the condition of war.








Please Click Here for Day Two's Pictures.