2005 Washington DC Trip
Iwo Jima Memorial 1 - After getting our room Wednesday at lunchtime, we walked the 3 blocks to the Iwo jima Memorial. Airliners taking off from Ronald Reagan National Airport flew over about every 30 seconds. (03/02/05)
Iwo Jima Memorial 2 - Some stranger posing for another stranger provides size perspective of the monument. According to the nice retired Marine volunteer, "A regular size canteen holds 1 quart, the one on the monument holds 8 gallons." (03/02/05)
Arlington Cemetery 1 - From the Iwo Jima Memorial it was only a short walk over to Arlington National Cemetery. (03/02/05)
Arlington Cemetery 2 - On the south facing sides of the hills, the 3" snowfall from two days before was still hanging on. (03/02/05)
Arlington Cemetery 3 - Arlington National Cemetery is a big place and Donna and I walked quite a bit of it seeing the "sites." (03/02/05)
Arlington Cemetery 4 - Tomb of the Unknowns. We waited around about 15 minutes to watch the changing of the guard, but then got moving again to stay warm. (03/02/05)
Arlington Cemetery 5 - Tip for wintertime visitors, the Eternal Flame at JFK's gravesite is too small and too far behind the barriers to ward off the chill. (03/02/05)
Metro 1 - Thursday morning we took the Metro from Arlington into DC. I liked the distinctive pattern of the concrete blocks used as walls and ceiling. (03/03/05)
Metro 2 - These folks are no doubt important functionaries in our national government. (03/03/05)
Capitol 1 - You can't just waltz up the front steps of the Capitol, security is a lot tighter, especially since 2001. The only way to get in is on the tour. (03/03/05)
Capitol 2 - These kids were having a panoramic photo taken of their group out the back of the Capitol. (03/03/05)
Reflecting Pool - The official bird of our Nation's Capital, the seagull, were walking around on top of the Reflecting Pool. It was frozen solid, did I mention that it was cold? (03/03/05)
Supreme Court - Now, you could just walk right up to the Supreme Court building. I guess once inside they would separate you into groups according to if you were a Roe or a Wade. (03/03/05)
National Archives - Image the stuff you could find inside this building. Image the dust bunnies. (03/03/05)
National Museum of Art - Man, these guys love their columns don't they. (03/02/05)
National Sculpture Garden - I'm wondering if the person who selected the sculptures for display in our National Sculpture Garden was a George W. Bush appointee. I thought that this one was the best and if a giant pencil eraser holds that standing, you can imagine what the rest were. (03/03/05)
Washington Monument - Our nation's phallic symbol. (03/03/05)
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center 1 - This is a companion to the National Air and Space Museum on the mall. It is located near Dulles airport, which we were flying home from. We figured we would just go to the airport a few hours early and spend the time looking over the planes. Wrong. You can't get there from there. At least not via free shuttle, it is a $12 taxi ride. The place is huge (that is a real Concorde in the background.) (03/04/05)
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center 2 - I'm thinking when this Northrop N-1M was going through its test flights back in the early 40s, it was what folks out in the dessert thought were flying saucers. (03/04/05)
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center 3 - A Curtiss P-40E Warhawk hangs from the ceiling. (03/04/05)
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center 4 - This Grumman Goose is similar to what Donna's dad flew for Antilles Air Boats around the Caribbean. (03/04/05)
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center 5 - Along with the giant airplane hanger there is a separate space hanger of which the center piece is the space shuttle Enterprise. (03/04/05)