Where every President, except George Washington, has lived and conducted the government of the nation.
After breakfast, I headed to the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
View from the North Lawn, I'm looking south.
Tours of the White House are only available to groups of 10 or more who made requests through their state representative at least a month in advance. Jimmy requested a tour, but we were denied since it was just the 2 of us.
The North Lawn of the White House and the single protestor in Lafayette Square.
Peace vigil held 24 hours a day since 1981.
View of the White House from the south, looking North
The South Lawn and White House. The West Wing is to the left.
This is where I stood to take the pictures of the White House above. Thanks to a geocache Jimmy and I found on the 26th, we learned that this is "the point for the measurement of distance from Washington on highways of the United States." So, that means that if you're traveling down the 101 and it says 2,450 miles to Washington DC, it's that far to this milestone.
In the Ellipse
At more than 550 feet, this monument towers above the city, reminding us of our Nation's first president, George Washington.
It was easy to take a lot of pictures of this monument because everywhere you turned, you saw it. Unfortunately, they were doing some renovations to the grounds surrounding the monument and it was closed, so I didn't get an up close and personal view of the monument. Impressive non-the-less.
The view of the monument from the Zero Milestone marker
Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial in the background
Construction around the base of the monument. A plane (Jimmy's?) flying past.
A dry Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument, as seen from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Many of the pools/ponds/fountains were drained, probably because it was so cold and they would freeze.
Also taken from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The Capitol Building in the background.
Walking along Tidal Basin, the reflection of the monument. Those bare trees - Cherry. No blossoms. Way too cold still!! Despite the apparent mostly sunny day you see, it was very cold!
The clouds gave a nice backdrop to the monument. It was much colder than it looks.
http://www.tourofdc.org/monuments/washington-monument/
Honoring the 16 million Americans who served and more than 400,000 lives lost, this memorial opened last year on April 29, 2004 after 3 years of construction and 11 years after authorization by Congress. A war fought by America and its allies to end tyranny, noted British historian John Keegan said that this world war was "fought across six of the world's seven continents and all of its oceans. It killed more than 50 million human beings and left hundreds of millions of others wounded in mind and body..."
WWII Memorial with the Lincoln Memorial in the background
The Pacific and Atlantic pavilions on each side of the monument symbolize a war fought across two oceans.
56 granite pillars symbolize the unity of the nation's states and territories during WWII.
These 4,000 gold stars commemorate the more than 400,000 American lives lost during WWII. During the war, the gold star was the symbol of a family sacrifice.