The first thing we went to see was The Washington Monument.
We then took a walk by the reflecting pool (which was empty while we were there) and then to The Lincoln Memorial.
The Lincoln Memorial was very different from what I imagined it to be. The actual statue of Lincoln is not exposed like I thought. He is sort of "enshrined" although it is still outside. I was under the impression that he was more exposed than he actually is. Anyway, the memorial is very large and very cool to see in person.
Our next stop was the Vietnam Memorial. This was amazing. It was such a somber sight to see just how many people had lost their lives during that war.
Here is a shot of The Capitol.
On Saturday morning we made our first stop at The Holocaust Museum. This was on the top of my agenda and we spent 2-3 hours in the museum. It was so informative and extremely sad. I didn't get any pictures from this because they did not allow us to take pictures inside. After this we went to Arlington Cemetery. It was so important for us to see the changing of the guard at The Tomb of the Unknown. By the time we got to the cemetery there was only one more changing before they closed it to the public. We made a stop at the grave of JFK on the way to the Tomb of The Unknown soldier.
Once we actually arrived at The Changing of the Guard (this was quite a walk), I was able to get a few shots of the soldiers. The entire process was really amazing. Everyone was very quiet and it just made you feel so much respect for the soldiers that have lost their lives and had the honor of being buried at Arlington.
We also got to go into the National Archives where we were able to see the original Bill of Rights, The United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. These were the three documents that we wanted to see but there was SO much more that I would loved to have seen. If we go back to Washington, D.C. I will certainly spend much more time in The National Archives. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Once again, they did not allow pictures so I didn't take any inside. After dinner, we went to visit the White House.
These are taken outside of the Treasury Building.
These are outside of The White House. It was so pretty at night and there was not as much of a crowd.
This is in front of The Washington Monument at night.
This trip was great. I wish we could have toured the Pentagon and seen a thousand other things. We did stay in a hotel that overlooked the Pentagon so that was really cool. The pool was on the top floor and you could see the Pentagon really well. I hope that we get the opportunity to go back up there and see some more things. It was well worth it!
