The Mall in Washington is several miles long with the Capitol at the western end and the Potomac River and the Pentagon at the East. With a transit pass, you can take the metro into the center, and then hop on and off regular transit buses to travel between sites. With +30oC temperatures it is too far to walk."No taxation withhout representation " is used on D.C.number plates.

In a dark corner of the natural history part of the Smithsonian Institute Deborah learns about bats. Entry to the parts of the Smithsonian is free.

The Lincoln Memorial,almost at the east end of the mall, is much bigger than it looks on the back of pennies as John, Christine and Peter demonstrate.

Outside was a great place to picnic. We suggest that you stop at a supermarket on the way in as the only inexpensive restaurants are inside the various parts of the Smithsonian, towards the west end of the mall. This is the Vietnam memorial; the only panhandlers we met were squirrels.

Deborah took to Washington just great; this is the exhibit on the American presidency in the American history section of the Smithsonian. In summer of 2002, it was not possible to visit either the White House or the Pentagon unless part of a prearranged tour. However, we do recommend visiting the White House visitor center, which is on the North side of the mall next to the White House.

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Click here to take the Green Line to Washington.

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