The nation's Capitol Building, as seen from "The Mall." The mall is a stretch of lawn situated between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial, with the Washington Memorial in the middle.
	And this is the home of my man, Abe. Obviously taken a different day than the above shot... This one was while Marianne's sister Mercy & her boyfriend Peter were visitng. Miss you guys!
	Marianne and I, in front of Abe... I've told the story before, but feel I should tell it again... Growing up, this man was my true idol. Yeah, of course the Lone Ranger and the guys from Emergency One had their time, but they all came and went. Abe stayed with me, and still does to this day. I'd visited DC once prior, during a 7th grade class trip. I was so excited that I was going to see this monument! Mom even let me borrow her camera and everything. One morning, the day we were to see the Lincoln, I made sure I bought plenty of film. Well, as the day stretched on, my instructor informed us that we were running too late, but we would start tomorrow with the Lincoln. So, I had been saving about five shots for Abe, but thought, heck, I can pick-up more film at the hotel when we get back, so I might as well use what I have left now (I think we were at the Unknown Soldier, but don't remember completely). Needless, during the drive back to the hotel, some genius decided that we might as well go now... and I had no film. I was practically in tears... So, this trip was my retribution for my loss in 7th grade.
	The Gettysburg Address. You should recognize this little ditty, but now actually read the entire thing. It's awesome! Of course, no one will ever know, but there is a tale saying he wrote this the morning he was to give it, yet another tale explains that he diligently worked and reworked it... Who knows, who cares, it's a great read. If you want to jump to the area where he gave this speech, check out the Gettysburg portion of this page (you can also just keep scrolling and you'll get there eventually...).
	So, again, the Washington Monument sits in this strip of grass called The Mall (which has caused more than a few billion misunderstandings, I'm sure... "hey, want to go to the mall?"), smack between the Capitol Building and the Lincoln Memorial, and then directly to the north of the Washington Monument is the White House. Everything nice and close together... except for poor Thomas Jefferson... He sits waaaaay away from all of this stuff... poor guy, he must be so lonely... Soooooo, here he is:
	Bad photo, I know, but here's the man: the third president of the United States, the writer of the Declaration of Independence, the creator of our current university system, and, as Marianne likes to keep reminding, yes, a slaveholder...
	And I really liked this text as well... There are about a half dozen quotes around the inside of his monument.
	And now, a bit more solemn, we travel to Arlington National Cemetery. This place is deep... you can almost feel the souls of everyone living here. In a way, the weather seemed rather fitting...
	The white gravestones just go on and on and on and on...
	And here is the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unkown Soldier, a monument to honor all soldiers left unidentified after any conflict. This is a major ceremony, as you can tell by the number of umbrellas present, and is something I recommend witnessing if you ever get the chance. The routine is so precise. Apparently, people from any walk of life in the military (only Marines, I believe) can volunteer for this duty, but only a select crop is chosen. It truly is quite an honor to serve here, I'm sure...
	The guard striding past the actual tomb itself. Notice the little road in the background? Keep that in mind...
	And here are the Pilgrim sisters at that little road in the background. Behind them is the Tomb. All those people in front of that nice white building are the umbrella-toting folks mentioned a couple photos up.
	Also at Arlington National Cemetery, is the tomb of John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and, a daughter (whom I was not aware that had and lost early in her life). The Eternal Flame burns near the center of the photo. When I was here as a kid, the guide asked us impressionable young 7th graders what we thought happened if the flame ever went out. We all gasped at the thought, but no one offered a solution... "We re-light it" he said. Ha. Ha.
	And also, Bobby Kennedy is here...
	This one is amazing: The Marine Memorial, honoring the Marine Corps and their service in all confilcts. I was amazed at how large this is! If you click in, you can see Mercy standing just under the foot at the far right.
	Engraved all around the base of the monument is a list of conflicts in which the Marines have lent their services. Click in and check out the detailed expressions on their faces...
	Next, back across the Potomac (how many times did we do THAT, Mercy & Peter?? "Look kids, Big Ben"), we visit the Vietnam War Memorial... All the stories you've heard about how moving this place is does not begin to tell the tale... No one speaks, people just pace past, staring. You can not BEGIN to imagine how many people we're talking about, until you see ALL those names, etched into that shiny black marble, in such tiny print, stretching on and on and on...
	And one of the more touching parts to me, were these guys, standing as stunned as we are, looking at their comrades in arms...
	Their faces...
	The wall from the far-right side...
	And here is a VERY small section of the names I spoke of earlier... Yes, you can even see your friendly photographer reflecting back at you...
	And just between the Vietnam Memorial and the Reflecting Pond (pool of water that Lincoln looks out across (the same pool that Forrest Gump runs across yelling "Jenny!")), is the Memorial to Women in Service. Also very touching... One woman holds a seemingly dying man, offering what comfort she can, as another looks to the sky, either asking "why?", or looking for the chopper to take this man to safety... A third woman (detail below) sits behind them, looking downward as if unsure what is going on... The man's body is an AMAZING likeness. If you click in, you'll see someone has placed a single rose in his lifeless hand... Do you think this statue was designed with the idea in mind? Almost seems so...
	The detail of the woman hidden above...
	Next up, just behind the Women's Memorial, and certainly very impressive and awe-inspiring, is the Korean War Memorial. These soldiers are a little bit better than life-size, just walking through a field, on the look-out.
	Again, the detail is amazing, click in for the faces...
	A good quote...
	An even better quote...
	And this was also on the trip that Peter & Mercy visited. This is a funny tale... We had taken the Metro downtown (sans Marianne, as poor thing had to work), heading for the Mall (no not shopping, see what I mean?), and we came up near Ford's Theater, where Abe Lincoln was assassinated. We just thought we'd bop in for a minute to snap a shot, then head off to breakfast. Well, we stuck our heads inside and suddenly some guy is somewhat yelling at us to "come along, keep moving, there are three seats up here, come ON"... So, "come on" we did, not really knowing what we were "coming on" to... Anyway, I'm glad we did stay, because what they did, before a small group of tourists, was to tell the story of the evening Mr. Lincoln was shot. They give background info, sound effects, and history of the night. I'm glad we went, but I'm now reminded that I never made it back for the museum that is housed underneath...
	COOL! Camping, with Jake & Chrissy! What a blast! Miss you guys!
	And on that camping trip, we decided to jaunt across the state line and step into Pennsylvania for a moment to visit Gettysburg, home of Abe Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address (the speech represented near the top). This shot is of a statue found in Gettysburg National Cemetery, based on the spot where Mr. Lincoln gave his speech. The Battle of Gettysburg is said to be the battle that won the war. It was the turning point for the Union's withering effort.
	A cannon guarding the cemetery...
	And back near DC, this is the C&O Canal. One of the first canal systems in the U.S., it was created to allow boat traffic down the rocky upper-Potomac River. Not the day we were there, but it does actually function, taking passengers on boats like this up & down the canals. It runs from the start of the Potomac down through Georgetown. Pretty cool to see.
	And a little still-life... just liked the image, don't know why...
	Yeah, here's what the canal was circumventing...
	Ditto.
	And now on to one of our favorite weekend getaway cities, and home to our first anniversary weekend: Annapolis! This is SUCH a beautiful little town, but don't come if you aren't looking for peace and quiet... This is the town hall.
	The circle surrounding town hall. We stayed at a cute little B&B just to the left of the lamp post. Great location, steps from the "heart" of Annapolis.
	From "the heart", looking up one of the spokes of the circle, with the town hall in the background...
	And a different shot of "the strip"...
	And now we're back home, for our first winter in DC, looking out at the parking lot of our apartment building. We got off SO easy this year... we only hope for the same for the next two years... ;-)
	And here is the more typical weather we've come to expect around here... This is from our balcony... I guess it ain't so bad here... ;-)