Washington D.C. – the Capital Tour

Washington D.C. is the capital, but it is not a state; it is a separate political division. And the D.C stands for District of Columbia. Parking is extremely scarce in Washington, D.C. It was an exhausting day for us, walking under the hot sun to memorial parks.

Peace Vigil 24 hours since 1981, in front of the White House. A paper on the board reads “Welcome to the Mad House”… “Give Peace a Chance”.

Bush being portrayed like Osama in the picture.

A lone ranger standing at the roof of the White House. Some say that he might seem to be guarding the White House, but on the other hand, he is an easy target for the attacker too; thus, he also serves as an immediate warning signal to the White House should he being attacked!

The White house is the official home and principal workplace of the President of the United States of America. There is a Washington myth that people didn’t start calling the house the White House until it was painted white to conceal the scorch marks left by the British troop burnt it to its wall in 1814.

Following the attacks on September 11, 2001, the White House closed for general public tours due to security concerns and the re-opening comes with some additional security measures.

The “Chipmunks” were having fun in the White House compound.

The police started to clear the tourists standing in front of the White House for security reasons minutes before a car approached the White House. We were wondering if it was President George Bush!

Always ready to strike the perfect pose! Say cheeze!

The Washington Monument is a large, tall white-coloured obelisk and is constructed to commemorate George Washington. It is among the world’s tallest masonry structures and is the world’s tallest obelisk, standing at 169.29 m.

The Washington Monument reflection can be seen in the Reflecting Pool, a rectangular pool extending to the west towards the Lincoln Memorial.

Another look at deja vu.

The United States Capitol is the capitol building that serves as the seat of government for the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. Heard that many tourists thought it was the White House.

A lone soldier sitting on the concrete, puffing a cigarette. No one could guess what he was doing there under the hot sun in the open space, all by himself.

We visited Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The admission is free.

We bought some space food such as freeze-dried ice-creams and strawberries which are originally developed for the early Apollo Missions. This space treat is frozen to -40 C and then vacuum dried and placed in a special foil pouch. Freeze-dried foods have 98% of their water removed and can be stored at room temperature, without deterioration or spoilage as the process removes both water and oxygen – the two primary causes of food deterioration. It preserves freshness, colour and aroma similar to frozen food.

The freeze-dried ice-creams were hard but melt easily in the mouth and tasted just like ice-cream, though not cold.

Freeze-dried Neapolitan ice-cream with chocolate, vanilla and strawberry flavours.

Freeze-dried Oreo ice-cream sandwich.

Thomas Jefferson Memorial: a dome-shaped rotunda that honours Thomas Jefferson as the third president.

Many of these impressive, stirring words adorned the interior walls of his memorial.

Thomas Jefferson Memorial overlooking the Tidal Basin.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial: From 1950 to 1953, the United States joined with United Nations forces in Korea to take a stand against what was deemed a threat to democratic nations worldwide.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial honours those Americans who answered the call, those who worked and fought under the trying of circumstances, and those who gave their lives for the cause of freedom.

19 stainless steel statues each larger than life-size, representing a squad on patrol; 15 Army, 2 Marines, 1 Navy Corpsman, and 1 Air Force Forward Air Observer, dressed in full combat gear, dispersed among strips of granite and juniper bushes, representing the rugged terrain of Korea. They were seemingly searching for freedom.

A 164-foot long black granite wall with photographic images sandblasted into it depicting soldiers, equipment and people involved in the war.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial that honours members of the U.S. armed forces who had died in service or were unaccounted for during the Vietnam War.

The black cut-stone masonry wall carved with the names of fallen soldiers. It was designed by a then 21 years old Maya Ying Lin, the winner from 1,421 entries for a public design competition for the memorial. There were some controversial issues and due to Lin’s Asian heritage which was also a sensitive issue, she was not even named in the memorial dedication ceremony.

The record book shows the name list of the soldiers and the location where their names were carved into the masonry wall.

Lincoln Memorial: Lincoln is well-known for ending slavery in the U.S and repeated polls of historians have ranked Lincoln as among the greatest presidents in the U.S. history, often appearing in the first position. He is so well-liked by the people that they built the Lincoln Memorial based on a Greek temple, as though he were some ancient god in his Neoclassical temple.

Lincoln Memorial looms over the Reflecting Pool.

Hershey’s Chocolate World!