Washington D.C. Day One The Capital

Head em up, move em out!  What a cheerful little sixsome.  We used the Largo Town Center Metrolink to go back and forth to D.C.  Cost is about $3.40 to $3.90 each way, depending on the time of day you travel and the station you use.  Today we got off at the Capitol Central Station.  Destination:  The Capitol.

Look ma, no hands....weeee

A short walk from the station and we arrived at our Capitol.  Admission is always free...gotta love that.  Of course we really scored that morning when one of the dozens of hosts came to us and asked if we'd like a tour.  But of course.

Six please.

The tour took us up into the dome of the Capitol/Rotunda.  The entire history of the United States is all around you in beautiful paintings.  Each painting is separated from the next by a statue of a person who significantly contributed to the country we have today.

Gerald Ford

Andrew Jackson

President Garfield

Abraham Lincoln

Ulysses Grant

President Hamilton

George Washington

Thomas Jefferson

Martin Luther King

First and Only President of the Confederacy - Jefferson Davis.

Sam Houston

Daniel Webster

Rosa Parks

Ethan Allen

On the center of this circle is where President's caskets stand when lying in state.

Below is a replica of the Magna Carta, an English document whose principles underlie much of the Constitution of the United States.  The original was sealed by King John of England on June 16, 1215.

A bust of Abraham Lincoln

A number of beautiful pictures of the Capitol

The Statue of Freedom, also known as Armed Freedom or simply Freedom, is a bronze statue designed by Thomas Crawford and has crowned the dome of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. since 1863.

Ulysses Grant

I was like a kid in a candy shop.  Everything in D.C. was calling me.  I couldn't get enough pictures.  The area in front of the Capitol was a picture I'd been waiting my lifetime to take and see.  The National Mall from the Capitol end.  And there it was, laid out in front of me....oh my oh my...fantastic.  The Washington Monument before me, the Lincoln Memorial beyond it.  I need to be higher up....dang.

Statue of the Grand Order of the Republic, Civil War Memorial 1861 to 1865.

Nourishment time.

Enjoying a nice lunch.

Even the birds were enjoying the day.

Archives of the United States of America.

Streets of D.C.

Boo Hiss

Benjamin Franklin

The Old U.S. Post Office

Washington Monument

Smithsonian Castle.  Once the only Smithsonia in D.C. Now there are numerous museums along the National Mall.  That's quite the expansion.

Standing at the base of the Washington Monument is a view of the Lincoln Memorial with the Reflection Pond in the foreground and the World War II Memorial.

Also from the Washington Monument a peek a boo view of the White House.

This was the end of a full day.  We walked to the Smithsonian Metrolink and headed home.

Tomorrow is a new day to explore Washington D.C.

Come back again for more pictures.  Thanks for visiting.