National Cathedral, Capitol and Smithsonians

The National Cathedral

Seats for The President and senators

After our morning excursion to The National Zoo (part of the Smithsonian complex - see below), we made a visit to the beautiful and impressive National Cathedral in Northwest DC.  Built in "only" 83 years (many medieval cathedral took hundreds of years to build), the building is formally an Episcopalian Cathedral, and has an extensive network of mini chapels, ranging from a military chapel to seats reserved for The President and members of The Senate.

The National Mall - Capitol Building

Next, we headed downtown to The National Mall (the green grassy area shown, not a commercial center).  If you know DC, you will recognize the area, and may remember that various Smithsonians line The National Mall.  Our photo opp as a group was much closer than this - and man, was it cooking out there during the photo - at least the low to mid 90s.

Next, we hit up some Smithsonian museums.  We headed to the Air and Space, then Natural History, then The National Sculpture Garden and finally The American History Smithsonian.  Based on the pictures below, can you guess who was an American History  teacher?

Smithsonian Museum of Air and Space

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian Museum of American History

A picture of "Old Glory" - the original that flew at Fort McHenry in Baltimore

The counter from Woolworth's in Greensboro, NC

Dorothy's Ruby Slippers

Kermit The Frog

After our trek down The Mall, we headed to the mall (specifically, the Capitol City Mall) for dinner.

Dinner at the Capitol City Mall

 















Next up, we plan to head back downtown (we are currently eating dinner in Northern Virginia) to see the World War II Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and Korean War Memorial.