District of Columbia in November

Another year, another annual conference. This time we were in DC for the week. So much to see, so little time and this trip I was bringing the spousal unit with for his first visit to DC. My first DC visit was in 1964, (I was 13) the summer after JFK was killed when my family stopped there on the way to NJ to visit a cousin and his wife and their new baby. My father and my two youngest children and I drove out east and visited DC one hot August day in 1992. In 2003 I was there twice for conferences, and luckily visited the Holocaust Museum with my my work cohort Stephanie during the December 03 visit as it was not high on the list for my husband to see. But taking him to the Air & Space Museum has always been at the top of my wish list and I've wanted him to see Arlington Cemetery, since his two youngest children have been there, and see the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown. The highlight for me this trip was seeing the new WW2 Memorial and the Giant Panda's at the National Zoo. Mama Mei Xiang and her son Tai Shan, which means Peaceful Mountain (born 7/9/05) put on quite a show for us.

Mei Xiang eating a fruit pop and Tai Shan exploring.

Smithsonian National Zoo Giant Panda Exhibit








Now back to the start of the trip. We hit the ground running since our plane was late getting in. We took the shuttle to the Wardman Park Marriott, checked in, dropped bags and hopped the Metro to the Smithsonian station. We walked the west end of the Mall from near the Castle to the Lincoln Memorial and back, and by then it was getting dark and time to be off the Mall.
The Washington Metro
The Smithsonian Castle
The Washington Monument at dusk.
The World War II Memorial is a beautiful tribute.
Quote by Douglas MacArthur on the WW2 Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial from the WW2 Memorial.
This is it, where Forrest met Jenny (in Forrest Gump).
The Lincoln Memorial
The Washington Monument from the Vietnam Memorial.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Photos by Adana