Saturday, October 13, 2012

The Last DC Post . . . . A Few Random Shots

For my last DC post I thought I would share a few random shots. There are not enough of each grouping to make a complete blog post. But there are quite a few when grouped together. So this is a long post. Have fun! :)
 
The first 3 photo's are from The American History Museum and the Natural History Museum. The Hope Diamond was pretty cool to see. The history of the diamond is written on the walls. My favorite Hope Diamond fact: the diamond was stolen and exactly 1 day after the statue of limitations from prosecution was up . . . the diamond resurfaced.

 I can't remember the history behind this boat . . . . but I remember that its old :)

                        And of course I had to get a shot of Kermit!!

          This was as close as I got to the White House this trip to DC
                        For some reason this photo makes me giggle
            The Vietnam Memorial is an amazing, emotional place


 One of our stops took us to a Bonsai exhibit. I found this tree with two-toned bark very interesting.
 My favorite part of the Bonsai exhibit was the little people they put in with the trees.
 This tiny little building reminds me of my boy's favorite TV show "The Last Air Bender"
 We spent a little time in the sculpture garden . . . I think this one looks like the Death Star
 The next 3 photo's I'm putting on the blog in honor of my son Dawson. He loved flying and anything to do with space. I had reservations about going into the Air and Space Museum because I knew it would be hard. But I wasn't prepared for how hard it was. I went straight to the Wright Brothers exhibit. I wanted to see the first airplane. As soon as I walked into the room and started reading the history of the Wright Brothers I started crying. My son would have loved this room. He would have loved seeing what all went into making the first airplane fly.

 An actual lunar landing module built by NASA . . . . and The Spirit of St. Louis
               The last several photos are from the National Zoo
 One of these day's I'll get to see a peacock with his feathers on display
 I've never seen a real panda before. It was kinda fun to watch him eat the bamboo
                                  A momma gorilla and her baby
                We could hear the lions roaring before we saw them.
 These were the most active lions I've ever seen at a zoo. In the photo below the younger lion is starting a wrestling match with the older lion. :)


Smithsonian Castle

The Smithsonian Castle was the last stop for my photography club's DC trip. Unfortunately we arrived about 10 minutes after they closed. So we wandered the grounds taking a few pictures before heading back to the hotel for our last dinner together.







Tuesday, October 9, 2012

WWII Memorial

I didn't get many photo's from the WWII Memorial this trip to DC. I was to busy soaking my feet in the water. We walked A LOT!!!
 
If you're interested in learning more about the memorial check out the website.
 
 
 







Monday, October 8, 2012

US Capitol

Last year I was able to take a  tour of the US Capitol. This year, with my photography club, we walked around the grounds of the Capitol. It's pretty cool to be in a place where history is made.  













                             The view from the Capitol's front porch :)

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Washington Monument

This trip to DC I saw a lot of new things I'll add to my favorite places I've been. But the Washington Monument is still at the top of my list. There is just something about this particular one . . . .
 
Last year I took a ton of photo's of the Washington Monument (you can see them here). It is difficult to capture a unique photo of something so recognizable that has been photographed so often. I think I did pretty good with my first photo. However my friend Deb captured a photo that is incredibly unique and awe inspiring.