Part 1 of 3: A Spring walk in DC..........

We took a tour of DC yesterday beginning on 15th Street then over to the White House.  We then made our way through Chinatown, past Union Station and on to the Library of Congress right as it opened.  

From there, it was on to the US Capitol, through the Smithsonian Botanical Gardens, down the National Mall through the art gardens, to the Smithsonian Castle.  We then continued over to another art garden on Constitution Ave., then back to the mall and up the hill to the Capitol.  We finally made our way to the Supreme Court before heading over to Crystal City.  

Below is part 1 of 3 of our tour...

Washington Monument, White House and Andrew Jackson Statue in Lafayette Park.

SunTrust Mortgage building at New York and 15th.  I think this is one of the most beautiful buildings in town. 

Next time someone tells you to "Go the extra mile",
now you know where it is-- it's at the  corner of 15th and G Streets. 

This puppy was playing a nice game of fetch with himself on the lawn outside the
Library of Congress while his human relaxed in the grass.

Just an example of the architecture in the Library of Congress.

Window above the Reading Room in the Library of Congress.

The Library of Congress is just a magnificent place to explore, time and time again! 

Flame on the top of the Library of Congress.

The Capital Dome.

East face of the House of Representatives. 

House of Representatives.

Outside the Capitol Building.

Robin on the lawn outside House of Representatives.

Early morning stretches outside the US Botanical Gardens.

Parts 2 and 3 coming soon...........................................................................

Arlington, Virginia 9/11 Memorial

At Fire Station No. 5 in Crystal City, Virginia, there is a little-known Memorial to the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Station 5 is the nearest county fire station to the Pentagon. On August 29, 2010, the New York City Fire Department presented the Arlington County, Virginia Fire Department with a steel girder from the ruins of the World Trade Center to commemorate the attack on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. 

The memorial is not marked and only barely noticed passing by on 18th St. A quick stop this morning revealed a steel beam approximately ten feet long with bits of concrete permanently affixed to the numerous bolts protruding from the top.

On side has the stenciled letters ACFD (Arlington County Fire Department), and FDNY (New York City Fire Department), along with '343' to memorialize the 343 FDNY personnel lost in the attack. The other side is again emblazoned with FDNY and '343'. 

One end appears cut while the other bears signs of extreme trauma and distress. The steel is bent and bowed as if blown out with extreme force. I had to wonder where on the WTC this particular beam  was affixed, and where it ended up. 

Short Post of Miscellaneous Pics

I just wanted to put up a couple shots I took over the last several weeks while experimenting with the new camera.  I recently got a UV filter and a polarizer so I'm looking forward to trying them out.  Anyway, no captions below, just a few pics from around the house...

 

  

A Little History and New Pics-- Long Bridge Park, Arlington, VA

This little tract of land to the Southwest of the 14th St. Bridge has served multiple purposes over the years: from serving as the home of the Nameroughquena, (later shorted by the English to “Necostins”), part of the Algonquian Nation; to lush farmland beginning in the 16th century; as part of the Federal County of Alexandria in 1789, and eventually becoming part of the 100 square miles that made up the original District of Columbia. 

Long Bridge Park is now in the shaded Ft. Runyon area on this old map. 

1862 Topographical map showing Arlington County as originally being included within the boundaries of the District of Columbia.

In 1808 the Long Bridge (known today as the 14th Street Bridge where I-395 enters the city) was built to bring people from Alexandria to the District of Columbia. In the War of 1812, the British used the bridge to cross to Alexandria and burn down its port.

Looking toward DC across the Long Bridge, 1861.

Long Bridge / 14th St. Bridge with Ft Runyon in the foreground, 1932. 

One notable stort has John Smith encountering Nameroughquena in the area on a voyage up the Potomac River in 1608. The English eventually drove the Necostins out in 1650. 

Later, the area was known as Jackson City and was home to a race track and gambling halls, then during the Civil War; Ft. Runyon and Ft. Jackson were located here to protect DC from Confederate troops. 

After many years supporting various industrial efforts as well as saloons, betting parlors, a race track and “houses of ill-repute,” and finally serving as a staging location for construction of the Pentagon, the Long Bridge area is seeing yet another transformation. This time into a large park for recreational and open space use; with an unstated goal of eventually assisting in luring a Summer Olympics to the area. 

Here are a few shots of the area today. Although cleaned up, the portion along the train tracks is still home to years of refuse and debris, some seemingly cast off of the many train cars passing each day...

 Garbage along the tracks.

What are they looking at you wonder?  I'm fixin' to show you......... 

What's that thing I spy in the sky? 

It's an AIRPLANE!!!!!!!

Now you don't have to ask what THESE people are smiling at, do you?

Looking toward the airport.

Say it ain't so!!!!!!!!!!

Space Shuttle Discovery over DC: The End Of An Era.........

The Space Shuttle Discovery first flew on August 30, 1984, and took it's last space flight on March 9, 2011.

Prior to its retirement, Discovery flew 39 successful missions and if not for the Challenger tragedy, it would have launched from SLC-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in 1986.  This is a Space Launch Complex I know well and have been up to the top of during my time stationed at VAFB. 

Today, I witnessed Discovery's final flight to it's new home, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, (Part of Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum) at Dulles Airport. 

The Shuttle, atop it's specially modified 747, the same one it flew on it's first flight, made several passes over the National Mall, where I waited, camera in hand!!  I took over 400 pictures and it's killing me not to put them all up, but I just picked the top 15!  I hope you enjoy these as much as I did taking them......

 People lined the rooftops waiting.

 First view!  We didn't know which way it was coming from and it snuck up on us!

The ever-present fighter jet.

They flew over several times which allowed several opportunities to catch the perfect shots!

It was like the whole city just stopped......

 The sky couldn't have been better for this!!!

This was a common sight on all of the rooftops.

It was an incredible sight to see!!!!

  

Then it was over.  Much too soon........