As I began to head down the East coast from Virginia, I found myself only a few miles away from our nation's capitol, Washington, DC. It had been well over a decade since my last visit, so I decided to take a brief detour and see the major highlights once again. I crossed the Potomac and parked in a lot between the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument.

I strolled over to the towering stone monolith that is the Washington Monument and went over to touch it. It's amazingly big. From its position, you can see all the other important structures on "The Mall", the long grassy park in the middle of the governmental complex. These include, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol Building and the White House.

I decided to wander two blocks on foot over to the White House and see what the President might be doing. Of course, they don't let you very close to the White House, but they do keep it very well manicured. The grounds are quite lovely and there are security officers posted in conspicuous places, such as the roof.