I thought this was a fun picture. I wasn't so much interested in the countries, but the way the Monument was positioned between the pillars.
A wider view of one side. Each pillar had a state listed on it.
Looking over the reflecting pool, through the memorial, towards the monument.
One of the water fountains.
Leaving the memorial.
Directly inside the memorial a huge Thomas Jefferson statue stood tall. Washington D.C. has lots of memorials and statues of many famous people. I could have been taking pictures of things I had no clue about and I still found such interest in them because it was different than anything I had ever seen before.
By the time we made it to the Korean Memorial, it was dark and I was having a hard time getting pictures that turned out. The yard was filled with statues of soldiers in varying positions with the agonizing look of war on their faces. It was kind of horrifying to see this one.
The Vietnam Memorial was a place where tourists really stood calm and observed many moments of silence. Onlookers told their young children, "this is a memorial, time to be quiet". The Vietnam wall was amazing and I have no pictures of it because I didn't know where to begin with it. The wall started out short and grew taller and taller and the names seemed to go on for infinity. In fact, there were over 58,000 names. It was beautiful. Along the wall there were letters from loved ones, framed pictures, and flowers placed near the names of the family and friends who died during the war. While walking along the wall, I came across several gentleman who were searching the wall with flashlights. People were full of respect at this memorial.
The Lincoln Memorial was enormous. The lighted structure glowed way off in the distance. President Lincoln sits tall inside. The columns on this memorial are so big that 5 adults holding hands around it cannot reach.
Famous words from Abraham Lincoln inscribed on the walls.
Abraham Lincoln
The Washington Monument was so cool. I could see it everywhere I went. When I first started taking pictures of it all I was getting was the top of it. I guess that shows you how "awe-struck" I was at this magnificent monument. When I finally found the bottom of it, I took 
Then I had to play with black and white.
Looking at the monument through the World War II Memorial (pictures to come tomorrow).
Last, but not least (by any means), the reflecting pool with the monument. Absolutely beautiful.
Tomorrow I will post lots of pictures of the World War II Memorial. That one deserves a post all of it's own.
After taking no less than 30 pictures and snapping pictures of each other in front of the White House, we stopped for a self-portrait. These are the two ladies I went with who are from Flandreau and Sioux Falls.
After listening to the guy hollaring through the megaphone for 20 minutes, we headed on our way. Except we were stopped by a police officer who said, "Sorry, sidewalk is closed. Please head this way and take two lefts and you'll be back on this sidewalk on the other side." I was extremely baffled by the fact the sidewalk was closed and couldn't understand why. It was so random. The street was always blocked so there was never any traffic driving through it, but the sidewalk, why?
Being a natural tourist, it seemed like something big was going to happen. As I looked down the street where the sidewalk was closed I could see limo's, police cars, and big black SUV's with men in fancy suits standing nearby. Could it be Obama? All of us who were standing on the sidewalks were asking if it was Obama and the officer said it was not.
Upon constant questioning the officer finally said, "If you can name that country's flag, it should give you an answer." Immediately after, a young 18ish, blonde female in front of my screams, "Texas!", to which the crowd roars with laughter and the officer hollars back, "COUNTRY!!". She slid her sunglasses over her eyes and tried to slip into the crowd with a look of "I'm never going to live this down" on her face. She was very embarassed.
Do you know what flag this belongs to? Well it's Chile. The person to whome the sharade was for, was the President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet. I have to admit, it was kind of exhillerating to be in that place at that time to see something so big happen. Afterall, I'm from South Dakota and don't see stuff like that happen everyday. 
After the excitement of that wore off, we continued on our journey down the street towards the Washington Monument (pictures coming tomorrow). Once we arrived and took tons of pictures, we looked up the block to realize we were standing in front of the White House. While in the back, we never fully realized we were in the back and not the front! I think I was so awe-struck to see such a popular landmark that I have only seen in picture and on T.V. that I didn't care if I was in the front or the back!
We took quite a few pictures of the front and then walked up the street at least a couple of miles, or so it seemed. The sun had set and all the buildings were illuminated, which made them appear more fascinating than before. After a long walk, we found ourselves at the U.S. Capital.
Pictures don't do it justice as it was so beautiful the way it glowed. 
On Wednesday, we went on a bus tour (pictures coming later) which started at the U.S. Capital in the daylight. This picture was taken inside a bus, which is why there is a glare to it.
After a long evening of walking and exploring Washington D.C., we were happy to get back to the motel, shower, and get ready for bed. Each night we had to shower from sweating so bad while site-seeing.
Tomorrow I will post about the Washington Monument and one of the Memorials. Any suggestions which one you want to see first?
"Huh?"
They are everywhere. It's really fun to be within a couple of feet of the little critters and not have them act so skittish in return. This one was enjoying a tasty snack.
I was constantly amazed at the beautiful architecture of the buildings in DC. The buildings are absolutely beautiful and feature amazing designs. I noticed this one on the way to the White House on Tuesday. I couldn't take a lot of time to actually take the pictures because we didn't have a lot of time to stop at everything I wanted to see. So I quickly shot pictures as I walked so I did have something to show when I came home.
This is the Department of Treasury building. The statue in front is of Albert Gallatin, Secretary of Treasury. The big pillars in the front of the buildings were a common theme among many different buildings.
This picture looks up the street. You can see how beautiful the buildings are and how compact things are.
Just another view of Washington DC.
The man sitting down was extremely strange and really tried his best to annoy the tourists at the White House. He had a megaphone and constantly spoke into it different songs ranging from Christmas music to Sesame Street. Then he started preaching from the Gospel and then back to random thoughts. He never quieted down. When I asked the police officer about him he just said this is the first day he actually had the microphone and was probably just showing his way of protesting. Either way, it was comical.
Of course there were street musicians playing for money. This gentleman couldn't play well, but still brought in a fair amount of green money.
Tomorrow will begin the best post, I think. I will start with the memorials and the White House and see how far I get. Maybe I'll even try to get one posted tonight yet.