Many Memorials in Washington D.C.

I'm not a history guru by any means, therefore, I don't have interesting facts to go with these pictures other than how neat they were to see in person. I mean that's interesting right? While growing up I remember learning about the presidents and studying about some of the memorials. To me, it was so exciting to just "be" where these huge landmarks stand. The fact that I was inside and in front of and beside these enormous pieces of history was so amazing.

This first one is the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

Inside the memorial, words spoken from Thomas Jefferson were inscribed on the walls. Downstairs (where I did not go) were other artifacts from his time.

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 thousands hundreds of pictures with different settings. The monument is different colors because they ran out of funding when building it and had to continue with the process many years later.
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.