Back to D.C. - Next Stop, Maryland...

I left NYC in a really heavy downpour which wasn't too pleasant what with luggage, umbrella, wind, etc., but once on  the train it was an uneventful journey back to D.C. where January met me (bless her heart!)  I stayed with January and Maggie Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  Tuesday night we went to one of their favorite restaurants in Hyattsville, MD - Franklin's.  We've been there a couple of other times and I think this time I now have a new favorite.  I ordered their Kansas style barbecue and it was really delicious.  I even took home what I couldn't eat in a doggie bag which I never do.  Then Wednesday night, January made a nice dinner of nut-encrusted mahi-mahi filets with grilled asparagus which was quite tasty.  And that after going to pick up Maggie from work and ending up with a flat tire which they had a hard time getting changed!  What a woman! :)

On Thursday, my sightseeing continued because January was going to help a friend move to a new place in Alexandria, VA and so dropped me off down near all the monuments so I could get some pictures with the cherry blossoms in bloom.  It was Cherry Blossom Festival last week and it was beautiful!  And I got there before the major hordes of people did, so for a brief spell, there wasn't a lot of traffic and such.  But by the time January picked me up, traffic and crowds were horrendous.  I took lots and lots of pictures and have tried to winnow them out and not post too many.  I went around the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial which I think I have never been to before (unless Mama took us there on our big trip to points east when I was a child).    It's a beautiful memorial from outside, especially at this time of year, but I like the statue inside the Lincoln Memorial better because the statue of Jefferson is dark bronze and, of course, it's kind of dark under the dome, so the statue doesn't have a real big impact.

These first pictures are of the Jefferson Memorial. The sculpture on the pediment is a rendering of the five members of the Declaration of Independence drafting committee submitting their report to Congress.

In the picture on the left you can see the statue inside the Memorial.  And the one on the right is probably my favorite.  It was truly a beautiful day!

 The pediment and the statue.


























And, some shots of the Washington Monument (nicer than the ones I got while I was down there with Jamie...)

The picture on the left is from inside the Jefferson Memorial.  The one on the right was another pretty picture of the monument and January assured me that I needed to leave the row of Porta-Potty roofs at the bottom because it was so "neat"!  And, actually, I think it looks like a nice scrapbooking border or something.  Kind of fun, anyway. :)






And here are just some miscellaneous pictures of the tidal basin and cherry blossoms:

These last two D.C. pictures were taken from the car as we were heading back to Maryland.  The column is located in a park area in front of the Old Executive Office Building and  is known as "Winged Victory," which is a sculpture of the Greek goddess of victory, Nike. The statue is there to remember those individuals who have served in the First Division of the American Expeditionary Force which was created during WWI.  The second picture is the best picture I could get of the building itself which is huge and beautiful.

After a nice lunch, it was off to Heather's for a brief visit before heading back to Huntington with Johnny.  I'll stop this post and do just a short one with not so many pictures to end my saga.