Washington DC

What trip to Maryland would be complete without a stop at the Capitol? We've been there before the 9/11 rules went into place and toured the inner workings in detail. This time we stuck to looking at things from the outside for the most part and saw parks and monuments we've never seen before. We saw the MLK memorial, the FDR memorial, the White House, the Congress (the house was in session--note the flag flying over the house side of congress), several of the statues (Grant, etc.) along with a quick tour of the Smithsonian Vistor's Center. Did you know that Mr. James Smithsonian was English and never once set foot in America? He gave his entire estate to the US valued at $500,000 or 1/66 of the US budget at the time. Quite a legacy he started.