Washington DC in the Spring: 2011 edition

 

Cherry tree blossoms over a picnicking father and daughter nearby the Jefferson Memorial

 A beautiful street in Southeast DC -- D St SE, I believe (near 3rd)

 

"The Hiker" -- a monument I love but know nothing about. This is on Memorial Bridge between Lee's House in Arlington Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial

There are beautiful fields of daffodils planted between the highways, but they're accessible to industrious pedestrians (like me!)  

 The trees are starting to turn green around the WWII memorial. Each pillar represents a state or territory in the US, and there are two tall pillars--one for the Pacific and one for the Atlantic theaters of battles.

 This is Rosslyn, near where we live. Very city-a-fied.

 

 This is the Founding Fathers Memorial, a special island to one side of the National Mall. It's beautiful! I love weeping willows, they always make me thing of the penguin/tea scene in Mary Poppins.

Sleeping ducks are the cutest!

 

This is the little-known Women's Vietnam Memorial, dedicated to the women that served in the military and Red Cross during the war. 

 

 I don't think I'll ever be able to come here without thinking of the movie, Mr Smith Goes to Washington. I love that there is some guy just chilling out in the sun. It's odd to me. Perhaps it's because this monument is one of the closest to where we live, or perhaps it's because of the architecture, or maybe because it always seems to be a lazy summer day whenever I'm here. But this is probably the "homey-ist" monument for me.

 The Smithsonian Castle was the original Smithsonian, housing all the displays that people donated... becoming the first building of "America's Attic."

Fun on the Mall behind the Capitol

The Japanese Magnolia trees (that we often call Tulip Trees) sprung out early, while we still had several weeks of 40 degree weather (for which I was immensely grateful!) 

 

Even on a chilly, cloudy day, the cherry trees make it seem like summertime!

 Spring is a beautiful time to go explore the National Cathedral, and enjoy picnicking or lounging in the beautiful parks and lawns surrounding it.