Washington DC

I've just returned from a week-long visit to the most historically moving place in the nation--the capital, Washington, District of Colombia, and I have to say one thing: Every American should go visit that city. Of course it would help if those Americans have had a course in our history and seen and studied great works of art. It would also help if those Americans looked at maps and previewed all the places to see, then saw them on days I wasn't visiting them. But, if you appreciate great works and great words and great people and if you understand what it means that people who lived before you sacrificed their entire lives to build a nation we now enjoy; If you want to feel the enormity of that: visit DC. The buildings and monuments alone merit that. Here are a few pictures of the highlights. I'll post specifics in upcoming days.

The Metro

A Very Young Hero Indeed

Overwhelming Architecture

From the WWII Monument Wall

Lots of Walking through Beautiful Places

Memorials that Overwhelm

Dazzle at the White House

Pictures of People You Recognize

Tributes to Heroes from Every State

Audacious, Gaudy Art that made me Smile

The Original Smithsonian

Arlington

Jefferson

Korean War Memorial

I could have spent another few weeks there and not seen it all. It's pretty amazing. In general, what impressed me was the accessibility of it -- lots of security checks, but no tickets or fees for any of the memorials, museums, federal buildings or parks. I walked in and saw my own constitution...yes, the original document, and I walked out through the front doors of the White House and onto that very lawn we see in the news. I saw the flag that flew over Fort McHenry, the Spirit of Saint Lewis, and the Hope Diamond. I spoke with Senator James Lankford from our state of Oklahoma and stood in the spot where John Quincy Adams once had a desk, and I'm just an ordinary American with no special honor, talent, or finances. That's what made this trip so special. Ordinary Americans have access to America.