USA: every story has it's ending

Every story has to have an ending, even the happy ones.
So is my USA adventure.



Let's get started with the beginning of the end: the naval (navy) academy. In short immense terr/itory and hot guys in uniform. The view of the bay wasn't bad either ;)

Sightseeing by day: the Washington Memorial (a.k.a. the obelisk they got as a present) on the left, the Lincoln Memorial. Later on you'll get to see the inside too.








Of course we couldn't miss out on the white house. Too bad you can't go near it by car... Apparently you can go around the back, where all the shot for the media are made, but there wasn't enough time to do that (by foot.)



Pentagon Memorial. A Memorial for all the people that died during the 9/11-attack on the Pentagon. People here in Europe are always talking about the World Trade Center Attacks, where way more people died then anticipated - the terrorist didn't predict that the towers would collapse - but there were 2 other planes. The first one had been taken over by the passengers and they crashed it so that the terrorist wouldn't be able to enact hist plan, which targeted the White house. The second one's target was the pentagon, this one did succeed. Every single victim has a memorial stone and a tree. They are arranged by age. The youngest victim was a three-year-old girl named Zoë. Her sister and parents died too. They were on the plane.



Sightseeing by night: the capitol. We also saw the Washington Memorial, the White House and some other memorials.

That night we went the a cafe in Georgetown too. Alcohol outside... Doesn't happen often in the States.

The Korea Monument. That war only 'ended' because China threatened with a nuclear war when the South Korean side was on the winning hand (which included the USA.) That's why the boundaries are where they are now. And why I placed the quote signs around 'ended'... that's because officially, that war is still on-going. The peace treaty was never signed.




The Lincoln Memorial on the inside.
When saw the outside AND the inside, it totally made me thing of Zeus in the Parthenon.

The Vietnam Memorial.

Memorial for all the women that helped (as nurses, flight-planners, ...) during the wars.

Anyone who recognises this man?
He looks rather pale right :p.

It's Martin Luther King Jr himself.

Jefferson Memorial.
Didn't saw this one from the inside, but nice enough by far.





Washington Cathedral, where Darth Vader keeps an eye on. When you look close, on the picture on the right, there are two little ornaments between the window sets. The right ornament between these two particular windows is Darth Vader's head.





After that visit is was time to pack our bags.
We left the house on Saturday, at 11 a.m. Washington time (5 a.m. Belgian time).
And after a plane ride, 8 hours at the Moscow airport, another plane ride and a car trip we were home on Sunday, around 10.30 p.m.

Bye bye USA, hello to my own bed.

USA: the party goes on

Here I am, once again, and I'm taking a flying start.
Let's start the tour with the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

Hello 'Discovery'.
The thing is truly huge, much larger then it seems on this photograph.
Do you guys see all the different little panels? Apparently every single one of them has a unique form. Not two of them are the same.

 I say "Jump!" You say "How high?"
Felix Baumgartner did 128,100 feet, about 39 kilometers, and he did it in this little thing.

After culture comes sports.
I joined the active side of life and went kayaking on the lake besides the house. (Yes, that's actually me. Thanks for the picture, mom.)

When it rains it pours.
And in Great Falls it does pour.
They're not the Niagara Falls, but these falls are amazing nonetheless. And this little - cough, cough - man on the right made sure the territory was safe from up high.



Just around the corner on the way to a little piece of heaven (also know as the Botanical Gardens) you have - not no the White House - the Capitol. You could say it's a kind of city hall... and it really makes someone feel small... The little white dot on the steps below, that's supposed to be me (picture on the right).

Now that little piece of heaven I was talking about: the Botanical Gardens. Truly amazing. Tropical plants, medical plants, jungle plants, herbs, ... The one on the right is one of my personal favourites: the red hibiscus.

 


 Of course, when you're in Washington, you have to pay at least a little respect to the big man himself. Mount Vernon is the perfect place to do that (a.k.a. the home of mister George Washington.)







And with that I'm wrapping up for today.
See you around!